A style guide is an outline of the elements you use to make your child care center’s brand cohesive, consistent and recognizable. As your business grows, there will be multiple people working on the materials you share with the public, including your website, flyers, business cards and social media posts. Simple brand guidelines in the form of a style guide make it easy to create marketing materials that reflect your center’s image and personality.
Why Do You Need a Style Guide?
A style guide includes all the details designers, writers and daycare staff need to produce a consistent identity for your center across all of your locations and marketing materials. Creating a style guide doesn’t need to be complicated and the final product doesn’t need to be anything fancy; you’re just getting everyone on the same page.
Both digital and traditional communication benefit from simple brand guidelines. Your website, social media, emails and printed materials should all look similar and use the same tone of voice. When you have a consistent, recognizable brand, you stand out among your competitors as more memorable.
Elements of a Style Guide
No matter how straightforward or complex your brand guidelines are, there are a few must-have elements. Outline your general style. Most likely, your center is casual, fun, energetic, positive and trustworthy. Make sure this attitude is part of all your daycare’s materials by including it at the beginning of your style guide.
If you have a mission or vision statement, include it here as well. It serves as a good reminder of the overall vision of your center.
Next, let designers know what visual elements help define your center’s brand. Your logo, fonts, colors and any specific style of photo you use go here. You may also want to include a summary of where photos of past and present students can be used. Writers, who create your social media, email and blog posts, will also need to know how to represent your daycare. Include examples of your preferred tone of voice and any unique grammar rules they should follow.
