The trade-offs between a brand guidelines PDF and a website, for teams deciding how to publish.
Where a PDF falls short
A brand guidelines PDF is easy to make and easy to send, but it starts going out of date the day it is sent:
- Old copies stay in inboxes after the brand changes
- Logo and font files have to be sent separately
- Colour codes are retyped by hand, and mistakes creep in
- Long files are hard to search and to read on a phone
What a guidelines website adds
A website is the one document everyone opens, so an update reaches everyone at once. Files sit next to the rules about them, colour values copy with one click, and the page works on a phone - where many quick questions get asked.
Publishing guidelines as a website with Melon Cut
Melon Cut Guidelines publishes your brand at meloncut.com/yourbrand in its own colours and fonts, with Usage, Assets and Foundation pages. Images download as originals or convert to PNG, JPEG, PDF, WebP or GIF. A public brand is listed in the directory; a private one opens by link and is not listed or indexed.