What Is a Brand Style Guide and Do You Actually Need One?
A brand style guide is a document that defines exactly how your brand looks and sounds – and yes, most businesses need one sooner than they think.
Whether you are a sole trader just starting out or a small business with a growing team, a brand style guide stops your marketing from looking inconsistent, unprofessional, and forgettable.
The good news is you don’t need to create one yourself.
Fiverr has experienced brand designers who can put together a professional style guide for a fraction of what a design agency would charge.
What Does a Brand Style Guide Actually Include?
A brand style guide – sometimes called brand guidelines or a brand bible – typically covers:
Logo usage
How your logo should and should not be used. Which versions exist (full colour, white, black), minimum sizes, clear space rules, and what never to do with it (stretch it, change the colours, put it on a clashing background).
Colour palette
Your primary and secondary brand colours with their exact hex codes, RGB values, and CMYK values for print. This means anyone designing anything for your brand uses exactly the right colours every single time.
Typography
Which fonts represent your brand, how they are used, and the hierarchy – which font for headings, which for body text, which for captions.
Brand voice
This is how your brand communicates in writing. Formal or casual? Does it use humour? What words and phrases does it avoid? This section is often overlooked but makes a huge difference to consistency across social media, email, and website copy.
Imagery style
What kind of photography or illustrations fit your brand. Dark and moody or bright and airy? People-focused or product-focused? Abstract or literal?
Icon and graphic style
Any secondary visual elements that form part of your brand identity.
Do You Actually Need One?
Here is a simple way to decide:
You probably need a brand style guide if:
- You have (or plan to have) anyone else creating content for your brand – a VA, a social media manager, a Fiverr designer
- You are running paid social media ads and want them to look consistent
- You have a website, social media profiles, and printed materials and they all look slightly different
- You are preparing to pitch to investors, retailers, or stockists
- Your brand has grown beyond just you and you want it to look bigger and more established
You can probably wait if:
- You are in the very early testing phase of a business and haven’t committed to a brand identity yet
- You are the only person ever creating content for your brand and you have a good visual memory
- Your business pivots frequently and your brand identity hasn’t settled yet
For most UK side hustlers and small business owners who are past the initial testing phase, a brand style guide is worth having. The cost of not having one is visible every time your Instagram grid looks different to your website which looks different to your business cards.
How Much Does a Brand Style Guide Cost on Fiverr?
Here’s what you can realistically expect to pay:
- Basic brand style guide (logo, colours, fonts) – £30 to £80
- Mid-level guide (full visual identity plus brand voice) – £80 to £200
- Comprehensive brand guidelines document – £150 to £400
If you are also getting your logo designed at the same time, many Fiverr sellers offer logo plus brand guidelines as a package – often better value than buying separately.
What to Look for in a Fiverr Brand Designer
Check the deliverable format
A good brand style guide should be delivered as a PDF you can share with anyone working on your brand. Some sellers deliver as Canva files, which is also useful as it lets you edit it yourself later.
Look for examples of previous guides
Ask the seller to share a sample brand guidelines document. It should look professional, be clearly laid out, and cover all the key elements above.
Check they ask good questions
A brand designer who doesn’t ask about your business, your audience, and your competitors before starting is a red flag. Brand guidelines need context to be useful.
Consider a bundle
If you don’t have a logo yet, look for sellers who offer logo design plus brand guidelines together. Getting both done by the same designer ensures everything is coherent from the start.
A Real Example of Why It Matters
Imagine you hire a Fiverr designer to create social media graphics, a different one to design a flyer, and a third to update your website banner.
Without a brand style guide each designer makes their own decisions about colours, fonts, and visual style.
The result is a brand that looks like it was designed by three different people – because it was.
With a brand style guide you simply send the PDF to every designer you hire. They follow it. Everything looks like it comes from the same brand. That consistency builds trust and recognition over time.
UK Business Tip
A brand style guide created by a Fiverr designer is a fully allowable business expense for UK sole traders and limited companies. Log it as a marketing or design expense and keep the Fiverr receipt.
At the basic rate of tax a £100 brand guidelines gig effectively costs you £80.
Ready to Get Your Brand Style Guide Made?
Browse Fiverr’s brand style guide gigs, check portfolios carefully, and look for designers who ask thoughtful questions before starting.
A one-off investment in brand consistency pays back every time someone looks at your business and thinks it looks professional.
Browse Brand Style Guide Designers on Fiverr
