How can you create a style guide for visual storytelling?

1 Assess your brand

The first step to create a style guide for visual storytelling is to assess your brand and identify its core elements, such as your mission, vision, values, personality, and voice. These elements will guide your visual content and help you convey your unique story and identity to your audience. You can use tools like brand archetypes, brand personas, or brand voice charts to help you define your brand attributes and characteristics.

2 Choose your colors

The next step is to choose your colors for your visual content. Colors have a powerful impact on emotions, perceptions, and actions, so you need to choose them carefully and strategically. You should select colors that match your brand personality, convey your message, and appeal to your target audience. You should also consider the cultural and psychological meanings of colors, and how they vary across different contexts and devices. You can use tools like color wheels, color palettes, or color schemes to help you choose and combine colors harmoniously.

3 Select your fonts

The third step is to select your fonts for your visual content. Fonts are another important element of visual storytelling, as they affect the readability, clarity, and mood of your text. You should choose fonts that are legible, appropriate, and consistent with your brand personality and voice. You should also consider the size, weight, spacing, and alignment of your fonts, and how they work with your colors and images. You can use tools like font families, font pairings, or font generators to help you choose and mix fonts effectively.

4 Define your layouts

The fourth step is to define your layouts for your visual content. Layouts are the way you arrange and organize your visual elements on a page or a screen, such as images, text, icons, logos, and buttons. Layouts affect the visual hierarchy, balance, and flow of your content, and how your audience interacts with it. You should design layouts that are clear, simple, and attractive, and that follow the principles of contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity. You can use tools like grids, templates, or wireframes to help you create and test layouts efficiently.

5 Set your formats

The fifth step is to set your formats for your visual content. Formats are the technical specifications and requirements of your visual content, such as dimensions, resolutions, file types, compression, and optimization. Formats affect the quality, performance, and compatibility of your visual content, and how it displays on different devices and platforms. You should choose formats that are suitable, flexible, and accessible, and that follow the best practices and standards of your industry and audience. You can use tools like format converters, compressors, or validators to help you adjust and optimize formats easily.

6 Establish your tone and voice

The final step is to establish your tone and voice for your visual content. Tone and voice are the way you express your personality, attitude, and emotions through your visual content, such as images, videos, graphics, and captions. Tone and voice affect the connection, engagement, and trust that you build with your audience, and how they perceive and respond to your brand. You should use tone and voice that are consistent, authentic, and relevant, and that match your brand identity and goals. You can use tools like tone guides, voice charts, or tone analyzers to help you define and measure tone and voice accurately.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?