Key answer: A brand manual is a document describing the rules for using a logo – the mark versions (primary, secondary, monochrome), clear space, minimum sizes, colours, typography, and examples of correct and incorrect use. It differs from a brand book in scope – a brand manual covers the logo itself, a brand book the entire brand identity. As part of an identity project a brand manual typically costs €1,200–3,500.
Table of contents
The short answer
A brand manual is the instruction manual for your logo: a document describing the mark versions, clear space, minimum sizes, colours, typography and examples of incorrect use. It exists so the logo looks the same on a business card, a banner and an invoice, regardless of who places it. Without one, every vendor interprets the mark their own way, and the brand dissolves with every new piece of material.
What a good brand manual contains
Mark versions. Primary, secondary (horizontal, vertical, the symbol alone), monochrome and achromatic versions, versions for dark backgrounds. Each with a note on when to use it.
Clear space. The minimum area around the logo that no other element may enter. Usually defined as a multiple of a module of the mark, so it scales with it.
Minimum sizes. The smallest size at which the mark stays legible, given separately for print (millimetres) and screen (pixels).
Colours. The mark's colours in every space: CMYK for print, RGB and HEX for screens, Pantone for special printing. Plus rules for different backgrounds.
Typography. The typefaces that accompany the mark, their weights and pairing rules.
Incorrect use. The page that saves the most nerves: stretched, recoloured, rotated and drop-shadowed versions of the mark with a clear "we don't do this".
Brand manual vs brand book vs design system
A brand manual covers the logo. A brand book covers the whole identity: colours in use, photography style, material layouts, often the tone of voice. A design system goes further still – it's a living library of digital components with production-ready code that teams use to build websites and apps. A practical rule: you read a manual and a brand book; you use a design system. Which layer you need depends on how many channels your brand lives in.
How much does a brand manual cost?
As part of a visual identity project, a brand manual typically costs €1,200–3,500. The price grows with the number of mark versions and the range of applications (vehicle livery, packaging, digital channels). A separate case is a manual for a logo someone else designed: it requires a file audit and often a technical reconstruction of the mark, so it can cost more than a manual made alongside a new identity. Full identity price ranges are on our brand identity service page.
The brand manual in the age of AI
More and more brand materials are created with AI tools, and a classic PDF is unreadable to them. That's why we also prepare brand guidelines in an AI-readable format: structured files with brand rules that your team's tools read directly. The result: graphics and copy generated with AI stay true to the system instead of guessing it. We write more about this approach in An AI-ready brand book.
Is your logo missing its instruction manual? Write to us and we'll sort it out.