Recruiter's Glossary

Examples: Adobe Creative Suite • Foil Stamping • Bleed

Style Guide

Term from Graphic Design industry explained for recruiters

A Style Guide is like a rulebook that ensures all design elements of a company stay consistent. It covers things like logo usage, colors, fonts, and how visual elements should look across different materials. Think of it as a recipe book that helps everyone in the company create materials that look like they belong to the same family. Some people also call it a "brand guide" or "brand standards manual." These documents help designers maintain a consistent look whether they're creating business cards, websites, or social media posts.

Examples in Resumes

Created comprehensive Style Guide for company rebrand, resulting in 100% consistent brand implementation

Developed and maintained Brand Style Guide for a Fortune 500 company

Updated existing Style Guide to include digital media guidelines

Implemented Brand Standards Guide across marketing materials for 12 product lines

Typical job title: "Brand Designers"

Also try searching for:

Brand Designer Graphic Designer Visual Designer Brand Identity Designer Brand Guidelines Designer Brand Standards Manager Creative Designer

Where to Find Brand Designers

Online Communities

Job Boards

Professional Networks

Example Interview Questions

Senior Level Questions

Q: How would you approach creating a style guide for a global brand that needs to work across multiple cultures?

Expected Answer: Should discuss research of cultural sensitivities, flexible design systems, clear documentation methods, and examples of successful global brand guidelines they've created. Should mention consideration for different languages and cultural preferences.

Q: How do you ensure a style guide remains relevant and gets actually used by team members?

Expected Answer: Should explain methods for making guidelines accessible, training team members, getting buy-in from stakeholders, and creating user-friendly documentation. Should mention digital tools and regular updates.

Mid Level Questions

Q: What essential elements would you include in a basic style guide?

Expected Answer: Should list core components like logo usage rules, color palette with codes, typography, image style, tone of voice, and basic layouts. Should explain why each element matters.

Q: How do you handle updates to an existing style guide?

Expected Answer: Should discuss version control, communication with stakeholders, documentation of changes, and ensuring smooth transition while maintaining brand consistency.

Junior Level Questions

Q: What's the difference between a style guide and a brand guide?

Expected Answer: Should explain that style guides focus on visual elements while brand guides often include broader elements like voice, values, and mission. Basic understanding of both concepts is expected.

Q: How would you organize a simple style guide document?

Expected Answer: Should describe basic structure including table of contents, sections for different elements, clear examples, and easy-to-follow instructions.