Creating Your First Brand with Baseline
Welcome to Baseline, your all-in-one brand management solution! Whether you're a startup crafting your first brand identity or an established company looking to streamline your brand management, this guide will walk you through setting up your first brand on Baseline.
Our intuitive platform is designed to make brand creation and management a breeze, even for those without design experience. In just a few simple steps, you'll have a professional, comprehensive brand guide to ensure consistency across all your marketing efforts.
Let's get started on building a strong, cohesive brand that will make you stand out in the market. Follow along as we take you through each step of setting up your first brand with Baseline.
There are several paths available to start the brand creation process, but in this guide, we are going to assume you already have an account set up and are at the starting path of https://baseline.is/brands/
First things first, click on "Create your first Brand," which should be present in the middle of the page.
To begin, a brand needs a name, so all you have to do in this first step is to name your brand.
Enter the brand name in the field that says "Brand name". I'm going to name this one ACME, and then click on "That's my brand's name."
Next, you are presented with a question, "Do you have a logo?". We always recommend people get a professional to create a custom logo for their brand. That's always going to give the best results, but for those getting started, we do have a simple logo maker. For this demonstration, we are going to assume you already have a logo, so we click on "Yes."
To upload your logo, look for the section called "Primary Logo" and click on "Pick one file". Then select your logo and wait while it is uploaded. There are two options below that you can disable:
Detect colors in the logo and use them for the brand - This will try to pull the colors from your logo and create the color palette that will be used in the next step.
Try to create a black and white version automatically - This will attempt to create a black and white version of your logo. This will not always be successful, so you might have to remove the automated version and upload your own instead.
Once that's done, you can optionally add other logo variants, such as the Logomark (The icon in your logo).
Otherwise, we are clear to move on to the next step. Click on "My logos are ready" at the bottom of the page to continue.
If the automatic color detection was successful, you should see the brand colors extracted from the logo ready on this page.
The Primary color is the one you need to pay the most attention to. This should be the main color that defines your brand. It will be used in templates and other parts of Baseline, so it's important to pay attention to this color. Black or white will not work with design templates.
The rest of the colors should be in order of importance. Meaning Support color 1 should be the second most important color of your brand. Support color 2 should be the third most important, and so on.
Now, let's go over a color palette card from the top down.
At the top, you see the main color; this area is draggable, so you can re-arrange the order of the colors. You can drag Support color 1 to be the Primary or any other slot.
Under that, you can edit the colors by manually editing the hex value or clicking the palette icon to use a color selection tool.
Below that, you can name the color. It already has a name assigned to it, but you can change it to whatever you want.
Baseline will automatically match CMYK values, but those might be incorrect, so in case you have the correct values, you can update those fields as well.
Finally, "More options" has a dropdown to add Pantone and RAL values, and a description.
To add another color into the color palette, click the box that says "Add Color".
If you are happy with your color palette, select the button at the bottom that says "These are my brand colors".
Once your colors are all set, Baseline will automatically generate gradients for you based on your color palette.
You can choose the gradients you want to use by clicking on the green "+" button, and you can also edit the colors of the gradients by moving the sliders below the gradients.
If you don't want to use gradients, you can click on "Skip gradients" and you will be taken to the next step. Otherwise, once you are happy with your gradients, click on "Confirm gradients".
Next up is choosing your fonts. The font section is currently limited to three fonts.
Heading - This is used for your main headings and should generally be the most associated with your brand's image.
Sub-Heading - This is used for your sub-headings.
Body Font - This is used for your body text, like paragraphs.
You can choose fonts from Google Fonts, or click on "Custom Font" to upload your own font.
For Google Fonts, if they have other weights or italics, buttons will show up on the right side of it to easily switch between those.
To upload a custom font, once you've selected the "Custom Font" tab, you just have to click on the field below and select the font you want to upload. The field will then change into a text input, so you can rename the font if you'd like.
When you are happy with your font selection, click on "I've selected my Fonts".
Typescales are essential for increasing legibility, creating visual flow, and unifying the appearance of diverse projects such as web pages, mobile applications, and printed documents.
You don't really have to change anything on this page if you are happy with the defaults.
Personally, I like Perfect fourth, as it increases font size by a third at each step.
