# The ten parts of a brand guide, and how to write each

> The ten parts most brand guides have, from positioning and logo to voice and using AI. Each page says what the part needs, with published examples and wording.

Most brand guides cover these ten parts. Each page says what the part needs and quotes how published guides write it, with a note on each quote. Each page also gives wording to copy.

1. [Positioning and messaging](https://aibrandguidelines.org/parts/positioning): Who the brand is for and what it says about itself. (2 excerpts)
2. [Logo](https://aibrandguidelines.org/parts/logo): Versions, clear space, minimum size and misuse. (8 excerpts)
3. [Color](https://aibrandguidelines.org/parts/colour): Exact values for screen and print, and how much of each color to use. (8 excerpts)
4. [Typography](https://aibrandguidelines.org/parts/typography): Fonts, weights and sizes, and where to get the files. (7 excerpts)
5. [Photography and imagery](https://aibrandguidelines.org/parts/imagery): What to show and what to avoid. (5 excerpts)
6. [Icons and illustration](https://aibrandguidelines.org/parts/illustration): Style rules and the source files. (3 excerpts)
7. [Voice and tone](https://aibrandguidelines.org/parts/voice): How the brand sounds, and how that changes by situation. (8 excerpts)
8. [Words and style](https://aibrandguidelines.org/parts/words): Spelling, product names, and words to use and avoid. (8 excerpts)
9. [Layout and templates](https://aibrandguidelines.org/parts/layout): Grids, spacing and the templates to start from. (2 excerpts)
10. [Using AI](https://aibrandguidelines.org/parts/ai): Which tools to use, what AI can make, and who checks the work. (8 excerpts)

## Which parts to write first

Start with the parts that people ask about most. For most teams, these are the logo, color, typography, and voice, because they are in almost every piece of work. Words and style comes next, when more than a few people write for the brand. Using AI is short, but write it early, because people already use AI tools.

## What every part needs

In every part, the same [six things](https://aibrandguidelines.org/start/good-rules) make the rules easy to follow. They are an exact value, a right and a wrong example, where the rule applies, the reason, the real file, and a date.

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Source: https://aibrandguidelines.org/parts
Last updated: 2026-11-11
Published by Annotated Guidelines. Annotated Guidelines is run by the team at Rainbrand.