Consumer brand
Gerlach – printed materials and packaging
Four product catalogues in Polish and English, an icon set, five types of brochures, the cover of a book on the brand's history and a packaging series for Gerlach, a brand trading since 1760.
Brand manual • for an existing logo
A brand manual for the logo you already have: tidy files and clear rules for every vendor
We prepare brand manuals for companies that have a logo but no instructions for using it: mark versions, clear space, minimum sizes, colours and typography, with examples of correct and incorrect use. We start with a file audit, because the mark often needs a technical reconstruction. A brand manual costs €1,200–3,500 net, and you get the scope and quote within a few days.
When you need a brand manual
When the logo goes to printers, agencies, partners and your marketing team, and everyone uses it a little differently: with a drop shadow, stretched, in a colour outside the palette. A brand manual ends those debates, because the rules are written down and approved by the company.
You also need one before a bigger rollout: a new website, fleet or office signage, a campaign with an external agency. Vendors then work from the same files and rules, and you don't fix the same mistake in five places.
If the logo is a few years old and nobody has the source files, we start by reconstructing the mark in vectors. Without that, the manual would be instructions for a file that can't be used properly.
What a brand manual contains
Mark versions: primary, secondary (horizontal, vertical, symbol only) and monochrome, with guidance on when to use which.
Mark construction on a grid, clear space, minimum sizes for print and screen, and rules for placing the mark on backgrounds and photographs.
Colours in CMYK, RGB, HEX and Pantone, brand typography with hierarchy, and examples of correct and incorrect use. Plus the full set of production files, usually several hundred: every version of the mark as vectors, for screen and in a print package.
How we work
File audit: we check what you have (vectors, mark versions, font licences) and what's missing. After the audit you get the scope, timeline and price.
Reconstruction and clean-up: where needed, we rebuild the mark in vectors and settle proportions and versions. We don't change the logo design itself without your decision; if the mark needs a correction, we say so plainly and quote it separately.
The manual and the handover: you get a PDF to pass on to vendors, the full set of logo files and brand guidelines in a format the AI tools your team uses can read.
Who prepares the manual
Designers who have been designing identities for 22 years and teach UX/UI to university students. The Miasta Gwarków brand manual, which you can download in full, was prepared by the same team.
We have DTP skills and our own developers in the studio, so we test the rules in print and on screen before we write them down.
Pricing
How much does a brand manual cost?
A brand manual for an existing logo costs €1,200–3,500 net. We give the ranges upfront, because we know you have to defend the budget inside your company.
Brand manual for an existing logo
€1,200–3,500 net
File audit, mark versions, construction and clear space, minimum sizes, colours, typography, usage examples, the full set of production files and guidelines for AI tools.
Mark reconstruction in vectors
quoted after the file audit
When the logo exists only as a JPG or PNG, or the source files are lost. We rebuild the mark, settle its proportions and prepare the versions; without that, there is nothing for the manual to describe.
Full identity with a brand book
€9,000–20,000 net
When, beyond the brand manual, you need rules for composition, photography, stationery and templates. The brand manual is then part of the package.
The price depends on the number of mark versions, the range of applications (print, screen, signage, fleet, packaging) and the state of the files. Before we start, you get the scope, timeline and a price matched to your logo.
Trusted by
Work
Brand manuals from our projects
See the documents we prepared for a cultural institution, an orchestra, a tourism brand and a technology company.
Culture & tourism
Miasta Gwarków – brand identity for an industrial heritage trail
A full brand identity for a tourism brand, from the mark to a system of carriers. Logo, typography, colours and rules that let the brand speak with one voice in print and on screen.
Culture
Sinfonietta Cracovia – a new logo and identity for an orchestra
A new mark for the Orchestra of the Royal Capital City of Krakow: a baton cutting through a circle, a brand book and signage for the orchestra's home. Since 2019 this system has held together 50+ projects we've designed for the ensemble.
Culture & tourism
Coal Mining Museum in Zabrze – 7 years of building a brand from the inside
A different kind of story. Before Sweet Lava existed, Jerzy spent seven years building the brands of the Guido Mine, the Queen Louise Adit and the museum itself from the inside. Three identities, hundreds of print pieces, photo sessions and 7 advertising campaigns.
Studio in Kraków, brand manuals delivered remotely in English
Our studio is at ul. Czyżówka 14 in the Podgórze district of Kraków, and we're happy to meet in person. We also prepare brand manuals fully remotely: files, comments and approvals move online, so we work with companies abroad the same way we do with those in Kraków.
- hello@sweetlava.eu
- +48 507710227
- ul. Czyżówka 14
30-526 Kraków, Poland
In numbers
- 22
- years of design and delivery practice
- 4
- founders you work with directly
- 150+
- projects delivered
- 100%
- of projects with design and code in one team
Common questions about brand manuals
How much does a brand manual for an existing logo cost?
Typically €1,200–3,500 net. The price is driven by the number of mark versions, the range of applications and the state of the files. If the mark has to be rebuilt in vectors, we quote the reconstruction separately after the file audit.
How does a brand manual differ from a brand book?
A brand manual describes the logo itself: versions, construction, clear space, colours and typography. A brand book covers the whole identity, including composition and photography rules, stationery and templates. If you need a brand book, we prepare it as part of a full identity project.
I only have the logo as a JPG. Can you still make a manual?
Yes, but first we rebuild the mark in vectors. Without a source file we can't settle the proportions correctly or prepare print versions. We quote the reconstruction after the file audit.
How long does a brand manual take?
It depends on the state of the files: a manual for a mark with complete vectors is ready sooner than one that needs reconstruction. We give the timeline together with the quote, after the file audit.
What do I get at the end?
The brand manual as a PDF, the full set of logo files (vectors, screen versions, a print package) and brand guidelines in a format the AI tools your team uses can read.
Will you fix the logo while you are at it?
We fix technical errors as part of the reconstruction and tell you what changed. A larger correction or a new mark is quoted separately, because that is an identity project.
What does a finished brand manual look like?
You can download the Miasta Gwarków brand manual and identity guidelines (94 pages) in full from our sample brand manual page. It contains every element described in this offer.
Let's talk about your logo
Tell us which files you have (vectors, PDF, JPG only) and where the logo will be used. We reply within 24 hours on business days and prepare the scope and quote within a few days.
Prefer to reach out directly? hello@sweetlava.eu · +48 507710227