Brand Guidelines Examples:
Logo, Color, and Voice

Brand guidelines document how a brand looks and sounds, including logo use, colors, fonts, and writing, according to Shopify’s definition. The five public examples below show specific rules for logo placement, typography, color, voice, and asset access.

Five brand guidelines examples at a glance#

These references range from full brand systems to specialist chapters and a media kit. The table identifies the material available in each, followed by a closer look at its rules.

Atlassian: measurable logo spacing and approved variants#

For the company logo, Atlassian measures minimum clearance using the capital A in its wordmark; the surrounding clear space stays free of text, graphics, and other elements.

The page documents three approved logo color options and prohibited treatments: the color options are brand, inverse, and neutral; prohibited treatments include unapproved color combinations, drop shadows, outlines, and placement over complex backgrounds.

For attribution logos that connect an app or property to Atlassian when that relationship is unclear, the guide prohibits composing new versions or taking the official assets apart.

The pattern to borrow is the structure of the instruction: identify the approved variant, define spacing with a visual reference, and show prohibited treatments. Establish measurements for the actual logo being documented.

Mailchimp: voice, tone, and the limits of humor#

Mailchimp distinguishes a relatively stable voice from tone that changes with context and the reader’s emotional state. Its voice and tone rules combine clear explanations, empathy, and dry humor, while putting clarity ahead of entertainment and warning against forced jokes.

The page turns those characteristics into specific writing instructions: use active voice, write in plain English, avoid slang and jargon, and use positive language.

A distinctive boundary concerns the mascot: Freddie does not talk, and writers must not write in his voice.

The useful pattern is to connect personality with observable writing choices. A voice section can record vocabulary, sentence style, tone adjustments, humor limits, and any restrictions on speaking through a mascot or character.

Dropbox: a logo system that shapes composition#

Dropbox’s logo guidance distinguishes two expressions: the full logo combines the glyph and wordmark; the Tab places the glyph within a plane and is usually accompanied by the wordmark elsewhere in the composition. The guide assigns the full logo to high-level branding applications, including partnerships and video.

The distinction extends to layout: compositions using the Tab originate from it, making it an organizing element of the page.

Dropbox developed DB Sharp Grotesk with Sharp Type, based on Sharp Grotesk. Its headline typography guidance describes variable type and adjusting weight for optical alignment on light and dark backgrounds.

The pattern to study is the relationship between assets and their behavior. A typography section can document weight and layout treatment alongside the font name; a logo section can explain where each approved expression belongs in the composition.

GOV.UK: color and expression across channels#

GOV.UK’s brand guidelines use an inform-to-inspire scale to adapt tone, visuals, and motion: web sits toward the informative end, the app can move toward inspiration, and social spans the scale. The guidance on expression also calls for a muted, reserved style on sensitive topics and allows brighter, bolder expression for positive content.

Its color palette has four tiers: primary colors, tints, shades, and accents, with blue anchoring the identity. The palette guidance assigns different roles: tints support backgrounds and highlights; shades provide depth and contrast; accents are used sparingly to emphasize content or signal actions and statuses.

The same page requires accessible combinations and communication that does not rely on color alone, while leaving responsibility for checking combinations with those using the palette.

The useful pattern is to define color roles and permitted variation. Document the default expression, the channels or topics that change it, and the combinations approved for text and backgrounds.

Slack: downloadable assets and a public access limitation#

Slack’s media kit links logo files and high-resolution product screenshots for desktop, mobile, and tablet, plus a brand center described as covering logos, color, typography, writing, illustration, and other elements.

At the time of review, the public Slack brand-center homepage displays an under-construction notice and directs visitors back to the media kit.

The kit also supplies a contact route for proposed uses of Slack’s marks that fall outside the guidelines.

For an asset section, borrow the arrangement: label the available resources, link the approved downloads, and provide a contact for questions about use. Check the live resource before relying on a linked chapter.

What to include in a brand guide#

The following is a suggested structure drawn from these examples. It brings their different areas of coverage into one document or linked set of pages.

For digital text, WCAG 2.2’s Level AA contrast criterion requires at least 4.5:1 for ordinary text and 3:1 for large text, subject to its stated exceptions. The logotype exception covers text that forms part of a logo or brand name; ordinary text does not become exempt because its colors come from brand guidelines. Record checked text-and-background pairs alongside palette values.

To review a draft guide, check whether the correct logo file is linked, its spacing rule is measurable, text colors have approved pairings, and voice descriptions lead to specific edits. Add approved application examples beside those instructions.