Welcome to Issue 5 of our Visual Assembly series.

When you get a new high-end tool or appliance, do you read the user manual?

Some of us will jump right in and try to figure it out. Others will read intently before even unpacking the item. If you’re like me, you try a few things first, then turn to the user manual and say: OK, exactly how DOES this thing work?

Often that little booklet transforms your expensive purchase into a daily joy instead of costly frustration.

Yet most solopreneurs skip this crucial step, leading to visual chaos and inconsistency.

This week, we explore how to create a simple and practical brand style guide that will make your visual presence more professional and consistent — whether you’re working solo or with contractors.

Ever wonder how major brands maintain their look across thousands of touchpoints? From Nike’s swoosh to Apple’s minimalism, their secret weapon isn’t a massive design team (although they have those, too 🙂) — it’s a simple document called a brand style guide.

The good news? You can harness the same power for your solo business without the corporate complexity.

Why a Brand Style Guide Matters for Solopreneurs

Think brand guidelines are just for big companies? According to Lucidpress’ “State of Brand Consistency” report, consistent brand presentation across platforms can increase revenue by up to 33%.

But here’s the challenge: As a solopreneur, you’re juggling multiple roles. Without clear style guidelines — for yourself or contractors you hire — your brand can become:

❌ Inconsistent across platforms​
​Different fonts here, mismatched colors there

❌ Time-consuming to maintain​
​Recreating the wheel with each new design

❌ Difficult to delegate​
​Contractors guessing at your preferences

The Solo Style Guide Framework

Let’s create your streamlined brand style guide. Unlike the 100-page corporate brand manuals that contain everything from vision, mission and values to editorial voice, you need something practical that works for your solo business.

Here’s your essential elements checklist:

🔵 Core Brand Elements

• Logo usage and clear space
• Primary and secondary colors (with hex codes)
• Font choices for headlines and body text
• Image style preferences

🔵 Visual Do’s and Don’ts

• Logo placement rules
• Color combinations
• Typography hierarchy
• Image treatment guidelines

🔵 Digital Applications

• Social media specs
• Email signature format
• Website style rules
• Document templates

This Week’s Build: Your Streamlined Brand Style Guide

Ready to invest 15 minutes to create your solo brand style guide? Let’s do it.

1️⃣ Open your preferred document tool (Google Docs, Canva, or even PowerPoint)

2️⃣ Create sections for Logo, Colors, Typography, and Images

3️⃣ Add your specific brand elements to each section

4️⃣ Include examples of correct and incorrect usage

5️⃣ Save as PDF for easy sharing

Pro Tip: Keep it focused and concise.
If your guidelines exceed 4–5 pages, you’re probably making it too complex for solo use.

Your Next Steps

✅ Create your streamlined brand style guide

✅ Update your email signature

✅ Save both where you can easily access them

This week’s SOLO Insight: “Guidelines guard quality.”
Your brand style guidelines aren’t restrictions — they’re tools for consistency and growth. They protect your visual identity while making it easier to maintain and delegate.

Waitlist Open for Content Velocity, My 5-Day Sprint in March

This March, I’m teaching Content Velocity, a new 5-day sprint that shows you how to create months of high-quality content in record time with AI assistance.

In just five focused days, you’ll build a repeatable system for creating quality content that showcases your expertise — without the grinding effort.

You’ll get:

• Daily recorded tutorials
• My tested AI writing prompts
• Digital workbook with guided exercises
• A live Q&A session on AI writing tools
• Active community chat for collaborative feedback

I'm having so much fun putting this course together, knowing it will save solopreneurs hours each week and make creating content more enjoyable. AI tools have transformed my writing process, I’m excited to share techniques that keep your work fresh and distinctly human. No robot-speak here!
​
Check out early details and sign up for the Content Velocity waitlist.

💎 Fresh finds for creative minds

Here are three gems this week from around the Web for all types of visual thinkers and solopreneurs:

​🖥️ Learn HTML the Human Way​
Tired of feeling lost when developers talk about your website, or you want to make a quick tweak? Software engineer Blake Watson’s free HTML for People tutorial makes it approachable with clear, plain-English explanations. Perfect for complete beginners — and yes, you can do this in 2025! A valuable and generous guide. Support via buy-me-a-coffee.

🏃‍♂️ Running as Performance Art​
Toronto-based runner Duncan McCabe spent 10 months and about 700 miles to create a 27-second animation from his Strava running app. The result is a delightful dancing stick figure groovin’ to the BeeGees. Take a peek here on Instagram to see this creative visual communication.

​📕 Inside Big Brand Playbooks​
Want a glimpse inside the detailed brand guide of a global company? In this 20-minute video tour, brand strategist Stephen Houraghan takes you behind the scenes of 7 major brands, including Starbucks, Slack, and Spotify. It’s eye-opening in its detail. Article version also available.

⭐️ Have an item I should share in this section? Don’t keep it a secret. Email me with your find!

Did you miss our first three issues of Visual Assembly? You can find them here.​
​
Want to check out past issues? Visit the SOLO Newsletter archive.

Know someone who wants to know more about using visuals to communicate and stand out? Share this newsletter with another solopreneur!

And if you received this issue from a friend, I invite you to subscribe.

Thanks again for being a SOLO reader and coming along on this adventure!​

Until next week,