There is nothing more frustrating as a designer than to pour your creative genius into a company only to watch their website, brochures, ads...in short their brand... deteriorate years later into a poorly designed wasteland of ineffective creative. Unfortunately this is all to common. No matter how great a marketing firm or designer's relationship with their clients, occasionally these relationships come to an end. Companies slim their budgets, staffs change, new graphic designers come and go and before you know it your client's brand looks nothing like the well polished image you presented them with years ago. One way to prevent this is establishing a brand guide.

Brand guides include rules and policies for all marketing materials

- which fonts are permitted

- how a company's logo may or not be used

- what types of photos or illustrations are allowed

- which color palettes are acceptable to use

Establishing a brand guide is similar to buying an insurance policy; it's a minimal expense that doesn't seem to give you any immediate value, but in the future can makes all the difference in the world in ensuring a strong corporate image.