Brand guidelines vs. design systems: what’s the difference?
Both brand guidelines and a design system help shape the overall aesthetic and brand positioning of a website. Understanding the difference between the two is crucial when working on website projects of any scale. Many people ask us what sets them apart, so we’re here to demystify it.
What are brand guidelines?
Brand guidelines are a set of rules and standards that communicate how your brand should be visually represented. They can range from a simple overview showing your logo suite and brand colours to extensive documents detailing brand personality, typography, and photography style.
They are created after your brand identity has been developed, ensuring a consistent visual language across all assets - both internally and externally. This step happens ahead of website design to ensure the look and feel are clearly defined, setting a strong foundation for digital and physical brand applications.
What is a design system?
A design system is a set of components that will be reused to create a shared visual language for your website. Our designers create it, and our developers implement it during the website build.
- Logo formats
- A set of buttons
- A colour palette
- A type scale
The system is inspired by brand guidelines but tailored specifically for digital experiences, ensuring consistency in responsive design and accessibility. Every brand is different, so every design system is unique.
View an example of brand guidelines and a design system.
Why is a design system important?
Consistency
Users interact with your site on multiple devices, from mobile to desktop. A design system ensures consistency across different screen sizes, pages, and site elements. This consistency builds trust and strengthens brand perception.
Collaboration
At Tribe, our close-knit team of designers and developers work seamlessly, but as teams grow, so do potential inaccuracies. A design system streamlines collaboration, ensuring clarity across individuals and departments.
Structure
A design system provides structure, defining everything from font sizes for headings and body text to button styles and layout spacing. Beyond aesthetics, it dictates how components like product cards, icon positioning, and content blocks interact - creating visual harmony across the entire website.
How does the design system fit into the rest of the project?
The design system is the foundation of your website. From there, we apply it to key pages, flexibly adapting elements to ensure clear communication and strong user experience.
To sum up:
- Brand guidelines define a brand’s visual identity across all mediums.
- A design system adapts those guidelines specifically for digital applications.
- The design system influences everything, from layout structure to UX best practices, ensuring seamless execution of your brand online.
If you’re looking to develop brand guidelines and a design system for your business and digital channels, get in touch with our design team.