Style guide
Definition
A style guide is a reference document that defines the visual and editorial standards for a brand or product — covering typography, color, logo usage, imagery rules, and often writing tone — so that anyone creating content or design can work consistently without asking for approval on every decision.
Style guides exist to create consistency at scale. When one designer makes a product, consistency comes from that designer's taste. When ten designers make a product, consistency requires documentation.
A product style guide typically covers:
Typography — the typefaces in use, the scale (heading sizes, body size, small text), and the rules for when each level is used.
Color — the full palette with hex codes, the semantic meaning of each color (primary action, destructive action, success, warning), and accessibility requirements (contrast ratios).
Iconography — the icon style (filled vs. outlined, stroke weight, corner radius), the library in use, and rules about when icons appear with vs. without labels.
Spacing and layout — the grid, the spacing scale, the safe margins.
Imagery — photography style, illustration style, rules about what's in and out.
Writing tone — voice (active, direct, concrete), vocabulary preferences, and vocabulary prohibitions.
A style guide differs from brand guidelines in scope. Brand guidelines cover identity — logo, colors, fonts, and how they're used in the world. A style guide goes deeper on product-specific patterns: component usage rules, content patterns, motion principles.
Style guides are often produced after a product reaches a certain scale and inconsistency becomes a visible problem. The creation process involves a design audit — often run at a whiteboard — that inventories what's currently inconsistent and establishes the correct standard. BoardSnap captures those audit sessions as structured summaries.
Examples
- A product style guide with a color token table, a typography scale, and icon usage rules
- An editorial style guide for marketing copy: active voice, no jargon list, preferred product terminology
- A design audit whiteboard session where the team inventories inconsistent button styles before establishing the standard
Snap a style guide. Ship its actions.
BoardSnap turns any whiteboard — including this one — into a summary and action plan.