Smashing Magazine, which may be my favorite read every two weeks, has added a new post on Style Guides.
If you don’t know, a style guide is essentially an instruction manual on the usage of fonts, colors and logotypes a company should use. Usually a product of a brand redesign, these guides can be pieces of art of themselves.
Do all guides need to be so thorough, not necessarily. If a 1 on 1 relationship with the client is in place, then an elaborate style guide may not be needed. Especially if the client plans on using your company for all of their design needs. (This is where a real Design Agency comes in handy.)
It is still important to implement good design into these guides. Even the best logo can be made worse by having distracting art around it.
Simplicity is key and that is one to grow on.