# Illustration Style Guide Template

Copy this document and replace the bracketed fields. Keep approved references and a record of revisions alongside the guide.

## 1. Publication

- Publication / owner: [name]
- Version / review date: [version and date]
- Audience and recurring subjects: [who reads your work and what you cover]
- Placements and aspect ratios: [hero, inline, newsletter, social]

## 2. Reusable visual rules

- Medium and finish: [e.g. flat geometry with restrained grain]
- Background: [color value and when to vary it]
- Primary and accent colors: [values and their roles]
- Accent placement: [what receives emphasis]
- Line weight and edges: [rule and approved reference]
- Texture, shadows, and perspective: [repeatable choices]
- People: [proportions, gestures, facial detail]
- Objects: [detail level and simplification]
- Composition: [focal point, spacing, allowed variation]
- Text, logos, and data: [what is allowed and who verifies it]
- Exclude: [specific recurring errors]

## 3. References

- Approved files and usage rights: [file names and permissions]
- Repeat these decisions: [palette, shape language, material]
- Do not copy these scene-specific details: [subject, setting, composition]

## 4. Review and changes

- Representative briefs: [human scene, abstract relationship, process if relevant]
- Pass criteria: [meaning, small-size readability, adherence]
- Reasons to reject: [factual errors, illegible labels, wrong relationship]
- Approver: [name or role]
- Change log: [date, version, changed rule, reason]

---

## Filled example: workplace newsletter

This is a hypothetical editorial specification, not a customer case study or a measured result.

- Audience: managers reading about decisions, collaboration, and work processes.
- Placements: 16:9 hero and inline illustrations, reviewed at desktop and mobile display sizes.
- Medium: flat editorial geometry with restrained paper grain.
- Background: warm off-white #F7F4ED.
- Palette: charcoal #252936 for structure, blue #465FC4 for the focal action, muted ochre #C9A45C as an optional secondary accent.
- Accent placement: emphasize the decision point; avoid blue on unrelated objects.
- Edges and texture: clean silhouettes with grain that does not obscure edges at mobile size.
- People: simplified faces and clothing; show the action through posture and hand placement.
- Composition: one central relationship, space around the focal interaction, varied camera distance across a set.
- Text and data: add labels after generation; use verified values for charts.
- Exclude: decorative dashboards, invented logos, neon glow, unreadable embedded text.
- Review: the editor checks meaning; the design owner checks visual rules. Keep accepted examples with the guide.

### Separate scene brief

Show several work items waiting at one review desk while an editor checks the first item. Put the blue accent on the review action. Keep the queue visible without implying measured waiting times.

Keep this scene instruction separate from the reusable rules. Review generated output; a written guide does not guarantee identical results across models or runs.

### Related resources

- [Illustration brief guide](https://zyncli.com/blog/how-to-write-an-illustration-brief)
- [Editorial illustration styles](https://zyncli.com/blog/editorial-illustration-styles)
- [Brand-consistent AI illustrations](https://zyncli.com/blog/consistent-ai-illustrations)