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The debate between brand guidelines and the brand bible has been a trending discussion point for years in the brand design community. Let's clarify it today, they both are not the same. Let's discuss this in detail here.
The basics: definition and core purposes
Brand guidelines: Brand guidelines work as a rulebook and generally are more brief and focused on the functional application of your brand elements. For example, if your brand were a recipe, guidelines would be the list of ingredients and some cooking instructions.
Brand bible: On the other hand, a brand bible is the entire cookbook. It's a very detailed document that includes guidelines, brand story, values, personality, messaging, and strategic positioning. It's the master document for everything related to your brand.
Scope and depth of both
Brand guidelines:
- Usually are shorter, about 20 to 30 pages
- It mainly focuses on visual elements like logo design, color palette, and typography.
- It includes all the basic rules and examples of logo, color, and typography usage.
Brand bible:
- It is a more extensive document of 50+ pages.
- It covers all aspects of the brand and visual elements in detail, including story, mission, values, personality, and tonality.
- It provides in-depth guidance on messaging and brand voice.
- It also covers in-depth examples of application use on mobile apps, favicon, short logo, etc.
Usage and implementation
Brand guidelines:
- It is used primarily by designers and the marketing department.
- It is ideal for quick reference on regular tasks like social media posts.
- It is perfect if you work mainly with freelancers or agencies like zazzy on particular projects.
- It is often referred to and distributed as a brand guidelines PDF for quick sharing.
Brand bible:
- It is a reference point for any detailed discussion about the brand, generally used across the company from C-suite to new joiners.
- It is essential for strategic decision-making and brand development.
- It is a crucial and necessary document to maintain brand consistency across all touchpoints, including online, offline, and print media.
- It is often referred to and distributed as a brand book PDF for sharing across all departments.
When to use brand guidelines?
You will need to use brand guidelines PDF when:
- You need a quick reference point for visual elements.
- You work with external partners, freelancers, or agencies on a particular project.
When to use brand bible?
You will need to use the brand bible PDF when:
- You are developing a comprehensive brand positioning strategy and brand development roadmap.
- When onboarding new employees or starting a new department in your company.
- You are undergoing a major rebranding.
- You are expanding into new markets or product lineups.
We believe there should be two documents. Brand guidelines as a subset for a quick reference and brand bible for long-term strategy building for your brand. Both documents play an important role in maintaining consistency for all your customer touchpoints.
If you are building a new brand, we recommend starting with building brand guidelines and slowly, when the time is right, investing more time and energy into building a detailed brand book/ brand bible.
If you want to learn more about the brand bible and other important aspects of it, read our complete guide on creating an influential brand bible here.
