Write rules, not descriptions. Every line should be actionable by someone who isn't a designer, because most of the people using your brand aren't. They're a salesperson building a deck at 11pm who needs one clear answer.
Include the wrong examples. People learn faster from what not to do, and a page of "don't" prevents more damage than ten pages of principles.
Keep it to about twenty pages. A hundred-page document is a document nobody opens, and we say that as people who enjoy making the hundred.
Build the assets your team uses weekly. Usually a deck template, a social set, a document template, an email signature. Ask them rather than guessing. What we assume people need and what they open every week are rarely the same list.
Put the files where people already work. Google Drive, Notion, Figma, wherever the work happens. A beautiful PDF nobody can find loses to a system font every single time. This is a filing problem wearing a design problem's clothes, and it decides the outcome more than the guidelines do.
Name one owner. Not a committee. One person who decides when something new is needed and whether it fits. They don't need to be a designer. They need taste, the authority to say no, and about two hours a month.
