A brand book is a document with the rules for using a corporate identity: logo, colours, fonts, graphics and carriers, and in its extended version also a description of positioning, values and the brand's voice. It exists so that any contractor, employee or partner reproduces the brand the same way — without checking every business card with the designer.
Brand book development in Kazakhstan costs from 150,000 ₸ for a template to 5M ₸ for a brand platform. The difference is not agency greed but the fact that the word "brand book" is used for three different documents. Here is what it consists of, how development goes, which level you need and what it costs in 2026.
What a brand book consists of
- Brand platform (in the extended version): positioning, values, character and tone of voice — how the brand speaks.
- Target audience: who the brand is for, which customer portraits the style takes into account.
- Logo book: logo versions, clear space, minimum size, restrictions.
- Style guideline: palette, fonts, patterns, photo style, layout principles.
- Business documentation: business cards, letterheads, presentation, email signature.
- Advertising and carriers: social media, signage, packaging, vehicles, uniforms, merchandise.
- Source files: vector, fonts, templates — without them the document cannot be used.
Brand book development stages
- Brief and competitor analysis — 3–5 days. What the brand has, where it stands next to competitors, which carriers are needed.
- Logo and style concepts — 1–2 weeks. 3 directions, each shown on real carriers rather than a white background.
- Refining the chosen concept — 1 week, 2–3 rounds of revisions.
- Carriers and assembling the document — 1–2 weeks. Adaptation to each carrier, brand book layout, preparing source files.
- Handover and author supervision — checking the first print runs and signage.
The full cycle at BrainTeam takes about a month: we deliver a brand book in 30 days with timely approvals.
Three levels of brand book
| Level | What is inside | Size | Timeline | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Logo book (logo guide) | Mark, versions, clear space, colours, fonts, restrictions | 10–15 pages | 2–3 weeks | from 500,000 ₸ |
| Brand book with corporate identity | All of the above + patterns, graphics, photo style, layout rules, 10–15 carriers | 40–60 pages | about a month | 780,000 – 3,000,000 ₸ |
| Brand platform + brand book | All of the above + positioning, values, tone of voice, brand architecture | 60–100 pages | from 1 month | from 2,200,000 ₸ |
An average BrainTeam project is a brand book with corporate identity at ~1.9M ₸. The price includes competitor analysis, 3 logo concepts, corporate identity, the document itself, all carriers and author supervision on the first print runs. No extra payments after the start. How a logo book differs from a brand book is explained in the article logo, corporate identity and brand book: what a business needs.
What to check in a finished brand book
- Logo. Primary and secondary versions, monochrome, inverted, minimum size, clear space, what must not be done to the mark.
- Colours. Primary and secondary palettes with exact values: Pantone, CMYK, RGB, HEX. Usage proportions.
- Typography. Font pairs for headings and body, licences, substitutes for web and office software.
- Graphics. Patterns, icons, illustration or photo style — what makes the brand recognisable without the logo.
- Layout principles. Grids, margins, hierarchy, "right / wrong" examples.
- Carriers. Business cards, letterheads, presentation, email signature, social media, signage, vehicles, uniforms, packaging — the set depends on the business.
- Source files. Vector for everything, fonts, templates. Without them a brand book is a pretty PDF that contractors cannot work with.
What drives the price
- Number of carriers. A coffee shop has 8 carriers, a clinic chain has 25. This is the main multiplier.
- Whether a logo exists. If the mark is ready and does not need reworking, the brand book is 30–40% cheaper.
- Strategic part. Positioning and tone of voice are separate work with interviews and research.
- Languages. A brand book in Russian, Kazakh and English means three versions of layout and proofing.
How to order and accept the work
When accepting the work, check three things: the logo is legible at 10 mm, every colour is specified in all systems, and you have the vector files and fonts. If anything is missing, the document is not finished, however good it looks.
What a cheap brand book costs
Offers at 100–300K ₸ are usually a template with your logo dropped in: generic rules that ignore your carriers. Such a document is not a mistake if you just need to fix the mark. But you cannot build a chain or a franchise on it — it will have to be redone, and that costs more than doing it right the first time.
Examples
Movato — a corporate identity with a recognisable graphic "wave" that works on billboards, in the app and on merchandise without a caption. More cases are in the branding portfolio. Logo prices separately are in the article how much branding costs in Almaty. An estimate for your list of carriers within a day: order a brand book.
