Associated Services:

Brand Guidelines & Design Systems

What are Brand Guidelines & Design Systems?

Brand guidelines and design systems define how a brand is expressed, applied, and evolved across teams, channels, and platforms. They provide a shared framework for visual identity, language, and interaction, ensuring consistency while allowing flexibility as organisations grow.

Every strong brand needs structure to grow with confidence. Brand guidelines provide that foundation, ensuring consistency while enabling creativity.

At Fable&Co., we design intelligent systems that make brands easier to use and harder to dilute. Our guidelines define the principles that underpin your identity, from logo and colour to typography, imagery, motion and tone that enable teams the clarity to create with purpose.

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We have delivered comprehensive design systems for INCO Broking, Tion Renewables, Kindleworth and CBR Sustainability Partners, serving industries that demand both rigour and adaptability: financial services, renewable energy, professional services and sustainability. For INCO, we developed a framework that unified communication across international teams. Tion’s system captured the technical precision of the energy sector while remaining dynamic and future-focused. Kindleworth required simplicity and elegance to support a refined legal brand. For CBR, a modular structure supported storytelling across sustainability initiatives and partnerships.

Our approach is pragmatic and collaborative. We design genuinely usable systems that work for the people who will use them, building consistency through clear rationale and simple application.

A well-crafted design system builds longevity. It gives power to the brands team themselves, giving you and your team the tools to tell your own story. It ensures that as your brand evolves, it remains coherent, recognisable and true to its intent. Our work helps complex organisations maintain clarity and control while leaving space for creativity to thrive.

Who This Service is For

This service is for organisations with multiple teams, markets, or outputs that need clarity and consistency without creative constraint. It is particularly suited to brands operating in complex or regulated environments where coherence, usability, and longevity matter.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Brand Guidelines and why are they important?

Brand guidelines document how your brand should look, sound, and behave. They ensure that every touchpoint, from marketing to internal communication, is consistent and on-brand. Clear guidelines protect your investment in identity, allowing your brand to scale without losing coherence or quality.

What do your guidelines typically include?

Our guidelines cover visual and verbal identity: logo usage, colour palette, typography, photography, illustration, tone of voice, and key messaging principles. We also include practical rules for layout, accessibility, and digital application to make implementation straightforward for designers and teams.

How are design systems different from traditional brand guidelines?

A design system is a more flexible and digital-first extension of traditional guidelines. It includes modular assets, component libraries, and interaction rules for UI and digital environments. This approach ensures the brand remains cohesive across websites, platforms, and applications while allowing creative freedom within defined parameters.

How does Fable&Co. ensure the system is practical for in-house teams?

We design every guideline and system with usability in mind. The documents are structured to be intuitive and accessible, with real-world examples and clear rationale. We also collaborate closely with internal teams to ensure the tools and formats (PDF, online hub, or shared asset library) integrate smoothly with their workflows.

Can guidelines evolve as our brand grows?

Absolutely. We see guidelines as living documents. As your organisation expands or introduces new channels, we can update and extend the system to ensure continued consistency and flexibility. A well-built foundation should grow with your brand, not constrain it.

What kinds of organisations benefit most from structured design systems?

Design systems are essential for organisations with multiple teams, locations, or markets where consistency is crucial but autonomy is required. We’ve delivered guidelines for financial services, law, and sustainability-focused organisations, helping them maintain creative control without sacrificing coherence or speed.