Because part of creating visual communications is identifying and understanding the marketing message and image that needs to be conveyed with our designs, a branding guide or brand manual is something you, as a designer, might have occasion to work with. Similiar to a style guide, a branding guide is a set of guidelines that some businesses use as a way to protect their brand. It describes to employees, affiliates, licensed distributors, and designers exactly how the company's brand (logo, trademarks, slogans, etc.) can and cannot be used.
Generally, branding guidelines are a good idea. They provide consistency for both the appearance of a brand (logo colors, for example) and where or how it is used (putting the brand on coffee mugs but not on shot glasses, perhaps). But Ron E., posting at brandcurve.com offers "3 Reasons why 'Branding Manuals' are bad for your brand." He's not really saying don't have one, just identifying some of the potential problems. As a designer you may or may not have much input into a client's branding manual, but understanding it and some of its weaknesses could be useful when discussing your concepts with clients.
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