Once you are happy with your typescale, click on "My typescale is ready". This is the last step of the required brand steps. You can add more advanced features, more on that later. For now, we are going to look at the brand guide.
Now your brand guide should be ready. Take a moment to look it over and see if it is to your liking. You can always go back to previous steps and modify things to your preference. Here is the link to the brand guide I just created.
There are some key features here that you might like. One is the download icon that appears when hovering over the logos; clicking on that should reveal a dropdown to download your logo in different formats. The only exception to that is if you uploaded your logo as PNG, then PNG is the only download option.
Another key feature is that in the Colors, Gradients, Fonts, and Typescale sections, there is a button on the right that says "Grab Code". Clicking on that reveals CSS code generated for this section of the brand guide. This is very useful when working with developers; you can simply send them a link to the brand guide, and they can copy all the values they need in one click. It also generates it as CSS variables, SASS, and Tailwind.
You can also click on any color value to quickly add it to your clipboard. The same goes for font sizes.
If you take a look in the bottom left corner of your brand guide (which only shows up if you are logged in as an owner, admin, or editor), you will see two icons: an arrow left, which will take you to your brands dashboard, and a share icon. If you click on the share icon (Marked with 1.), it will open up a modal with settings to share your brand.
At the top, you will see the URL to your brand guide; this can be customized by clicking the "Edit URL" on the right. You can copy this to quickly share your brand guide with others without them having to create an account.
Below that is the Embed code; copy this to your website to embed the brand guide there.
Then there is a button that says "Export brand guide to PDF". This will create a PDF version of your brand guide, although we always recommend using the online version, which is always up-to-date and has additional features, like allowing people to download your logos and other assets.
Finally, at the bottom, there are three settings:
Public - This toggles whether the brand guide can be accessed by anyone with the link or if it's only for invited logged-in brand members.
Password protection - This allows you to set a password so that anyone with the link will also have to enter a password to access it.
Hide powered by Baseline logo - This simply removes the Baseline logo at the bottom of the page.
You should now be up to speed with the basic brand guide setup. If you click on the left arrow (marked with 2. in the image before the last one), it will take you to your brand dashboard.
Your brand dashboard starts with quick links to all the main products Baseline offers:
Guidelines - This takes you back to your brand guide we were just viewing.
Assets - Your asset library, where you can store any kind of file related to your brand. These are also accessible in other parts of Baseline, like the Design Editor.
Templates - Baseline automatically generates on-brand templates for your brand. This will take you to view the collection on offer.
Publisher - This is our built-in social media scheduler; you can use it to send your designs straight to social media in a couple of clicks.
Members - Here you can invite others to access or work on your brand with you.
Next to the brand name, at the top, there is a cogwheel, which you can use to edit any of the brand sections we edited when creating the brand.
Below, you should see a section called "Complete your brand". These are optional sections you can add to your brand guide.
Add Tone of voice - This will set your tone of voice by asking you a few simple questions.
Add Photography - Here you can add photos and videos to galleries that are displayed in your brand guide.
Add Core Values - Answer a few questions to find your brand's core values.
Finally, there is one more feature that automatically shows up that can be accessed through the cogwheel next to the brand's name. That is "Logo Safe Zone". It helps communicate the minimum spacing your logo requires from other elements, so that it won't feel cramped.
The final section in the brand dashboard is called "What do you want to design?" and contains shortcuts to create social media images. Clicking on one of those options will take you straight to view all the available templates for that social media network. You can also select the button on the right that says "+ Blank Design" to create something from scratch in our design editor.
Congratulations! You've now completed the getting started guide for Baseline. You've learned how to create a brand, set up a comprehensive brand guide, navigate the brand dashboard, and explore advanced features. With Baseline, you have a powerful tool at your fingertips to maintain brand consistency, collaborate with team members, and create on-brand designs efficiently.
Remember, Baseline is designed to grow with your brand. As you become more familiar with the platform, you'll discover even more ways to streamline your branding process and enhance your creative workflow. Don't hesitate to experiment with different features and explore the various tools available to you.
If you ever need additional support or want to dive deeper into specific features, our help docs are always available. You can also always reach out to using using the little chat bubble on the bottom right of the page. Happy branding!
s
Our intuitive platform is designed to make brand creation and management a breeze, even for those without design experience. In just a few simple steps, you'll have a professional, comprehensive brand guide to ensure consistency across all your marketing efforts.
