Last updated November 2026
A logo is often the first piece of branding a Whanganui business pays for, and for a while it is enough. Then the business grows. A second staff member starts making social posts, the signwriter asks for the exact colour, a printer wants a high-resolution file, and the new website needs fonts. Without a reference, every one of those people makes their own guess, and the brand slowly drifts. Brand guidelines are the fix. They are a short document that records how your brand should look and sound, so anyone producing material for you gets it right the first time.
★View the Best Graphic Design in Whanganui→What Brand Guidelines Are
Brand guidelines, sometimes called a brand style guide or brand standards, set out the rules for using your visual identity. For a large organisation they can run to dozens of pages. For a small business they might be six to ten pages, or a single well-organised PDF. The length matters far less than whether the people who use it can find what they need quickly.
They are written for a practical audience: your staff, your web designer, the local printer, a signwriter, a sponsor putting your logo on a team shirt, or a journalist using your logo in a story.
What to Include
Logo versions
- What it covers
- The main logo, stacked and horizontal versions, a simplified icon, and single-colour versions for dark and light backgrounds
- Who uses it most
- Everyone
Logo rules
- What it covers
- Clear space around the logo, the smallest size it can be used at, and what not to do, such as stretching or recolouring it
- Who uses it most
- Printers, signwriters, sponsors
Colours
- What it covers
- Each brand colour with its print values (CMYK and Pantone where used) and screen values (RGB and hex)
- Who uses it most
- Printers, web designers
Typography
- What it covers
- The fonts for headings and body text, and what to use when those fonts are not available
- Who uses it most
- Staff, web designers
Imagery
- What it covers
- The style of photography or illustration that fits the brand
- Who uses it most
- Marketing, social media
Voice
- What it covers
- How the business sounds in writing, with a few examples
- Who uses it most
- Anyone writing copy or posts
Examples
- What it covers
- The brand applied to real items: a business card, a social post, a vehicle, a sign
- Who uses it most
- Everyone
Alongside the document you need the files themselves, supplied in formats people actually ask for. That usually means vector files (AI, EPS, SVG or PDF) for print and signage, and PNG files with transparent backgrounds for screens.
Does a Small Business Really Need Them?
If you are the only person who ever touches your branding, a short page listing your colours and fonts may be all you need. Guidelines start to pay for themselves when other people get involved. Some common signs it is time:
- Staff are making social media graphics and each one looks slightly different
- Your logo appears in a different shade of blue on your van, your sign and your website
- Printers or sponsors keep asking you for “a better version of the logo”
- You are about to commission a new website, signage or vehicle signwriting
- You are opening a second location or taking on more staff
In a city the size of Whanganui, people see the same businesses again and again, on Victoria Avenue, at the Saturday market, on sports club banners and in the local paper. Consistency is what makes all of those sightings add up to one recognisable business instead of several slightly different ones.
Brand Guidelines and a Rebrand
Guidelines are usually produced alongside a new logo or a brand refresh, because that is when the decisions are being made anyway. If your business has an older logo that still works, you do not have to start again. A designer can tidy the existing logo into proper file versions, document the colours and fonts you already use, and produce guidelines around it. That is often a cost-effective first step for an established business.
If you are considering a full rebrand, it is worth checking that a new name or logo does not clash with an existing trade mark. The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand has a free search tool and guidance on registering a trade mark.
Making Them Easy to Use
The best brand guidelines are the ones people open. A few habits help:
- Keep the guidelines and logo files together in one shared folder, and send the link rather than individual attachments
- Put the most-requested details, colour codes and logo files, on the first pages
- Name files clearly, for example “logo-horizontal-white.png”, so people pick the right one
- Update the guide when something changes, rather than letting a new version live only in someone’s inbox
Where Inferno Design and Digital Fits
Inferno Design and Digital is a Whanganui design studio at 68 Guyton Street, founded by graphic designer Jeff Croot. Its branding and logo design services list brand development, logo design, brand identity and guidelines, brand refreshes and social media artwork, with branding packages that range from core logo development to a full collateral suite. The studio’s branding work includes projects for local organisations such as Tupoho Trust and Restorative City Whanganui, and it also designs print and builds websites in Webflow, so guidelines can be applied across signage, printed material and a website by the same team.
