How to develop a digital style guide

Discovering a unique voice and then staying on-brand takes thought and direction. The results are lasting. Think of how easily recognisable Apple’s icons, text, and images are on your phone. They are the same across every device and their website.

 

That sense of style and individuality means putting together a digital guide. From prescribing how to write to formatting photos, a digital style guide is a go-to for anyone posting online.

 

 

What is a digital style guide?

 

The digital style guide is a reference for how to write, sound, and appear coherent across all media outlets. Bynder offers a working definition: “A brand style guide is a digital rulebook that specifies every aspect of the look and feel of your brand.”

 

There are other benefits, too. A style guide informs developers, writers, and media consultants on how to provide uniformity. Adherence to a style guide means anyone can create content that integrates seamlessly into existing material.

 

 

Top tips for style and consistency

 

Developing a digital style guide goes hand-in-hand with branding. Brand guidelines are your obvious starting point. Remember that your font, graphics, colour palette, logo, and sizing all have important characteristics to consider. Below we take a look at the ways your organisation can keep digital style consistent, particularly exploring the elements of branding.

 

 

Colour

 

A colour palette is a set of bespoke complimentary colours used across all platforms. For ‘house’ designs, the palette is commonly comprised of six colours with several dominant ones and the remaining are accents. Web designers determine how and when to use them. Rules are typically made – as an example, borders may only be dark colours and no accents.

 

Top tip: Define in detail how you’ll use each colour of your branding colours.

 

 

Images

 

Graphics and illustrations are of the utmost importance. Shopify highlights why: “A consistent look makes your ecommerce operation look trustworthy and boosts customer loyalty, which in turn maximises consumer engagement and lifetime value.” Directives for images are customised for each ‘look’. Sample rules for an environmental charity could include something like, ‘Image backgrounds must include natural greenery or ocean settings’ to bring out the charity’s theme and to reaffirm the mission statement.

 

Top tip: Include editing software techniques to get the right look.

 

 

Jargon

 

For written and narrative content, the voice and tone govern how each charity ‘sounds’ online. Writing for Charity Digital, Elaine Taylor says: “You should avoid jargon and overly complex language. Remember, a tone of voice sets the basis for the types of conversations you want to have with your audience and donors.”

 

Top tip: Don’t forget to include SEO keywords in your style guide.

 

 

Personality

 

Linked with the use of jargon, determine the tone of voice in the style guide. Start by defining personality characteristics similar to your target. Then, build adjectives around this persona. This will inform how you ‘speak’ to audiences.

 

Top tip: Tailor the language and voice as part of the audience segmentation process.

 

 

Formatting

 

Detail the font, and when italics, bold, and other emphases are used. LinkedIn offers organisations a neat rule: “Use Font A for all headlines and subheadings on the website. Use Font B for all body text and captions. Use Font C for all logos and quotes.” Remember to include use cases for capitalisation, quotes, numbers, and other common syntax.

 

Top tip: Informal outlets should also follow formatting rules.

 

 

Video

 

Video style elements to consider include logo placement, interviewing style, closed-captioning and accessibility. There’s also the consideration of how and when to use video as part of digital content.

 

Top tip: Remember to be consistent. If the video has fonts abide by those rules too.  

 

 

Restricted list

 

There is rationale for including don’ts in your style guide. Prohibited digital styles could include typography, images, words, or anything that is related to a competitor charity or those that are simply too similar. There could also be words related to the industry not to use – taboo terms or language that’s too technical.

 

Top tip: Create a list of dos and don’ts.

 

 

Ownership

 

With most policies and guides, set out ownership and processes around updates. Define when and how to store and reuse content. For larger organisations, you might want to set up access rights.

 

Top tip: Designate an authority to turn to if there are questions.