Let's get started on building a strong, cohesive brand that will make you stand out in the market. Follow along as we take you through each step of setting up your first brand with Baseline.
Creating a New Brand
There are several paths available to start the brand creation process, but in this guide, we are going to assume you already have an account set up and are at the starting path of https://baseline.is/brands/
First things first, click on "Create your first Brand," which should be present in the middle of the page.
To begin, a brand needs a name, so all you have to do in this first step is to name your brand.
Enter the brand name in the field that says "Brand name". I'm going to name this one ACME, and then click on "That's my brand's name."
Logo Upload and Management
Next, you are presented with a question, "Do you have a logo?". We always recommend people get a professional to create a custom logo for their brand. That's always going to give the best results, but for those getting started, we do have a simple logo maker. For this demonstration, we are going to assume you already have a logo, so we click on "Yes."
Uploading your logo
To upload your logo, look for the section called "Primary Logo" and click on "Pick one file". Then select your logo and wait while it is uploaded. There are two options below that you can disable:
Detect colors in the logo and use them for the brand - This will try to pull the colors from your logo and create the color palette that will be used in the next step.
Try to create a black and white version automatically - This will attempt to create a black and white version of your logo. This will not always be successful, so you might have to remove the automated version and upload your own instead.
Once that's done, you can optionally add other logo variants, such as the Logomark (The icon in your logo).
Otherwise, we are clear to move on to the next step. Click on "My logos are ready" at the bottom of the page to continue.
Defining Brand Colors
If the automatic color detection was successful, you should see the brand colors extracted from the logo ready on this page.
The Primary color is the one you need to pay the most attention to. This should be the main color that defines your brand. It will be used in templates and other parts of Baseline, so it's important to pay attention to this color. Black or white will not work with design templates.
The rest of the colors should be in order of importance. Meaning Support color 1 should be the second most important color of your brand. Support color 2 should be the third most important, and so on.
Now, let's go over a color palette card from the top down.
At the top, you see the main color; this area is draggable, so you can re-arrange the order of the colors. You can drag Support color 1 to be the Primary or any other slot.
Under that, you can edit the colors by manually editing the hex value or clicking the palette icon to use a color selection tool.
Below that, you can name the color. It already has a name assigned to it, but you can change it to whatever you want.
Baseline will automatically match CMYK values, but those might be incorrect, so in case you have the correct values, you can update those fields as well.
Finally, "More options" has a dropdown to add Pantone and RAL values, and a description.
To add another color into the color palette, click the box that says "Add Color".
If you are happy with your color palette, select the button at the bottom that says "These are my brand colors".
Gradients
Once your colors are all set, Baseline will automatically generate gradients for you based on your color palette.
You can choose the gradients you want to use by clicking on the green "+" button, and you can also edit the colors of the gradients by moving the sliders below the gradients.
If you don't want to use gradients, you can click on "Skip gradients" and you will be taken to the next step. Otherwise, once you are happy with your gradients, click on "Confirm gradients".
Fonts
Next up is choosing your fonts. The font section is currently limited to three fonts.
Heading - This is used for your main headings and should generally be the most associated with your brand's image.
Sub-Heading - This is used for your sub-headings.
Body Font - This is used for your body text, like paragraphs.
You can choose fonts from Google Fonts, or click on "Custom Font" to upload your own font.
For Google Fonts, if they have other weights or italics, buttons will show up on the right side of it to easily switch between those.
To upload a custom font, once you've selected the "Custom Font" tab, you just have to click on the field below and select the font you want to upload. The field will then change into a text input, so you can rename the font if you'd like.
When you are happy with your font selection, click on "I've selected my Fonts".
Typescale
Typescales are essential for increasing legibility, creating visual flow, and unifying the appearance of diverse projects such as web pages, mobile applications, and printed documents.
You don't really have to change anything on this page if you are happy with the defaults.
Personally, I like Perfect fourth, as it increases font size by a third at each step.
Once you are happy with your typescale, click on "My typescale is ready". This is the last step of the required brand steps. You can add more advanced features, more on that later. For now, we are going to look at the brand guide.
