Create Cohesive Graphics using a Style Guide (I made one for you)

Odds are, you have a collection of helpers working on your social media, website, service slides, YouTube thumbnails, service folder covers… the list goes on…

…and maybe each one of your helpers has a different idea about how those things should look… as a result, things can get a bit chaotic.

What’s a Style Guide and how can it help me?

This is a document that clearly states the decisions you have made about how you want your “brand” to be presented.

We care about the appearance of our church/school’s building and grounds. Pastor irons his shirt and does his hair before preaching. We practice our music for worship. Why do we do these things? Because we care about our message and we don’t want to distract from it.

With the most valuable message of all time, we should do our best to present this message well in digital formats.

A simple style guide can help you do that!

Grab the free template

Confused about some of the parts of the template?

Let’s break it down.

Fonts: Choose 2-3 fonts that you can use for a majority of your communications. Choose simple, easy-to-read fonts.

Colors: Choose 5-7 colors. You should have a good mix of light, medium, and dark colors.

What’s the deal with the hashtags? Those are called hexidecimal colors. “Hex” codes are a fairly universal color “language.” Use this link to figure out the hex codes in your logo if you don’t already know them.

Logos: Place all of your available logos and variations in this section.

Notes: You can read my example if you need ideas here. You’ll want to answer common questions your helpers may have – so this section may evolve over time. Be clear about when, where, and how to use each element.

I made the template on Canva. When you click the link, it generates a copy for you to use – so you’re free to edit to your heart’s content. ☺️

If you’re not already using Canva, you should investigate it. A basic account is free. Nonprofits can even get a free Canva Pro account (click for info).

If you need support using Canva to edit the template, let me know! 📧 If you’re not comfortable making the Style Guide yourself, I do this as a service for all my clients. #shamelessplug 🙈