Lignes directrices de la marque – Les choses à faire et à ne pas faire expliquées

Publish a single, accessible brand brief and treat it as the contract for every application. Ceci information acts as the reference for all teams, covering logo usage, typography, color rules, and asset handling. When firms have multiple groups, assign a brand guardian to oversee changes and ensure the personal tone of content stays aligned with the core identity.

Do’s align with documented color values, precise logo clear space, and approved imagery for posts and films. Include a concise study of risk and best practices, then translate findings into actionable steps that teams can apply in real projects. Having clear guidelines helps creative teams stay consistent, while product visuals remain aligned across different applications and channels in the marketplace.

Don’ts include altering logos without permission, applying inconsistent colors to the same product, or mixing personal branding with firm assets in ways that confuse customers. Avoid low-quality imagery, overused stock, and off-brand tones in posts and films. Keep guidance concrete: define minimum clear space, specify allowed typefaces, and ban unauthorised changes that risk misrepresenting the brand.

Set up a quick review ritual: before any post, film, or product launch, cross-check against your guideline for information accuracy and brand fit for each application. For changes, log every update in a versioned file and circulate to stakeholders in a short, actionable recap. This approach reduces personal variances in how the brand is represented across applications and helps teams in the marketplace keep a cohesive voice on every platform and every product line. When in doubt, default to the guideline and reference the original information to resolve conflicts quickly.

Do’s: Maintain a single primary logo version with proper clear space

Use one primary logo version and maintain proper clear space around it in every file and touchpoint. Establish the master logo file and enforce its use across vendor fees, production workflows, marketing materials, presentations, product packaging, and digital assets to avoid liability and confusion. Keeping the same version supports established brands and large firms by delivering a consistent message.

Define the clear space as at least the height of the logo’s cap line on all sides; this rule stays consistent whether the logo appears on a tiktok thumbnail, a business card, or a large banner. Any element entering that area counts as a distraction and should be removed or white-out to preserve legibility.

Limit variations to a single approved alternative for dark or light backgrounds and require a formal file naming convention to reduce risk and liability. A well-organized file ensures teams, firms, and partners can access the asset quickly, providing a reliable element for action and development workflows.

Communicate the policy to all teams including marketing, product, and external agencies to prevent misusing the logo. The message should be concise and aligned with your established brand voice, reinforcing responsibility across businesses and partners. Avoid discretionary edits and avoid white-out when placing the logo on complex backgrounds; instead, provide a solid color variant or a safe area behind the logo.

Maintain a centralized library of logo assets and track usage through a single master account to control liability and avoid conflicting files. This action reduces errors, saves time in development, and helps firms stay consistent across large campaigns and everyday materials.

Regular audits show where logos appear; audits help ensure the same logo is used across all channels, from emails to physical packaging to digital banners. If any use deviates, replace it promptly and update the file with a new version to avoid misalignment and costs.

By following these guidelines, you protect your brand, reduce discretionary liability, and maintain a clear, engaging message that supports growth for established businesses and large firms alike.

Implementation steps

Assign a brand steward, create a master logo file including vector and raster assets, set clear space specs, establish a naming convention, and circulate a concise guide to teams and agencies. Monitor usage, provide updates, and reflect feedback in the file repository.

Don’ts: Distort, recolor, or stretch the logo beyond approved variants

Preserve the logo’s proportions at all times. Never stretch, compress, or twist the logomark, wordmark, or lockups. Use only the approved variants in the kit; scale from the original file to avoid distortion. Maintain a guard area equal to the logomark height on all sides. For packaging such as bottle labels, verify the shape remains crisp in printing proofs before production and keep the element alignment with the brand profile for campaigns.

Do not recolor. Use only the approved color values from the kit for print and digital. Avoid gradients, overlays, or tonal shifts that alter the identity of the elements. On complex backgrounds, apply the logo on a solid field or use the permitted two-color or monochrome variants. For printing, confirm color consistency with a prueba proof and request color-management checks during the printing stage to control liability and protect clients’ perception and investment.

Keep a clean backdrop. Do not place the logo on busy photography or textures that reduce legibility. Mind the visual hierarchy; keep the logo readable and not competing with copy. Maintain a guard area equal to the logomark height on all sides. For an offer or marketing notes, keep the logo area clear and do not crowd the image with other brand elements. Ensure there is sufficient contrast to support the brand power across media.

Do not modify: Do not separate the logomark from the logotype or create new lockups. Do not extend, twist, or reposition elements to form new shapes. Use only the models and variations supplied in the brand kit; during brainstorming sessions, capture new ideas only through approved channels. For any off-grid placement, confirm alignment with the model and the firm’s duties to meet the vision and goals. This approach will keep the logo consistent and prudent across channels.

Assign a monitor to oversee all logo usage across channels. When hiring external designers or printers, provide the guidelines and the approved files upfront. Run a prueba on any first proofs and confirm alignment with the model and the firm’s duties before publishing the material to clients or campaigns. This disciplined approach protects the brand power, reduces liability, and preserves the investment in the profile.

