Applying Brand Guidelines

Corporate Brand Guidelines Skill

This skill ensures all generated documents adhere to corporate brand standards for consistent, professional communication.

Brand Identity

Company: Acme Corporation

Tagline: "Innovation Through Excellence" Industry: Technology Solutions

Visual Standards

Color Palette

Primary Colors:

• Acme Blue: #0066CC (RGB: 0, 102, 204) - Headers, primary buttons
• Acme Navy: #003366 (RGB: 0, 51, 102) - Text, accents
• White: #FFFFFF - Backgrounds, reverse text

Secondary Colors:

• Success Green: #28A745 (RGB: 40, 167, 69) - Positive metrics
• Warning Amber: #FFC107 (RGB: 255, 193, 7) - Cautions
• Error Red: #DC3545 (RGB: 220, 53, 69) - Negative values
• Neutral Gray: #6C757D (RGB: 108, 117, 125) - Secondary text

Typography

Primary Font Family: Segoe UI, system-ui, -apple-system, sans-serif

Font Hierarchy:

• H1: 32pt, Bold, Acme Blue
• H2: 24pt, Semibold, Acme Navy
• H3: 18pt, Semibold, Acme Navy
• Body: 11pt, Regular, Acme Navy
• Caption: 9pt, Regular, Neutral Gray

Logo Usage

• Position: Top-left corner on first page/slide
• Size: 120px width (maintain aspect ratio)
• Clear space: Minimum 20px padding on all sides
• Never distort, rotate, or apply effects

Document Standards

PowerPoint Presentations

Slide Templates:

1. Title Slide: Company logo, presentation title, date, presenter
2. Section Divider: Section title with blue background
3. Content Slide: Title bar with blue background, white content area
4. Data Slide: For charts/graphs, maintain color palette

Layout Rules:

• Margins: 0.5 inches all sides
• Title position: Top 15% of slide
• Bullet indentation: 0.25 inches per level
• Maximum 6 bullet points per slide
• Charts use brand colors exclusively

Excel Spreadsheets

Formatting Standards:

• Headers: Row 1, Bold, White text on Acme Blue background
• Subheaders: Bold, Acme Navy text
• Data cells: Regular, Acme Navy text
• Borders: Thin, Neutral Gray
• Alternating rows: Light gray (#F8F9FA) for readability

Chart Defaults:

• Primary series: Acme Blue
• Secondary series: Success Green
• Gridlines: Neutral Gray, 0.5pt
• No 3D effects or gradients

PDF Documents

Page Layout:

• Header: Company logo left, document title center, page number right
• Footer: Copyright notice left, date center, classification right
• Margins: 1 inch all sides
• Line spacing: 1.15
• Paragraph spacing: 12pt after

Section Formatting:

• Main headings: Acme Blue, 16pt, bold
• Subheadings: Acme Navy, 14pt, semibold
• Body text: Acme Navy, 11pt, regular

Content Guidelines

Tone of Voice

• Professional: Formal but approachable
• Clear: Avoid jargon, use simple language
• Active: Use active voice, action-oriented
• Positive: Focus on solutions and benefits

Standard Phrases

Opening Statements:

• "At Acme Corporation, we..."
• "Our commitment to innovation..."
• "Delivering excellence through..."

Closing Statements:

• "Thank you for your continued partnership."
• "We look forward to serving your needs."
• "Together, we achieve excellence."

Data Presentation

Numbers:

• Use comma separators for thousands
• Currency: $X,XXX.XX format
• Percentages: XX.X% (one decimal)
• Dates: Month DD, YYYY

Tables:

• Headers in brand blue
• Alternating row colors
• Right-align numbers
• Left-align text

Quality Standards

Before Finalizing

Always ensure:

1. Logo is properly placed and sized
2. All colors match brand palette exactly
3. Fonts are consistent throughout
4. No typos or grammatical errors
5. Data is accurately presented
6. Professional tone maintained

Prohibited Elements

Never use:

• Clip art or stock photos without approval
• Comic Sans, Papyrus, or decorative fonts
• Rainbow colors or gradients
• Animations or transitions (unless specified)
• Competitor branding or references

Application Instructions

When creating any document:

1. Start with brand colors and fonts
2. Apply appropriate template structure
3. Include logo on first page/slide
4. Use consistent formatting throughout
5. Review against brand standards
6. Ensure professional appearance

Scripts

• apply_brand.py: Automatically applies brand formatting to documents
• validate_brand.py: Checks documents for brand compliance

Notes

• These guidelines apply to all external communications
• Internal documents may use simplified formatting
• Special projects may have exceptions (request approval)
• Brand guidelines updated quarterly - check for latest version

Source: anthropics/claude-cookbooks → skills/custom_skills/applying-brand-guidelines/SKILL.md