# Brand kit template: logos, colours, fonts and voice in one place

[Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/brand-kit-template)

A brand kit is only useful if someone can open it and make a correct design in ten minutes. Here is a template that does exactly that, section by section, with a filled in example.

## 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.

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](https://gradiently.design/guide/brand-kit) covers the case. This page is the practical template.

## The brand kit template

```text
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:
```

Copy this into any document. Fill in what you know now; leave gaps rather than guessing.

## What each section needs

| Section | Include | Common gap |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Basics | One sentence, audience, products or services, links | No contact for questions |
| Logos | Full and small versions, light and dark, SVG and PNG | Only a JPG with a white box around it |
| Colours | Names, uses, HEX, RGB, CMYK if printing | Codes without saying which colour is for what |
| Type | Heading and body fonts, weights, licence | Font names with no files or source |
| Signature look | The background or surface, photo treatment | Missing entirely, so every designer invents one |
| Voice | Three words, examples, words to avoid | Adjectives with no examples |
| Rules | Two or three always and never lines | A long list nobody reads |

The seven sections and the gap most often left in each.

### 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](https://gradiently.design/guide/logo-variations) explains which versions you need and when, and [logo sizes](https://gradiently.design/guide/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.

- Ground: charcoal: #1f2421
- Main: eucalyptus: #49695a
- Support: sage mist: #b7cbbd
- Neutral: linen: #f6f1e9
- Accent: clay: #d98b5f

Five colours, each with a job written into its name. The clay accent is for class times and prices, nothing else.

Add RGB values alongside the hex codes, and CMYK if anything is printed. [Hex to RGB](https://gradiently.design/guide/hex-to-rgb) has the conversion, and [RGB vs CMYK](https://gradiently.design/guide/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](https://gradiently.design/guide/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](https://gradiently.design/guide/brand-kit-voice) 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 portrait yoga studio post announcing a Saturday sunrise flow class at 7am, on the studio's gradient background

A class announcement built only from the kit: palette, fonts, look and voice.

A vertical story for the same yoga studio reading Come as you are, with the same background and type

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](https://gradiently.design/guide/brand-kit-setup) walks through it.

## FAQ

### 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.
