guide
Brand guidelines for AI: a template you can copy
Brand guidelines for AI need exact values, not adjectives: colors with hex codes and their job, fonts and sizes, three to five voice traits with a do and a don't each, a lexicon of words to use and avoid, and a few rules for everywhere. Mark what is undecided, so the model does not invent it.
Template
# [Brand name] ## Colors | Role | Name | HEX | | background | … | #…… | | text | … | #…… | | primary (main action) | … | #…… | | accent | … | #…… | ## Typography Headings: [font], bold. Body: [font], regular, 16 px. ## Voice - [Trait]: do … / don't … - [Trait]: do … / don't … - [Trait]: do … / don't … ## Lexicon | We say | We never say | | … | … | ## Rules - … ## Not set yet - [anything you have not decided: the model must ask, not guess]
Three things that make it work
- Values, not vibes. "#0E1A2B for backgrounds" works; "a calm dark blue" does not.
- Pairs, not lists. "Say rota, not schedule grid" changes the copy; a list of nice words does not.
- Say what is missing. A line "not set yet" stops the model from filling the gap with a generic default.
Prefer not to write it by hand? brandmarkdown reads your website and fills this template for you, then lets you correct it.