Many designers are familiar with the dreaded brand guideline PDF. New updates and revisions demand it be distributed again and again. Eventually, you’re left hunting through your folders for the most recent version that entails the actual guidelines you were meant to use all along. It’s all a bit of a mess.

To combat this outdated practice, Hamish Smyth developed Standards, a new platform that allows users to create, publish and share website-quality brand guidelines. And the best part? You don’t need a website, and you don’t need to know anything about code to get started.

Standards allows designers and clients to share website-quality guidelines online. Credit: Standards

Standards allows you to invite your clients and team members to view the same document. If anyone makes a change, the page updates automatically. It even lets you add animations, videos, images, and colors to make different parts of the guidelines stand out.

Fortunately, Standards doesn’t compromise on precision. Users can expect all the functionality of a traditional PDF without the missed updates and broken links.

If you’re finding it difficult to imagine how Hamish’s idea works in practice, there are some great examples on the Standards website. The SkillShare and RISD guidelines are two of my personal favorites.