Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

As said - consistency is the key benefit.

Style Guides can be anything from simple to complex. Most companies have a guideline for the style of their logo (fonts, colors, placement, etc.) at a minimum. Some have books that talk about what fonts should be used for anything from PowerPoint presentations on.

The goal of this is to always promote the company in the same way. Every time a customer sees information from the company, they want it to feel the same no matter what part of the company it came from. If you go to India and buy a bottle of Coca Cola, it will look the same as the bottle you buy in Mexico.

An important reason for consistency is to protect your brand and identity from infringement by others-- especially if you decide to trademark your name and/or logo.

As a side note: you do not necessarily need to spend a lot to create a fancy style guide, but you absolutely do need to get the specifications and guidelines documented in writing.