Applying brand guidelines correctly: Logo, colour, typography and tone of voice standards

A ready-made course you customise for your organisation, with a live session deck and two surveys. You only add the 15 details that are specific to your organisation.

Length
40 min
Lessons
6 lessons
Frequency
At onboarding
Last reviewed
21 Oct 2026
Grey areas: tone, partners and altered marks
What would you do?

A) A customer email reads cold and stiff against the voice guide

Try it: this is one of 16 interactive activities in the course.

What's included

Three pieces that work together

Copy once, get everything. Learners prepare on their own, you answer questions live, and the surveys tell you what stuck.

Self-paced course

Short lessons with real workplace scenarios, not walls of text.

  • 6 lessons, about 40 minutes
  • Sorting activity, process, scenario, accordion and quizzes

Live session deck

An AhaSlides presentation to run after the course, in person or online.

  • 10 slides
  • Quiz, poll, word cloud, ranking slides
  • A closing slide for your contacts

Two surveys

Find out what landed, and whether people use it on the job.

  • Post-course feedback, about 2 minutes
  • 30-day check-in
  • Anonymous by default
  • Results feed your next refresher

Learning objectives

At the end of this course, learners can

Each objective and the lesson that covers it.

IDObjectiveSourceWhere it's covered
TO 283.0Achieve ≥ 80% on the final assessment-Whole course
SO 283.1Explain why brand consistency matters and who is responsible for it + your infoOrganisation's brand guidelines (internal standard)Whole course
SO 283.2Spot and fix common logo misuse: wrong version, stretched, recoloured, crowded, too small + your infoOrganisation's brand guidelines (internal standard)Whole course
SO 283.3Apply the approved colour palette, fonts and contrast rules, including accessibility + your infoOrganisation's brand guidelines; Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for contrast [unverified]Whole course
SO 283.4Rewrite copy so it fits the brand's tone of voice for a given channel and audience + your infoOrganisation's brand guidelines (internal standard)Whole course
SO 283.5Use templates, asset libraries and approvals correctly, and explain why altering a registered mark can create trademark risk, referring questions to legal [unverified]Trademark law (check with legal); best practiceWhole course

Your part: what a template can't do for you

  • Your workplace details: fill in the 15 highlighted fields so the course describes your own policies, contacts and locations.
  • Records: record completion in your own LMS or record system.

Course outline

6 lessons, about 40 minutes

Minutes per lesson are an estimate, shared out by page count.

ContentInteractiveVideoYou customise
1

Why the flyer that "looked fine" came back

3 pages

8 min
Before you beginNoteList
The partner flyerTextImage
Who is responsible?ChecklistKey factQuiz
2

Logo, colour and type basics

3 pages

8 min
The four rules of a logoAccordionYour info
What is wrong with this logo?Sorting activity
Colour and typeTabsYour infoMatching quiz
3

Applying the standards in real work

3 pages

7 min
A quick check before you publishProcessYour info
Contrast checkChecklistYour info
CheckSorting activityQuiz
4

Grey areas: tone, partners and altered marks

3 pages

7 min
Tone of voiceFlashcardsYour info
Three branching scenariosScenario
CheckNoteSorting activityMatching quiz
5

Asking, approving and speaking up

2 pages

5 min
Who to askProcessYour infoYour infoYour infoYour infoYour infoNote
You spot an old logo on a partner's siteScenarioQuiz
6

Audit and fix + final assessment

2 pages

5 min
PracticeTextNote
PracticeQuizKey factNoteButtonYour info

Live deck and surveys

10 slides to run live, two surveys to close the loop

Pink slides are interactive. Both surveys are anonymous; pink questions are written for this course.

ContentTitle, agenda, "no design skills needed
PollHow often do you check the brand guidelines before publishing?
Word cloudThree words for our brand's voice
Content · customiseLogo, colour, type and tone rules in one visual {{BRAND_GUIDELINES_LINK}}
QuizWhat is wrong with this logo? (a stretched logo picture) ✔ It is stretched
QuizA franchisee wants a custom colour on a poster. Best response? ✔ Use the approved template and ask before changing
RankingRank these five errors from most to least damaging to the brand
Content · customiseCustomise: asset library {{ASSET_LIBRARY_LINK}}, approval route {{APPROVAL_ROUTE}}, legal guidance {{TRADEMARK_GUIDANCE_LINK}}
Open-ended / Q&AA branded item you saw last week that gave you a pause
Content · customiseClosing {{HELP_CONTACT}}, {{SURVEY_2_URL}}, {{COURSE_URL}}
Post-course feedback: 11 questions, about 2 min
  1. Overall rating 5 stars
  2. Relevant, realistic, right length, helpful activities agree/disagree grid
  3. What was most useful? multi-select
  4. Confidence before this course, and now 1-5 scale
  5. How confident are you using the logo, colours and voice? 1-5 scale
  6. How often do you check the guidelines before publishing? multiple choice
  7. Do you know whether your material needs approval? multiple choice
  8. I feel comfortable pointing out a brand error to a colleague. 1-5 scale
  9. One thing we should change or add open text
  10. Would you recommend this course? NPS
30-day check-in
  1. Have you used what you learned since the course? multiple choice
  2. How confident are you today? Compare with day 1 1-5 scale
  3. Do you know where to find the brand guidelines and asset library? yes / no / not sure
  4. A moment where the training helped, or where you weren't sure open text
  5. Which topics should the next refresher focus on? ranking

Results show whether people use the training on the job, not just whether they finished it.

Make it yours

15 fields to fill in, and you're ready

Everything else is done. These are the details only your organisation knows; each one is highlighted inside the course.

  • Help contact{{HELP_CONTACT}}
  • Policy link{{POLICY_LINK}}
  • Escalation route{{ESCALATION_ROUTE}}
  • LMS or record system{{LMS_OR_RECORD_SYSTEM}}
  • Next course link{{NEXT_COURSE_LINK}}
  • Survey 1 URL{{SURVEY_1_URL}}
Show all 15 fields
  • Survey 2 URL{{SURVEY_2_URL}}
  • Course URL{{COURSE_URL}}
  • Live session URL{{LIVE_SESSION_URL}}
  • Brand guidelines link{{BRAND_GUIDELINES_LINK}}
  • Asset library link{{ASSET_LIBRARY_LINK}}
  • Approval route{{APPROVAL_ROUTE}}
  • Accessibility standard link{{ACCESSIBILITY_STANDARD_LINK}}
  • Voice principles{{VOICE_PRINCIPLES}}
  • Trademark guidance link{{TRADEMARK_GUIDANCE_LINK}}

FAQ

Common questions

Can I run applying brand guidelines correctly: Logo, colour, typography and tone of voice standards training online?

Yes. The course is self-paced and online, and the live deck lets you add a live session in the room or online.

How often is this training needed?

At onboarding, when guidelines are updated or a rebrand launches, and when agencies or franchisees are onboarded.

Who needs this training?

Anyone who produces or approves branded material: marketing, design, sales, franchise and retail staff, and external agencies; a lighter variant for non-designers. Run by L&D with brand, marketing and legal.

What records should I keep?

Record completion in your own LMS or record system, so you can show who finished the course and when.

Can I edit the content?

Yes, everything. Change the wording, swap scenarios for ones from your workplace, add your logo, or remove parts that don't apply.

Ready to run it?

Open the live deck to see how the session runs alongside the course and both surveys.