Stage 2: Brand and Guidelines

Stage 2: Building your brand and guidelines

Once your company identity is in place, the next step is translating that thinking into how your brand looks, feels, and behaves. This is where your business begins to show up consistently across every touchpoint, online, in print, across social channels, and in the hands of anyone representing your brand.

At Brandentity, Stage 2 is about turning the clarity from Stage 1 into a usable, scalable visual identity. One that not only looks good, but works hard for your business and can be confidently shared with collaborators, designers, marketers, and internal teams as you grow.

Why branding and guidelines matter

First impressions matter. Long before someone reads about your services or gets in touch, they experience your brand visually. If what they see does not align with your values, positioning, or message, it creates friction and uncertainty.

This stage brings consistency and confidence. It helps your business look credible, feel intentional, and offer a clearer experience to your audience. A well-crafted brand builds trust, recognition, and familiarity, especially as your business becomes more visible.

Strong brand guidelines also bring cohesion to areas that are often overlooked. From email footers and automated workflows to newsletters, lead magnets, internal documents, and printed materials. Your guidelines provide a clear framework so your brand shows up consistently across the board.

Who this stage is for

This stage is designed for businesses that are ready to move beyond scattered visuals and guesswork. It suits growing companies, independents, and rebrands who want to turn strategic thinking into a brand they can actually use.

If we have already worked together in Stage 1, this process becomes far more efficient. We already understand your values, audience, and positioning, allowing us to focus on translating that clarity into a strong, cohesive visual system.

If you are tired of mismatched design, inconsistent content, or reinventing the wheel every time you create a post, document, or web page, this stage provides the structure to move forward with confidence.

How we work

We begin with a detailed visual and brand-focused Q&A that builds on your company identity. This captures how you want your brand to feel, how it should show up, and how it needs to function in the real world.

Using this foundation, we develop a complete visual identity and brand guidelines document. These guidelines are not just about aesthetics. They are a practical tool for clarity, consistency, and delegation, allowing others to work with your brand without diluting it.

Here is what this stage includes:

Visual identity designWe explore colour palettes, typography combinations, logo usage, layout rules, and image direction. Every decision is made with intention, ensuring your visuals support your message and positioning.

Mockups and real-world examplesYou will see how your brand works across key materials such as social posts, website elements, and marketing content. Rather than designing endless templates, we focus on giving you a strong, flexible foundation that can be applied consistently.

Brand guidelines handoverYou will receive a clear, easy-to-use Brand Guidelines document. This can be shared internally or externally and becomes the reference point for anyone creating content, designing assets, or representing your business.

This ensures your brand not only sounds consistent, but looks consistent too. Future designers, social media managers, or marketing support can step in and work efficiently from day one.

Example in practice

When CoWorking Devon went through a rebrand, this stage played a key role in bringing clarity and cohesion to a growing business.

We refined typography combinations, colour choices, photography direction, and layout consistency, ensuring the visual identity reflected the energy, community, and professionalism of the space. From there, the brand was applied across social content, marketing materials, and signage, with each element tested and refined in context.

The outcome was a practical, polished brand kit that now guides everything from Instagram stories to printed materials, making the brand easy to maintain and scale.

The outcome

By the end of this stage, your brand visuals are ready to be put to work. You will have a cohesive visual identity that can be confidently applied to a new website, email automations, online booking pages, lead magnets, or future marketing activity.

With clear guidelines in place, your business is prepared to move into Stage 3, building a structured digital presence that aligns visually, strategically, and commercially with the foundations already set. Not done your Company Identity Stage One yet? See here.

Ready to continue the journey?

If you are ready to bring your brand to life visually and create consistency across everything you do, we would love to explore whether Stage 2 is the right next step.

Head to our Contact page and get in touch to start the conversation.