My business already has a logo, why do I need a brand manual?

You've already invested in a logo. You have your color palette, maybe even a defined typeface. The logical question is: why spend more on a manual?

The short answer is that the logo is just the visible tip. The manual is what tells anyone (a new designer, your community manager, the print shop making your business cards) exactly how to use that brand: how much space to leave around the logo, which color combinations are allowed, which typeface goes in which context, what tone of voice the brand uses when writing.

Without that documented, everyone who touches the brand improvises a little. Nobody does it on purpose, they just have no way of knowing the rule if it was never written down. The problem is those small variations pile up, and at some point the brand looks inconsistent without anyone being able to pin down exactly why.

Rigatonni's brand manual, for example, runs 12 pages covering everything from logo variations to the usage rules for Tonni, the brand's character. With that, the restaurant's team can make day-to-day design decisions without depending on an outside approval for each one.