Beautify Your Communications with a Style Guide

As promised, I’m following up on my post last week, Five Documents Your Organization Shouldn’t Live Without, with specific info on how to create each of the documents I recommend.  This week, I’m covering the Communications Style Guide.

 In order to ensure consistency in their communications, every organization should have a Style Guide.  Most don’t, so don't feel bad you haven't gotten around to it, but do think about creating one -- it will save you time and the aggravation of dealing with materials that just don't quite cut it.

A Style Guide helps protect your brand, your personality, and your image in the community.  Like it or not, your organization is competing with a staggering amount of information people choose to recognize or ignore.  So, it’s important that the words and symbols you use to describe your unique identity are clear and focused.  The more consistent you are, the easier it is for your supporters to pick you out from a crowd.

What is a Style Guide?

A Communications Style Guide describes the standards that you use to develop all materials for your organization.  The purpose is to ensure that there is a consistent look and feel – a graphic identity – that the public will recognize, regardless of which materials they are reading.  By following the Style Guide, time isn’t wasted editing inconsistent documents.  If your materials are either a) produced by a wide range of people, or b) don’t have a consistent look and feel, or c) both!, you need a Style Guide.

What Does a Style Guide Include? 

At the very least, your Style Guide should include:

1) Usage Policy -- A brief statement that describes who is authorized to use your organization’s branded identity (staff, volunteers, community partners, etc.) and where (on all communications materials, co-branded with partner organizations, etc.); also, where your identity should never appear (materials that pose a conflict of interest, promote discrimination, are unethical or illegal, etc.)

2) Editorial Style -- Instructions on what grammar, punctuation, abbreviations, etc. are sanctioned for use and how to use them; also identifies which style reference manual will be used for words and phrases not included in your Style Guide (Chicago Manual of Style, AP stylebook, etc.).

Include info on how to use, format, and spell the following words and phrases, at minimum:

• Your Organization’s Name (how to correctly spell, which abbreviations are acceptable, etc.)
• Your Tagline (if you have one)
• Your Program Names
• Phone number and web address (directions on whether to use parenthesis or dashes between numbers, etc.)
• Numbers (how to list numbers, i.e., spell out numbers under 10, use “nine” and “10”, etc.)
• Hyphenation (which words should or should not be hyphenated, i.e., do hyphenate low-income, don’t hyphenate Email)
• Website addresses (whether to include http:// or just start web address with “www”)
• Funder Acknowledgements (which boilerplate should be used and when to identify state, federal, or private funds that were used to produce the materials)
• Typically Misused Words (any words that your team frequently uses in error, i.e. “a lot” is two words)

3) Graphic Style -- Instructions on which colors, fonts, design elements to use, as well as when and where to use them (i.e. never try to reproduce the logo from a photocopy).  Also, provide original digital copies of your logos in a variety of sizes and file formats.

Be sure to include:

• Your Organization’s Logo, Mission Statement, & Tagline (if there is more than one version, instructions on when and where to use each)
• Program Logos (if any)
• Standard Colors (which colors to use and where, i.e, Pantone colors, Pantone 18-2120 Honeysuckle)
• Fonts (describe which fonts should be used and where and show examples, i.e., Headlines: Arial Black, navy blue when color is used; Text Blocks (serif): Century Schoolbook, 14 point; Alternate Text Blocks (sans serif): Helvetica, 12 point)
• Union “Bug” (if your organization requires that materials be printed by a union shop, make it clear and include a digital version of the union logo; your print shop can get it for you)

4) Readability Tips -- State your policy concerning the readability and the standard reading level you expect (6th grade is the average reading level, believe it or not).  It also helps to provide tips on how to improve your document’s readability and suggest tools your team can use to check the reading level of any document.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Try to simplify complex concepts with graphics, charts, or pictures (but avoid using corny clip art).
• Use sentences with seven words or less, whenever possible.
• Use words with two syllables or less, whenever possible.
• Keep paragraphs short and to the point -- five sentences or less.
• Avoid jargon and only use acronyms when you have first defined what they stand for or mean.
• Help readers skim by using bold subheadings. 
• Eliminate extra information by using bulleted lists.
• If you are describing tasks, break them down into steps.
• Avoid color overload or patterned backgrounds, or light font on a dark background.
• Use left-sided justification (vs. jagged right side or smooth on both sides)
• For more info, check out this resource -- www.plainlanguage.gov.

A basic internet search will bring up lots of samples of Communications Style Guides you can emulate. There are no hard and fast rules about how they should be formatted.   To tailor your own, review a few and pick elements of the ones you like the best.