Brand Style Guide

OrganizationPopular

rampstackco

brand-style-guide

Build or audit a comprehensive brand style guide that documents the full brand system including story, logo system, color, typography, imagery, voice, applications, and dos/don'ts. Use this skill whenever the user wants to create brand guidelines, document an existing brand, build a brand book, audit an existing style guide for completeness, or produce the artifact that other teams will reference for years. Triggers on style guide, brand guidelines, brand book, brand standards, brand manual, style sheet, brand documentation, brand reference. Also triggers when the brand identity is finished and needs to be documented for handoff to designers, developers, vendors, or future team members.

Overview

Publisher	rampstackco
Repository	`claude-skills`
Skill name	`brand-style-guide`
Stars	1K
Forks	134
Bundled files	2
License	MIT
Links	Skill source Repository Homepage

Markdown instructions
A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.
Works with any LLM
AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.
2 bundled files
Scripts, templates, and references the model can read while it works. Files are read-only and never executed.
Open source
Published by rampstackco on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Brand Style Guide AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
Choose "Install from GitHub".
Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
https://github.com/rampstackco/claude-skills/tree/main/skills/brand-style-guide
Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.

Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rampstackco/claude-skills.git /tmp/claude-skills
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/claude-skills/skills/brand-style-guide .claude/skills/brand-style-guide

Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Brand Style Guide in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Brand Style Guide on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Brand Style Guide is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

Loaded only when it is needed
The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.
Switch models mid-chat
Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

Brand Style Guide

Document the brand system so other people can use it without ambiguity. This is the artifact that lives longest. Designers, developers, agencies, and vendors will reference it for years. Build it like a reference manual, not a presentation.

This skill assumes the brand identity is designed (run brand-identity first if not). The output of this skill is the canonical reference document.

When to use

Creating brand guidelines for a finished identity
Documenting an existing brand that has no formal guide
Auditing an existing style guide for gaps or inconsistencies
Building a brand book to hand to vendors, partners, or new team members
Updating a guide after a major brand evolution

When NOT to use

The brand identity is not yet designed (use brand-identity)
Brand voice work specifically (use brand-voice for the voice doc, then integrate)
Building UI components (use design-standards or design-system)

Required inputs

Finished brand identity (logo, colors, typography, imagery direction, motion principles)
Brand voice and tone documentation (or sufficient inputs to write a voice section)
Application examples that show the brand in real contexts
Decisions on what is mandatory vs flexible vs forbidden

The framework: 8 sections

A complete style guide has eight sections. Most guides skip 2 or 3 of them and create downstream confusion. Build all 8 from the start.

1. Story

The narrative behind the brand. Why it exists, what it stands for, what it rejects.

Origin / founding story
Mission and vision
Values (3 to 5, with what each means in practice)
Positioning statement
Audience (with the level of specificity from the brief)
What we are not (the things we explicitly reject)

2. Logo system

Every variant of every mark, with rules.

Primary logo (with construction grid showing relationships)
Wordmark
Symbol / glyph
Lockup variations (horizontal, stacked, etc.)
Monogram (if part of system)
Clear space rules (minimum spacing around logo)
Minimum sizes (smallest acceptable size for print and digital)
Acceptable color treatments (full color, single color, knock-out, reverse)
Forbidden treatments (stretching, rotating, recoloring, drop shadows, gradients - whatever is forbidden)
File formats and where to find them

3. Color

The full color system with rules.

Primary palette (signature colors)
Secondary palette
Neutrals scale
Semantic colors (success, warning, error, info)
Light mode and dark mode variants
Per color: hex, RGB, HSL, CMYK, Pantone (if print-relevant)
Contrast ratios documented
Allowed pairings
Forbidden pairings
Usage hierarchy (primary first, secondary supporting, neutrals dominant)

4. Typography

The full type system.

Display typeface (with sample sizes)
Body typeface (with sample sizes)
Monospace (if applicable)
Type scale (specific sizes used)
Weight and style usage (which weights for which contexts)
Line height ratios
Letter spacing standards
Web fallback stacks
Open-source alternatives for licensing-restricted contexts
Forbidden treatments (all caps overuse, fake italics, etc.)

5. Imagery and illustration

What pictures look like in this brand.

