Getting your ducks in a row.

Great brands are built over time. But wherever you are in business, there are a few simple rules that you can apply in order to keep your brand consistent.

Here are our top-five favourite tips:

1. Look.
Stick to one visual style for logos, colours and imagery. Everything needs to look like it belongs together.

2. Talk.
Make your terminology and phrasing the same in every place a customer comes into contact with your business. Stop using multiple strap-lines. Your customers will thank you.

3. Repeat.
Keep repeating the same messaging. It might seem like a broken record, but it will help customers remember you.

4. Construct.
Keep track of your logo, messaging, colours and other brand exempts in a document. The set of rules for your brand; a style guide. Share it with all the relevant people. Without a style guide, designs can alter and morph as they get worked on over time. This can leave a brand looking confused and in competition with itself, as the hierarchy of designed elements can become distorted. So, yeah, style guides rule!

5. Review.
Keep referring to your style guide to make sure that things are on track. Ask yourself, is everything aligned? Is there anything that needs to change to make things feel and look more unified.

And remember, don't be too hard on yourself. Progress is better that perfection, right? :)