In industrial contexts and on merchandising, confirm the logo remains legible on collateral like packaging, signage, and merchandise. Do not stretch onto irregular surfaces or remove the protective buffers; consult the brand guidelines to ensure the logo fits within the required grid and the discretionary budgets do not override the approved models. The firm relies on disciplined application to maintain the power of the brand for clients and campaigns.

Do’s: Apply the official color palette with exact swatches and contrast

Apply the official color palette by using exact hex codes and contrast ratios for all assets.

1. Swatches and roles: Define a named set of swatches for types of components. Primary: #1A5E93, Secondary: #FF7F50, Accent: #7C3AED, Neutral-dark: #232323, Neutral-light: #F7F7F7. Use these across UI, print material, and clothing tags. This vast palette represents the brand mood and will become the core reference for all designers and developers. Labeling each swatch with its role and recommended usage aids identifying todays users in applying the color system consistently.
2. Labeling and consistency: Maintain a single source of truth for tokens. Use clear, named tokens like –color-primary and –color-text; label in design files as “primary”, “secondary”, “neutral-dark”. This prudent approach reduces errors when new hires join, and it keeps the language of branding consistent across digital assets and print material, including packaging and clothing.
3. Contrast and accessibility: Check ratios against WCAG standards. Body text on neutral-light should reach at least 4.5:1; large text can be 3:1; interactive elements should target 4.5:1 or better. Validate on screens, in print material, and during QA hours to catch drift over time.
4. Implementation and controls: Apply the palette through CSS variables and design tokens across platforms. Keep a centralized style guide to support upgrading over time; plan for the duration of campaigns and future releases, so the color system stays aligned. Use the same hex values in digital and print material to avoid drift, including hires images and product assets.
5. Quality checks and governance: Establish audits for every batch of creatives. Maintain a labeling log to show provenance and who updated each token. This civil approach helps users experience a consistent brand and reduces time spent on corrections, saving hours in production.

Conclusion: By following these steps, the brand will maintain a coherent language, making a great impression across types of media, and supporting todays users in recognizing the brand quickly.

Don’ts: Mix unapproved colors or apply tints outside the brand system

Always verify color selections against the official brand palette before any design or production step. Mixing unapproved colors leads to inconsistent visuals across bottle, packaging, and applications, and increases risk of misinterpretation by customers and retailers. It inflates investments in reprints when the brand guide specifies a particular tint, and it can complicate safety labeling and fiduciary decisions tied to brand integrity. Keep usage aligned with the system and ensure every proof cites the approved swatches and values in the agreement between designers and manufacturers.

Rationale for color control

Great care in color control preserves the brand’s fiduciary value and reduces misinterpretations in market materials. When colors drift, the industry loses trust in the visual language that distinguishes the brand. The visual consistency on bottle and can packaging helps showcase a strong, recognizable presence; a tint outside the system erodes that equity. Tests based on off-brand hues produce inaccurate results, leading to decisions that undermine packaging safety and consumer confidence. If a tint falls outside the spec, stop and adjust within the approved range, then re-run checks against imagelink references to confirm alignment.

Practical steps to enforce the rule

Publish a no-tolerance list of unapproved tint ranges and require a signed color agreement before any change. Designers and creatives must compare proofs against the approved swatches, avoiding any ad hoc adjustments that doesnt align with the brand system. Use quick checks at the point of production for cans, bottles, and secondary packaging, and escalate any discrepancy to a single owner who can approve or reject color choices. Keep color decisions traceable in a centralized portal with imagelink references and application notes so that packaging, marketing, and safety teams stay aligned. This disciplined approach reduces unnecessary tests, shortens lead times, and as a result safeguards business investments while delivering consistent visual results across all brand touchpoints.

Do’s: Establish typography hierarchy using approved fonts and weights

Define a base font family and a secondary one from the approved catalog for headings and body text. Ensure licenses cover web and print use for all applications.

1. Choose a 4–level hierarchy: display for large headlines, H2 for main sections, H3–H4 for subheadings, and body copy for paragraphs. Assign weights: body 400, subheads 500–600, display 700–900. This retains readability and clarifies purposes of each text block.
2. Set a consistent typography scale: body 16px, H4 18px, H3 22px, H2 28px, H1 32px; use a scale factor of 1.125 to keep things proportional across devices and campaigns, including email and web apps.
3. Ensure contrast and color tokens align with accessibility guidelines: text at least 4.5:1 on light backgrounds; adjust tracking and line-height to improve legibility on mobile presence.
4. Specify weight usage by purpose: body 400; emphasis 500–600; headings 700–900; captions 300–400. This control reduces visual noise and helps publishers and advertisers maintain a clean look across competing channels.
5. Document rules for imagery and copy: include imagelink for captions or alt text; maintain a single источник for typography tokens to avoid drift across materials.
6. Collaborate with design, development, and research teams to align typography with campaigns, applications, and brand presence; this harmonizes messaging and supports conversion goals.
7. Limit font families to 2–3 options per project to simplify licensing budgets and salary costs; this is necessary to minimize loading times and ensure consistent rendering across platforms.
8. Schedule friday QA checks to validate readability on devices and platforms before publish, addressing edge cases for different readers and contexts.

