A 5-page brand book instead of 50

Large companies have brand books running to dozens of pages. Small businesses mostly don’t need that: nobody reads them, and they’re expensive to maintain.

What actually matters

1. Logo in a few versions (horizontal, stacked, mark) with clear space and a minimum size.
2. Palette of 3–5 colours and the proportion to use them in.
3. Typography: one or two font families and a size scale for headings and body text.
4. Usage rules: which logo version goes on which background, and what not to do.

Why that’s enough

A document like this can be read in five minutes. And rules that get read get followed, by the designer, the developer and the contractor making the shop sign.