Keeping your brand consistent across print and social media

What consistency means

Consistency does not mean every post looks identical. It means a customer who sees your flyer, your Instagram post and your delivery box recognises them as the same business. That recognition comes from a small number of repeated choices: the logo, a short colour palette, two typefaces, and a consistent style of photography or illustration.

Write a one-page brand guide

You do not need a long document. One page that anyone on your team or any freelance designer can follow is enough.

• Logo: the main version, the one-colour versions, clear space and minimum size.
• Colours: a primary colour, one or two supporting colours and a neutral, with HEX, RGB and CMYK values.
• Typefaces: one for headings and one for body text, with a fallback that is installed everywhere.
• Imagery: what kind of photos or illustrations you use, and what you avoid.
• Voice: a few sentences on how you write, for example friendly and direct, and the words you do or do not use.

Common image shapes for social media

Platforms change their specifications from time to time, so check the current guidance before producing a large batch. The shapes below are widely used and a safe starting point.

• Square, 1:1 (for example 1080 × 1080 px): works in almost every feed.
• Portrait, 4:5 (for example 1080 × 1350 px): takes up more of the screen in feeds that support it.
• Vertical full-screen, 9:16 (for example 1080 × 1920 px): for stories and short video.
• Landscape, about 16:9: used for video thumbnails and link previews.

Safe areas and text

Apps place profile names, buttons and captions on top of the picture, especially in vertical formats. Keep important text and faces away from the top and bottom edges and leave a comfortable margin on the sides. Check a draft on a real phone before publishing.

Keep the message short. A graphic usually has room for one headline and one supporting line. Make sure the text has strong contrast against its background, and avoid placing it over busy areas of a photo.

Work from templates

Create a small set of templates: an announcement, a product or service feature, a quote or testimonial, a price or offer, and an event. Fixing the logo position, colours and fonts means each new post only needs new words and a new picture. It is faster, and it keeps the feed looking coherent.

Only show customer quotes and reviews that are real, and get permission before using a customer's name or photo.

Carry the brand into print

Reuse the same palette and typefaces on flyers, business cards, menus and signs. Remember that print uses CMYK and screens use RGB, so keep both sets of colour values in your guide and compare a printed proof with your screen before approving large print runs.

A quick review checklist

Before publishing any new graphic, ask:

• Is the logo present, undistorted and in the right place?
• Are the colours and fonts from the brand guide?
• Is the text readable on a small phone screen?
• Is the file in the correct ratio for where it is being posted?
• Have names, prices, dates and phone numbers been double-checked?