The short version
- A brand kit template has seven sections: basics, logos, colours, type, signature look, voice and rules.
- Logo files should come in a full version, a small version and light and dark variants, as SVG and transparent PNG.
- Colours should be listed with HEX and RGB for screens, and CMYK if you print, along with what each colour is for.
- The voice section is what lets other people and AI tools write in your brand's tone, so it deserves real examples.
- A brand kit is shorter and more practical than a full style guide: it is the set of files and codes people need today.
On this page
A brand kit template is a fill in structure for the files and facts anyone needs to design for your brand: logo files, colour codes, fonts, your signature look, voice and a few rules. The template below has seven sections, in the order people look things up. Copy it into a document or a shared folder, fill each part, and you will have a kit a freelancer, a new hire or an AI assistant can work from straight away.
If you are still deciding why you need one, brand kit covers the case. This page is the practical template.
The brand kit template
BRAND KIT: [Brand name]
Last updated: [date] Owner: [name, email]
1. BASICS
One sentence: what we do and for whom
Audience:
Products or services:
Website / handles:
2. LOGOS (SVG + transparent PNG each)
Full logo: light ___ dark ___
Small mark / icon: light ___ dark ___
Minimum size: ___ px wide
Clear space: ___ around all sides
3. COLOURS (name / use / HEX / RGB / CMYK)
Ground:
Main:
Support:
Light neutral:
Accent (sparingly):
4. TYPE
Heading font + weight:
Body font + weight:
Where to get them / licence:
5. SIGNATURE LOOK
Background or Mark code:
Photo treatment:
6. VOICE
Three words:
We say: ___ We never say: ___
Example headline:
7. RULES
Always:
Never:What each section needs
Common gap
Common gap
Common gap
Common gap
Include
Common gap
Common gap
Common gap
Logos: the files to export
Export every logo version as SVG for anything that scales and as a transparent PNG for tools that won't take SVG. Name files plainly, such as brand-logo-full-dark.svg, so nobody has to open them to know which is which. Logo variations explains which versions you need and when, and logo sizes lists the dimensions platforms ask for.
Colours: codes and jobs
List each colour with a name and a job, not just a code. "Accent: buttons and prices only" stops the accent from flooding a design. Here is a filled example for a small yoga studio.
Add RGB values alongside the hex codes, and CMYK if anything is printed. Hex to RGB has the conversion, and RGB vs CMYK explains why print colours need their own values.
Type: names, files and licences
Write the exact font names and weights, such as "Inter Bold for headings, Inter Regular for body", and put the font files or a download link in the same folder. Note the licence too. A font that is free for personal use may not cover a client's ad campaign, and the kit is where a freelancer will check. Brand fonts helps if you have not chosen yet.
Signature look: the section most kits miss
Most brand kits stop at logo, colours and fonts, which is why designs made from them still drift. The background or surface behind your designs fills most of every frame, so it needs its own entry: what it is, where to find it, and how photos are treated on top of it. If your look is a Gradiently Mark, write its public code here, for example GR·K7Q2·MX, so anyone can find exactly the right one. Without this section, every new designer invents a background, and the brand quietly becomes several brands.
Voice: examples beat adjectives
Hard to use
- Our voice is warm, friendly and professional
- Avoid sounding salesy
- Be inclusive
Easy to use
- We say: "Come as you are, mats provided."
- We never say: "Last chance" or "Don't miss out"
- Address everyone as "you"; never assume flexibility or fitness
Examples matter even more now that AI tools write a lot of first drafts. An assistant given three real sentences in your voice will match it far better than one given three adjectives. Brand voice for AI goes into how to write this section for machines as well as people.
A filled in example, applied
The test of a brand kit is whether someone who has never met you can make a correct post from it. Here is what the yoga studio's kit produces in the hands of a new freelancer, with no other briefing.
A class announcement built only from the kit: palette, fonts, look and voice.
A story from the same kit. Different format, same brand, no extra instructions needed.
Where to keep your brand kit
- A shared folder with the document and every logo and font file. Simple and universal.
- Inside your design tool, so colours, fonts and logos are one click away instead of copied by hand.
- One owner and a date. Someone is responsible for updates, and everyone can see whether the kit is current.
Gradiently's brand kit, part of Pro, covers most of this template: name and description, logos, colour palettes, a heading and a body font (you can upload font files), voice, audience and what the brand does. It can read your website to fill in the name, description, colour and icon for you. Design on a Mark as your signature look, and the Designer writes in your kit's voice and applies your kit as it lays designs out. Brand kit setup walks through it.
Questions people ask
What should be included in a brand kit?
Basic brand facts, logo files in several versions, colour codes with their uses, fonts, your signature look, voice examples and a few rules.
What is the difference between a brand kit and a style guide?
A brand kit is the practical set of files and codes people need to design today. A style guide is a longer document explaining rules and reasoning in depth.
What file formats should logos be in a brand kit?
SVG for anything that scales and transparent PNG for tools that don't accept SVG, each in light and dark versions.
How long should a brand kit be?
Short enough to read in ten minutes. If it needs more, move the detail into a separate style guide.
Written by Gradiently
The team behind Gradiently, a design tool built around Marks: living gradients that make everything you design look like yours.
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