BRAND GUIDELINES

Strategic Brand Overview

1

Brand essence

“Helping Texans stay independent” “A framework for Independent Living” “Empowering Independent Living in Texas” “Bringing Independent Living to Texas” “Guardian of the rights for Independent Living” “Overseeing the Interest of Independent Living” “Independent Living Curator” “Ambassadors for the Texas Independent Living Network” “Making Independent Living Accessible”

At the heart of our identity is our essence, encapsulated in the phrase, “Helping Texans stay independent.” At the core of what we are about is our framework of ensuring that Texans with disabilities have access to quality Independent Living services by focusing on a service delivery system through the 27 centers for Independent Living.

It defines what the brand stands for, ensuring consistency and credibility for all our key stakeholders and acting as an anchor for all communications and activities around the brand.

2

Typefaces

To present a consistent and coherent brand image, we have selected the following group of typefaces to be used when producing Texas SILC materials.

The National Institute for the Blind recommends using between front size 12-14.

Brand Fonts

• • • Garamond MAIN HEADINGS, BROCHURE COVERS, AND WEB TITLES Adobe Garamond Pro to be used in the majority of cases.

Times New Roman to be used sparingly and only with approval from Marketing.

Default for the use of this font should be all capitals.

Century Gothic Secondary headlines/subheads • • Weights/sizes by usage type at designer’s discretion.

Primary & secondary body copy Main Narrative.

• • • Lucida Sans Unicode Detail Copy Itineraries/Schedules/Agendas Charts Disclaimers, Terms & Conditions, other “legal copy” – minimum type size 6 pt.

•

Vladimir Script

To be used as initial capital letters to start new body copy sections or use sparingly in full words/titles, drop caps.

3

Logos

We have adopted the following color palette to present a uniform look for the brand. Users of these guidelines should be aware that colors are and can be dramatically different when applied to a variety of materials. Care must be taken when quality controlling any of the many forms of print and color outputting.

Brand Colors

SILC BLUE Pantone 655 C R: 16, G: 50 , B:99 C: 100, M: 88, Y: 34, K: 24 Web Hex value: #103263 SILC RED Pantone 200 C R: 194, G: 4, B: 48 C: 16, M: 100, Y:86, K: 7 Web Hex value: c20430 SILC BLACK Pantone Process Black R:0, G:0, B:0 C:0, M:0, Y:0, K:0 Web Hex value: 000 SILC YELLOW Pantone R:208, G: 158, B: 0 C:20, M:37, Y:100, K:1 Web Hex value: d09e00

Brand Identity

3.1

Master Logo

The Texas State Independent Living Council logo is the preferred identifier for the back of all brochures.

SILC BLUE Pantone 655 C R: 16, G: 50 , B:99 C: 100, M: 88, Y: 34, K: 24 Web Hex value: #103263 The brand element should appear at least once on every piece of brand communication. The master brand is made up of these elements using the three brand colors as follows: Emblem—Background circle and state: Pantone 655 C Stars: Pantone 200 C Outline: White Tagline: remove if under 7pt.

SILC BLACK Pantone Process Black R:0, G:0, B:0 C:0, M:0, Y:0, K:0 Web Hex value: 000 SILC RED Pantone 200 C R: 194, G: 4, B: 48 C: 16, M: 100, Y:86, K: 7 Web Hex value: c20430

Helping Texans Stay Independent

Brand Variations

3.2

Identity variations

All collateral should feature the Texas SILC logo. Wherever possible the full color logo should be used. Where the background does not contrast sufficiently strongly with the full color logo, the black and white (grayscale) version should be used.

Emblem—Background circle and state: Process Black Stars: Graytone Outline: White Tagline: remove if under 7pt.

When using the identity on a background, please verify that the background provides sufficient contrast to the identity and choose an area with a solid light or dark space to ensure proper staging and legibility.

Brand Sizing

3.3

Sizes

The following minimum size applies to all collateral material. Promotional materials are dependent on the product chosen.

Website: 150px X 150px It is important that the size of the brand identity be appropriate to the medium and to other graphic elements. The identify must also be placed away from other elements in a layout so that it is easily identifiable.

To preserve the SILC’s logo integrity, always maintain a minimum of clear space around the logo. This clear space isolates the logo from competing graphic elements such as other logos, copy, photography, or background patterns that may divert attention. The minimum clear space for the SILC logo is defined as the height of the letter “S” in the wordmark. The minimum clear space should be maintained as the logo is proportionally enlarged or reduced in size.

There is no maximum size for the identity. However when sizing with the tag line, increase or reduce as a unit to maintain the proportion.

Wordmark: consists of two fonts: Georgia and Century Gothic

Texas Texas State Independent Living Council SILC

3.4

Applications

Co-Branding

When using the SILC identity with those of other organizations, or programs, it is important not to obscure the logo in any manner. It must stand alone but in close proximity to another logo.