Reviewing the brand guide
Now your brand guide should be ready. Take a moment to look it over and see if it is to your liking. You can always go back to previous steps and modify things to your preference. Here is the link to the brand guide I just created.
There are some key features here that you might like. One is the download icon that appears when hovering over the logos; clicking on that should reveal a dropdown to download your logo in different formats. The only exception to that is if you uploaded your logo as PNG, then PNG is the only download option.
Another key feature is that in the Colors, Gradients, Fonts, and Typescale sections, there is a button on the right that says "Grab Code". Clicking on that reveals CSS code generated for this section of the brand guide. This is very useful when working with developers; you can simply send them a link to the brand guide, and they can copy all the values they need in one click. It also generates it as CSS variables, SASS, and Tailwind.
You can also click on any color value to quickly add it to your clipboard. The same goes for font sizes.
Share options
If you take a look in the bottom left corner of your brand guide (which only shows up if you are logged in as an owner, admin, or editor), you will see two icons: an arrow left, which will take you to your brands dashboard, and a share icon. If you click on the share icon (Marked with 1.), it will open up a modal with settings to share your brand.
At the top, you will see the URL to your brand guide; this can be customized by clicking the "Edit URL" on the right. You can copy this to quickly share your brand guide with others without them having to create an account.
Below that is the Embed code; copy this to your website to embed the brand guide there.
Then there is a button that says "Export brand guide to PDF". This will create a PDF version of your brand guide, although we always recommend using the online version, which is always up-to-date and has additional features, like allowing people to download your logos and other assets.
Finally, at the bottom, there are three settings:
Public - This toggles whether the brand guide can be accessed by anyone with the link or if it's only for invited logged-in brand members.
Password protection - This allows you to set a password so that anyone with the link will also have to enter a password to access it.
Hide powered by Baseline logo - This simply removes the Baseline logo at the bottom of the page.
You should now be up to speed with the basic brand guide setup. If you click on the left arrow (marked with 2. in the image before the last one), it will take you to your brand dashboard.
Brand Dashboard
Your brand dashboard starts with quick links to all the main products Baseline offers:
Guidelines - This takes you back to your brand guide we were just viewing.
Assets - Your asset library, where you can store any kind of file related to your brand. These are also accessible in other parts of Baseline, like the Design Editor.
Templates - Baseline automatically generates on-brand templates for your brand. This will take you to view the collection on offer.
Publisher - This is our built-in social media scheduler; you can use it to send your designs straight to social media in a couple of clicks.
Members - Here you can invite others to access or work on your brand with you.
Next to the brand name, at the top, there is a cogwheel, which you can use to edit any of the brand sections we edited when creating the brand.
Advanced brand guide features
Below, you should see a section called "Complete your brand". These are optional sections you can add to your brand guide.
Add Tone of voice - This will set your tone of voice by asking you a few simple questions.
Add Photography - Here you can add photos and videos to galleries that are displayed in your brand guide.
Add Core Values - Answer a few questions to find your brand's core values.
Finally, there is one more feature that automatically shows up that can be accessed through the cogwheel next to the brand's name. That is "Logo Safe Zone". It helps communicate the minimum spacing your logo requires from other elements, so that it won't feel cramped.
Creating on-brand designs
The final section in the brand dashboard is called "What do you want to design?" and contains shortcuts to create social media images. Clicking on one of those options will take you straight to view all the available templates for that social media network. You can also select the button on the right that says "+ Blank Design" to create something from scratch in our design editor.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You've now completed the getting started guide for Baseline. You've learned how to create a brand, set up a comprehensive brand guide, navigate the brand dashboard, and explore advanced features. With Baseline, you have a powerful tool at your fingertips to maintain brand consistency, collaborate with team members, and create on-brand designs efficiently.
Remember, Baseline is designed to grow with your brand. As you become more familiar with the platform, you'll discover even more ways to streamline your branding process and enhance your creative workflow. Don't hesitate to experiment with different features and explore the various tools available to you.
If you ever need additional support or want to dive deeper into specific features, our help docs are always available. You can also always reach out to using using the little chat bubble on the bottom right of the page. Happy branding!
s
Updated on: 23/09/2024
Thank you!