In my 7 years career as a graphic designer, I realized that I most of the time I have to work without a brand manual and no design systems.

Let’s say someone is hiring me for an infographic.

The first thing I am asking for is a brand manual. 90% of the time, their extensive brand manual explains the different application of colour and brand assets. Hell, 50% of the times there is no high-resolution logo or an editable file.

If I do not receive a guide, then it is left to me how to interpret your brand visual identity, which means I am very objective and might be something you do not envision. This is a recipe for failure.

Investing time upfront into creating a guide is VITAL.

In the new age technology and the multitude of websites, the last thing you want is to have a messed up user experience.

Another thing brands do not pay attention to is the design system.

Style Guides and Design Systems are different but connected.

“The style guide says how you should communicate. The design system says how that should look in your apps and on your site. So they go hand-in-hand. Together they provide the single source of truth about how information should be laid out on pages, the way it should look and behave and the tone it should have. But why would you want to do this? There are many reasons. For a start, it presents a unified and clearly branded experience to your customers so that they can easily distinguish your products from other people's." CHRIS NODDER

I find it difficult to work with a client who hires me to create a design without any guiding or brand guidelines. While a website can be an excellent example for the digital assets and the design system, the print and digital assets have very different standards.

My recommendation for any brand is to make sure there is a document for style and one document for a layout that can be continuously developed and improved over time. These two documents will ensure brand consistency and uniformity.

I find that creating a style guide and a design system will set you up for success, mainly if your company is known for hiring external contractors. A good example is the governmental departments.