Don’ts: Use unlicensed fonts or embed fonts without permission

Do not use unlicensed fonts or embed fonts without permission. Verify licensing before any use in brand assets, presentations, or digital products. The advisability is to obtain a licensed font kit that includes usage rights for web embedding, desktop printing, and any server hosting. therefore, document the licensing status in the project brief.

Document the license status in the project brief and in the Brand Guidelines specification. If licensing is unclear, perform targeted research and review reports from the font vendor to determine whether embedding is allowed for your target channels (web, print, apps).

Coordinate with the subcontractor and legal team in a friday meeting to confirm permission details, including whether embedding is restricted to non-fiduciary partners and whether there are size limits for font files. Do not ignore this step.

Practical checks and governance

Check the font’s end-user license agreement (EULA) and the asset specification for embedding. If the license restricts embedding or web fonts, click to view the exact terms or contact the vendor for a supplemental license. When hosting on a server, ensure signed permission and clear attribution are present in the document and in usage notes.

Document the required sizes, allowed formats (woff2, ttf), and whether subsetting is permitted to reduce sizes and protect industrial fonts. Choose fonts with high licensing freedom and avoid aggressive terms that create risk.

Keep a tight control on target classes in CSS: avoid loading multiple fonts for similar classes; use a single high-quality family subset to prevent performance issues. Upgrade plans should align with upgrading the font stacks and the specification, which helps avoid friction in an industrial setting.

Finally, ignore any shortcut that bypasses licensing checks. Upgrading font stacks should occur only after the specification is met and the costs align with the brand budget; failures here can break friday ship dates and impact the server’s performance.

Do’s: Standardize brand messaging with examples for key channels

Define five core statements and map them to five channels: website, email newsletters, social profiles, packaging, and in-store signage. Assign a coordination owner and implement non-discretionary guardrails to maintain consistency across all touchpoints. Publish a monthly update to ensure assets stay current, and create accessible language that supports conversion without diluting value. Use smart templates and follow a single source of truth for all assets, ensuring everyone can reuse approved blocks when creating new content. Include references for a clothing line where applicable to keep visuals aligned with copy, and build education materials that help participants apply the same voice in every channel. Weather market shifts should be absorbed by quick updates rather than new, unrelated copy, keeping the messaging tight and focused. Testing and iterative upgrades should be planned in advance, not improvised on the fly, so campaigns remain coherent across channels and campaigns.

Education power drives outcomes: provide concise training for team members and partners, with ready-to-use copy blocks, image guidelines, and tone examples that are easy to apply. dont overwhelm with jargon; keep examples practical and actionable. Monthly practice runs help teams become confident with the five core statements, while consult sessions with product, sales, and design teams align content with product roadmaps and seasonal offers. Participants in the program gain faster adoption when materials are clear, accessible, and structured around the five channel families. Taking feedback from pilots informs adjustments to statements, ensuring content remains usable for conversion-focused pages and education-focused posts alike. Upgrading assets should start with small tests, then scale based on measured results from controlled tests, ensuring the broader rollout preserves consistency and quality.

Keep messaging actionable and measurable: every piece must guide users toward a specific action, whether that is learning more, signing up, or purchasing. Using a simple follow-the-core-message approach helps teams avoid drift and keeps content aligned with business goals. Implement a common review checklist for all assets, including tone, length, inclusivity, accessibility, and regional adaptations. Maintain a living glossary of terms and visuals, so clothing lines, product pages, and store signage speak with one voice across channels. Coordination between creative, content, and commerce teams ensures that the statements support every step of the customer journey, from awareness to conversion, while remaining mindful of limited budgets and dry-season weather fluctuations that could affect seasonal campaigns.

Channel	Core statement mapped	Usage example	Cadence	Key metric
Website	We empower customers with simple, trusted solutions.	Homepage hero, about page, product pages	Monthly refresh	Conversion rate
Courriel	Education first: practical steps and tips.	Welcome series, how-to content, tips for using products	Mensuel	Open rate / click-through
Social	Accessible, friendly guidance for everyday decisions.	Tips, customer stories, quick demos	Weekly or biweekly	Engagement / shares
Packaging	Clear benefits and usage instructions.	Product insert copy, packaging panels	Monthly updates	Planned conversions from packaging prompts
In-store signage	Simple, actionable prompts for buying decisions.	Shelf tags, checkout prompts	Mensuel	In-store pickup / impulse buys

Implementation steps

Draft five core statements and map them to the five channels. Assign a single owner for coordination and set non-discretionary guardrails to prevent drift. Build a monthly calendar for asset reviews and updates. Create a compact education kit for participants with copy blocks, imagery rules, and tone guidance. Run small tests on two channels first, then expand to all five after evaluating results.

Monitoring and upkeep

Track conversion signals at each channel and refresh statements at a monthly cadence. Consult with product, design, and sales teams to keep content aligned with current offers, pricing, and seasonal clothing lines. Conduct quarterly reviews to adjust for weather and market changes, ensuring content remains relevant and easy to understand for all audiences. Maintain accessibility standards across formats, including digital and print, so everyone can engage with the messaging.