Brand Identity Applications

4

Photographs

The quality of images used is also paramount to illustrate the quality of the Texas SILC brand. An image used should be no less than 250 dpi and enlarged no greater than its original size. In addition, when resizing an image, do not distort it either horizontally or vertically. Always, therefore, resize an image with percentage values and do not drag the picture placeholder to resize. The preference is to use color images if the hardware being used to produce the printed item is able to produce full color. Black and white images can be used on their own or alongside color images on the same page.

Whenever using a photographer always check the Texas SILC’s rights for usage. Photographers are required to provide a digital image on CD in high resolution. They will be credited at the rear of the document.

Imagery

5

Tone of Voice

To ensure a consistent message, we believe that the tone of voice needs to be simple to understand. Use of colloquialism is alright under certain circumstances. Use of the AP style is preferred.

Copy

A huge component of the SILC’s brand’s personality is the copy. When multiple people are writing the copy, the brand can start to sound like it has multiple personalities. When reading, the brain automatically looks for consistency and patterns, and poor copy-writing can ruin the reading flow.

Headline Wordmark

Texas State Independent Living Council

Text Subhead font

Helping Texans Stay Independent

6

Brochures

To ensure consistency, the preferred options for all SILC brand brochures are as follows: On brochure front covers, if used, the tagline must only ever appear vertically on the left hand side, with copy running from bottom to top. BROCHURES Portrait: Letter 8.5” X 11” Landscape: Letter 11” X 8.5” Booklet: 5.5” X 8.5”

Collateral

Designers must follow the typography and identity guidelines to ascertain the correct brochure cover fonts and identity formats to use in conjunction with the design layout.

6.1

Stationery

There are several applications where a less formal stationery is applicable.

Collateral

Font variations within the body of the letter is acceptable. The preferred font style for all collateral materials is Century Gothic or any san-serif font style. Font size should be at least 12 pt. and preferable 14 pt.

EXAMPLE

6.2

Reports

Reports can take on many forms. As long as the colors, logo, and tone are consistent throughout the materials, the branding remains the focal point of the product.

Collateral

Designers must follow the typography and identity guidelines to ascertain the correct fonts and identity formats to use in conjunction with the design layout.

EXAMPLE Texas State Independent Living Council Title Here

Helping Texans Stay Independent

7

Social Media

Social media can be managed through a Hootsuite dashboard or hootlet. There is an app just for Chrome.

Hootsuite Dashboard

Social Media dashboard: https://hootsuite.com

Account login: [email protected]

PW: socialevery1 Accounts: twitter, facebook, linkedIn Add hootlet app to Chrome www.hootlet.com/start/index.html#

twitter.com/TexasSILC facebook.com/txsilc linkedin.com/company/texas-silc/ youTube.com/texassilc plus.google.com/+txsilcorg1 pinterest.com/silcfb/ Helping Texans stay independent!

8

Basic usability

Web guidelines keep everything consistent, from button styles to navigation structure.

Naming conventions: yyyyCapitalLetter.jpg (to begin each word) If more information is needed, add a period before the extension.

Ex: 2013ConfAttendee.Name.jpg

Accessibility standards: When ever possible provide accessible code within the webpage. In the navigation, have an accessible menu item that describes how to workaround an accessible issue within the website.

Web Format

The Texas SILC’s web software preference is WordPress. It is currently using Joomla as its template style.

See section 5 for writing style and tone of voice for language style. The AP style manual is the preferred guideline for copy.

Use book title capitalization style for menu and navigation.

Use clear Error Messages; i.e.: “The page you requested is no longer at this location.” instead of Error 404: file not found.

Include links to the key locations within the site.

Provide “alt text”.

Use fluid layout design.

Use white space liberally.

Keep content to one screen. Avoid scrolling wherever possible.

Treat graphics consistently throughout the site.

Use the Microsoft language widget.

9

Press Releases

Media distribution is part of the ongoing branding process. Consistent tone, message and imagery is important. Always attach the company logo to any press release distribution (do not embed in document).

Broadcast Media

There is a fairly standard format for creating press releases. It will help your credibility and chances of being published if you present your material this way. Each press release should include the following: EXAMPLE

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Headline City, State/Country - Month Day, Year These details precede the story and orient the reader.

Body This is where the actual story goes. There should be more than one paragraph, each paragraph no more than a few sentences. If there is more than one page, write "-more-" at the bottom of the page.

Company/organization info These words should appear at the top left of the page, in upper case. If you don't want the story to be made public yet, write "HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL ...." instead.

Just like a headline in an newspaper. Make sure this describes the content of the story.

Contact Information Include any background information about the company or organization featuring in this press release.

Include contact person, company name, phone/fax, email, physical/postal address.

ENDS or ### This indicates the end of the press release.

(xxx words) If you like you could include the total number of words contained in the press release.

Policies and Procedures

10

Marketing approval

Marketing approval or guidance can be obtained by contacting the following SILC personnel.

Texas SILC

Christine Martin eMail: [email protected]

Regina Blye eMail: [email protected]