How to create a brand style guide for small business clients

A small brand style guide does not need to be huge to be useful. The first time I handed a client only the logo files, they came back a month later with the logo stretched on a flyer, the wrong blue on social posts, and a font that did not match anything we had approved. I realized the client did not need more design theory. They needed simple rules they could follow on a busy day. For small…