Brand Guidelines

Brand Guidelines Skill

When to activate

• Creating brand guidelines for a new company or product
• Documenting your brand for new team members, contractors, or agencies
• Auditing brand consistency across channels
• Defining rules for AI-generated content to stay on-brand
• Updating brand guidelines after a rebrand

When NOT to use

• Visual design execution (logo creation, colour palettes) — needs a designer
• Brand strategy from scratch with no existing direction — needs discovery work first
• Legal trademark work — consult an IP lawyer

Instructions

Brand voice and tone

Define brand voice and tone for [company/product].

Company context:
- What we do: [describe]
- Who we serve: [target audience]
- Our personality: [3-5 adjectives — e.g. "direct, warm, expert, no-nonsense"]
- What we're NOT: [3-5 opposites — e.g. "not corporate, not jargon-heavy"]

Define:
1. Voice (consistent always): [3-4 core voice attributes with descriptions]
2. Tone (changes by context): how tone shifts for these scenarios:
   - Product announcements
   - Customer support / error messages
   - Marketing copy
   - Technical documentation
   - Social media
   - Crisis communication

Include: 2-3 before/after examples for each tone context.

Messaging hierarchy

Build the messaging hierarchy for [company/product].

Core information:
- What problem do we solve? [describe]
- Who is the primary customer? [ICP]
- How do we solve it differently than alternatives? [differentiation]
- What's the outcome customers get? [end benefit]

Messaging levels:
1. ONE-LINER: 8-12 words. Used in bios, ads, conversation. "We [verb] [outcome] for [who]."
2. ELEVATOR PITCH: 2-3 sentences. Used in intro calls, website hero, email intros.
3. PARAGRAPH: 5-6 sentences. Used in About pages, proposals, press kits.
4. FULL NARRATIVE: The longer brand story (when, why, who, and what's at stake).

Also define:
- Value proposition (what we offer)
- Mission (why we exist)
- Vision (world we're working toward)
- Tagline options (3 variants for testing)

Writing style rules

Define writing style rules for [company].

Create a practical style guide covering:

VOCABULARY
- Words we own (use consistently): [e.g. "build" not "create", "ship" not "launch"]
- Words we avoid: [jargon, buzzwords, overused phrases]
- Capitalisation rules: [product name caps, feature name caps]
- Numbers: [spell out under 10 / use numerals]

FORMATTING
- Sentence length: [short and punchy / longer and thoughtful]
- Paragraph length: [max X lines per paragraph]
- Oxford comma: [yes / no]
- Contractions: [use them / avoid in formal contexts]
- Em dashes / ellipses: [style preference]

CONTENT PRINCIPLES
- Active vs. passive voice: [always active / exceptions]
- How we talk about competitors: [rules]
- How we talk about customers: [do we use "users" or "customers" or "people"?]
- How we describe pricing: [rules]

Output: a 1-page quick reference card writers can use.

Brand do's and don'ts

Create a brand do's and don'ts list for [channel/use case].

Context: [social media / advertising / press releases / support / onboarding]

For each rule, include:
- The rule (clear, actionable)
- Why it matters (1 sentence)
- Example of doing it right
- Example of doing it wrong

Cover:
1. Tone and language (5 rules)
2. Visual identity (5 rules) — even if just describing intent
3. Claims and proof (3 rules) — what we can and can't say
4. Competitor mentions (2 rules)
5. Customer stories (2 rules — consent, accuracy)

AI content brand guidelines

Write brand guidelines for AI-generated content.

As we use Claude/ChatGPT to create content, what rules must be followed?

Define:
1. What AI CAN write without review: [e.g. social captions, email subject lines, first drafts]
2. What AI MUST NOT write without human review: [e.g. anything with claims, legal language, crisis comms]
3. How to check AI output for brand voice before publishing: [3-step checklist]
4. Red-flag phrases AI tends to use that don't match our brand: [list based on our voice]
5. How to prompt AI to write in our voice: [the system prompt or key instructions]

Example

User: Write brand voice guidelines for a developer tools startup. We want to be seen as expert peers, not marketers.

Claude's output:

Voice: Expert Peer

What we never say: leverage, synergy, game-changing, seamless, best-in-class, innovative, cutting-edge, world-class, excited to announce, thrilled to share.

Tone shifts by context:

• Documentation: clinical, precise, no personality — just clarity
• Twitter/X: shorter, spikier, opinions welcome
• Error messages: empathetic + specific (tell them exactly what broke and how to fix it)
• Marketing: peer + proof (show data, not adjectives)