Design System/Style Guide Creation
Developing a Comprehensive Style Guide for Branding Alignment
This prompt helps teams develop a style guide that ensures all design and communication assets align with the brand identity. It focuses on visual consistency, tone of voice, and guidelines for both digital and print media.
Responsible:
Product Design
Accountable, Informed or Consulted:
Design, Marketing, Product
THE PREP
Creating effective prompts involves tailoring them with detailed, relevant information and uploading documents that provide the best context. Prompts act as a framework to guide the response, but specificity and customization ensure the most accurate and helpful results. Use these prep tips to get the most out of this prompt:
Gather existing branding assets, such as logos, color palettes, and fonts.
Define the core values and mission of the brand.
Identify the primary platforms and mediums the style guide will cover (e.g., web, mobile, print).
THE PROMPT
Help create a comprehensive style guide for [specific product, organization, or brand]. Ensure alignment with branding by focusing on:
Logo Usage: Defining rules for logo placement, minimum sizes, and safe zones across digital and print mediums.
Typography Standards: Establishing font usage for headings, body text, and callouts, including pairing rules.
Color Guidelines: Documenting primary, secondary, and accent colors, along with acceptable variations and contrast requirements.
Imagery and Icons: Providing examples and guidelines for photo usage, icon styles, and illustration themes.
Tone of Voice: Setting guidelines for written content, such as tone, vocabulary, and messaging consistency.
Provide detailed recommendations for organizing and documenting the style guide, ensuring it is easy to access and update. If additional details about the brand’s mission, target audience, or mediums are needed, ask clarifying questions to tailor the suggestions.
Bonus Add-On Prompts
Propose strategies for ensuring the style guide remains up-to-date as the brand evolves.
Suggest ways to integrate tone of voice guidelines with visual design standards in the style guide.
Highlight best practices for distributing the style guide to internal and external stakeholders.
Use AI responsibly by verifying its outputs, as it may occasionally generate inaccurate or incomplete information. Treat AI as a tool to support your decision-making, ensuring human oversight and professional judgment for critical or sensitive use cases.
SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE
Tailor the style guide for specific audiences, such as developers, marketers, or designers.
Include accessibility considerations, such as color contrast and readability requirements.
Focus on industry-specific needs, such as compliance standards for financial or healthcare brands.
Propose digital platforms for hosting and sharing the style guide, such as Frontify or Notion.
Add modular sections for future brand extensions, such as sub-brands or campaigns.
WHEN TO USE
During the development of a new brand or product identity.
To align visual and verbal communication across all platforms and media.
When consolidating existing design and branding assets into a cohesive document.
WHEN NOT TO USE
If the project requires ad hoc designs without consistent branding.
When focusing solely on functional design elements without brand alignment.