# Brandbook and style guide

A brandbook works as a manual, but it was born as a confirmation. It records what already rings true, so everyone who works with your brand makes the same choices.

## Not a straitjacket, but an anchor.

In practice, a brandbook works as a manual. Teams, partners and outside parties know what to hold to. That creates consistency, calm and recognition in everything the brand shows. It keeps the direction when a brand grows, changes or is handed over.

### Even without us

A brand that only works while the agency is watching is not finished. The brandbook makes a brand transferable: for teams, partners and future makers.
- **For your team**: Everyone knows what the brand is and how it looks.
- **For partners**: Printer, photographer or social agency works from the same basis.
- **For later**: What rings true keeps ringing true. Without explanation.

## Five reasons. One anchor.
- **Choices are fixed**: Without recording them, choices stay open to debate. A brandbook makes them final, so they are not made again and again.
- **Consistency**: The more people work with a brand, the greater the chance of drift. A brandbook keeps the direction.
- **Frameworks give freedom**: Not a straitjacket, but a framework within which people can work recognisably, without constant alignment.
- **Even without us**: A brand that only works while the agency is watching is not finished. The brandbook makes it transferable.
- **Safeguarding**: Brands do not fade through use, but through arbitrariness. The brandbook stops a brand from quietly falling apart.

## What is in it. Short enough to use.

### Brand core

What your brand stands for, short and clear. The core from your brand foundation, in words your team actually uses.

### House style rules

Logo, colour, type and imagery, with what to do and what not to do. With examples of how it looks in practice.

### Social

The basic look and feel for your socials, ready to use. For yourself or for the partner who runs your socials.

## Brandbooks we made.

![Brandbook for CowSignals® by Merkbaar™](https://merkbaar.nl/uploads/2026/10/cowsignals-brandbook-01-merkbaar.webp)
![Brandbook for Bouwmensen Nederland: cover](https://merkbaar.nl/uploads/2026/10/brandbook-bouwmensen-omslag-merkbaar.webp)
![Brandbook for Bouwmensen Nederland: typography](https://merkbaar.nl/uploads/2026/10/brandbook-bouwmensen-typografie-merkbaar.webp)
![Brandbook for Cyclesport by Merkbaar™](https://merkbaar.nl/uploads/2026/10/cyclesport-brandbook-01-merkbaar.webp)
![Brandbook for RIBS en Co. by Merkbaar™](https://merkbaar.nl/uploads/2026/10/ribsenco-brandbook-01-merkbaar.webp)
![Brandbook for DOCKR Mobility by Merkbaar™](https://merkbaar.nl/uploads/2026/10/dockr-brandbook-01-merkbaar.webp)

## Start at the core. Book an introduction with Clemens Beneder.

hallo@merkbaar.nl · 055 360 1007 · Vlijtseweg 112, 7317 AG Apeldoorn

Source: https://merkbaar.nl/en/expertise/brandbook/