Photography direction with example library
Illustration style with example library
Iconography system with the full icon set (or rules for adding to it)
Forbidden imagery (stock photo cliches, specific things never to show)
Photo treatment rules (color treatment, crops, composition)

6. Voice and tone

How the brand sounds. (Pulled from brand-voice work if done separately.)

Voice attributes (3 to 5 adjectives with "we are X, not Y" framing)
Tone shifts by context (onboarding, error, marketing, support, legal)
Vocabulary preferences (words we use, words we avoid)
Grammar and style rules
Examples (good and bad copy side by side)

7. Applications

The brand applied to real contexts.

Web (homepage, product pages, blog template)
Email (template, signature, transactional)
Social (post templates, profile imagery, story formats)
Print (business cards, letterhead, print ads)
Packaging (if applicable)
Signage (if applicable)
Internal documents (slides, reports, proposals)
Each with examples showing what good looks like

8. Dos and don'ts

The boundaries, illustrated.

Logo dos and don'ts (visual examples of correct and incorrect use)
Color dos and don'ts (combinations to use, combinations to avoid)
Type dos and don'ts (treatments to use, treatments to avoid)
Composition dos and don'ts (layout patterns that work, ones that do not)
Voice dos and don'ts (phrases that fit, phrases that do not)

The dos and don'ts section is what people actually reference in practice. Make it the easiest section to scan.

Workflow

Inventory the inputs. What identity work is finished? What voice work is finished? What is missing?
Confirm the format. Is this a PDF, a web page, a Notion doc, a printed book, or all of the above? Different formats have different production requirements.
Section by section, draft. Use the template in references/style-guide-template.md.
Stress-test with real examples. For every rule, find a real application example. Rules without examples get ignored.
Get review from the people who will use it. Designers, developers, marketers. They will surface gaps.
Version control. Style guides evolve. Date the doc. Note what changed in each version.
Publish in the format the team will actually open. A 200-page PDF that lives on a shared drive is dead weight. A web page or Figma file with a clear URL gets used.

Failure patterns

Skipping the "what we are not" sections. Without rejection rules, anything becomes acceptable.
Document with no examples. Rules without visual examples are abstract and ignored.
Document with only examples. Examples without rules cannot be applied to new situations.
Static PDF that no one opens. Ship the guide in the format the team uses daily (web page, Figma, Notion, etc.).
No version history. When the brand evolves, no one knows which rules changed or when.
Aspirational rules. Rules the brand does not actually follow get treated as suggestions. Document what is actually true, not what is wished.
Treating "dos and don'ts" as filler. This section is what people use most. Invest in it.

Output format

Default output is a multi-section markdown document or a structured set of files, plus a presentation-ready version (web page, PDF, or Figma) for sharing with stakeholders.

Recommended structure:


brand/
  style-guide.md          (the canonical document)
  story.md                (or as a section)
  logo/
    construction.md
    files/                (SVG, PNG, etc.)
  colors.md
  typography.md
  imagery/
    photography.md
    illustration.md
    icons/
      icons.md
      files/
  voice.md
  applications/
    web.md
    email.md
    social.md
    print.md
  dos-and-donts.md

For consumer-facing presentation, build a web page version that imports from these source files. The source files are canonical. The presentation is a view of them.

Reference files

references/style-guide-template.md - Fillable section-by-section template.
references/maintenance-playbook.md - How to keep the guide current after launch.

Bundled files

The model reads these on demand while the skill is loaded. They are exposed as readable files and are never executed.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Brand Style Guide AI skill do?

Why use Brand Style Guide on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Brand Style Guide is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Brand Style Guide in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/rampstackco/claude-skills/tree/main/skills/brand-style-guide. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and bundles its files and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Brand Style Guide?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Brand Style Guide?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Brand Style Guide with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Brand Style Guide AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by rampstackco under the MIT license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

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Overview

Installation

Install in TypingMind

Install in another agent

Use it in TypingMind

Works with any AI model

Skill instructions

Brand Style Guide

When to use

When NOT to use

Required inputs

The framework: 8 sections

1. Story

2. Logo system

3. Color

4. Typography

5. Imagery and illustration

6. Voice and tone

7. Applications

8. Dos and don'ts

Workflow

Failure patterns

Output format

Reference files

Bundled files

Frequently asked questions

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