PLAYING BY THE RULES: YAKGEAR BRAND GUIDELINES

Transcription

1 PLAYING BY THE RULES: YAKGEAR BRAND GUIDELINES

2 AN INTRODUCTION TO YAKGEAR Like some of the best things in life, YakGear began with a little innovation and open water. Bill Bragman, an avid fisherman and curious inventor, often tinkered with ways to improve the kayak experience. When he happened across two seemingly simple designs leashes for paddles and fishing poles friends took notice, and he knew he was on to something. Bill refined his idea and, in 2006, made the products available to the public under the name Reel Deels. Word got out and, as the company grew, so did its offerings. In November 2007, with 20 items to its name, YakGear made its official debut as the original yak accessory company. Jump forward 10-plus years, and the company a crew of 16 full-time team members offers more than 250 quality products. Today s YakGear might be larger than when it first set out, but the leaders beliefs still hold true. At its heart, YakGear believes in living life on the water, and in quality equipment that elevates a good afternoon of fishing to something great. With a wide range of available rigging and accessories and new products in development all the time YakGear aims to help paddlesport enthusiasts take to the water on their own terms. YOUR YAK. YOUR RULES. YAKGEAR BRAND GUIDE 1

3 WHY BRANDING MATTERS YakGear s brand is our persona. It s how the world sees us. It s a million little pieces coming together to create a cohesive look across websites, collateral, trade show pieces and more. In other words, it s a big deal. We work hard to create a consistent look and feel in everything we put out there. This isn t because we re picky, (we re actually pretty laid-back) but because a consistent message helps others quickly identify us and the quality products and services we offer. Here, we ll lay out the YakGear brand s key elements as well as a few dos and don ts. YAKGEAR LOGO Do not use unspecified colors Do not add drop shadows Do not change specified format Do not squash or stretch to make it fit! YAKGEAR ICON YAKGEAR Do not use color logo on dark backgrounds Correct use of logo on dark backgrounds Do not re-typeset the logo. Correct use of logo on dark backgrounds The YakGear logo should always appear either in the corporate colors (PMS 299 light blue, PMS 285 dark blue and Black) or in black and white. The Pantone Matching System is the international standard for ink, so knowing your company s Pantone color is very important. The Pantone colors for YakGear are PMS 299 light blue, PMS 285 dark blue and Black. YAKGEAR BRAND GUIDE 2

4 COLORS & PREFERRED FONTS COLORS PANTONE 299 CMYK = 80/18/0/0 RGB = 0/161/224 HEX = 00A0E0 PANTONE 285 CMYK = 95/56/0/0 RGB = 0/113/206 HEX = 0971CE PANTONE 122 CMYK = 3/18/83/0 RGB = 255/208/64 HEX = F8D03F BLACK CMYK = 0/0/0/100 RGB = 0/0/0 HEX = PREFERRED FONTS These fonts are to be used in all YakGear materials. LEAGUE SPARTAN NEUTRA TEXT, BOLD ALT NEUTRA TEXT, BOOK ALT NEUTRA TEXT, BOLD ITALIC ALT NEUTRA TEXT, BOOK ITALIC ALT ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATE FONTS When the preferred fonts listed above are not available, the following fonts may be used. These fonts come standard in all Microsoft Office Suite applications version 2007 and later, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook. GILL SANS MT, CONDENSED CALIBRI YAKGEAR BRAND GUIDE 3

5 THE YAKGEAR NAME Our company has grown and evolved during our 10-plus years in business, and so has the way we spell our name. (We re just trying to keep you on your toes.) From here on out, YakGear should always be written as one word, with both the y and g capitalized. There is no dash. UNDERSTANDING OUR TAGLINE YakGear s trademarked tagline, Your Rules, touches on our dedication to providing the quality products people need to embrace the adventure and enjoy their time on the water. Some versions of our logo include the tagline, and you ll also find it used in body text across various marketing pieces. LAYING DOWN THE YAKRULES YakRules are bits of life advice that not only encourage people to take to the water on their terms, but tie into the message on a given piece of collateral. You ll find rules at the top of most major marketing pieces, including website banners, blasts, social media graphics and ads. The list of YakRules is constantly growing, but we ask that you not create rules of your own. Instead, refer to the online compilation at yakgear.com/company/yak-rules. While the online YakRules rundown is regularly updated, it might not be 100% up to date. If you are searching for a rule that you don t see on the list, a marketing team member would be glad to help. YAKGEAR BRAND GUIDE 4

6 PUTTING OUT THE RIGHT PRODUCT NAMES Just like our customers love rigging together parts and pieces to customize their watercraft, we like smashing together words and removing letters to create product names. While this gives our branding a one-of-a-kind feel, it can become confusing. (For instance, the YakGear Fish Stik, YakStick Mud Anchor and YakStick Floating Stake-Out Stick are three completely different products.) Before including product names in any marketing materials, please consult the official listing online, at yakgear.com/yakshop. COMMON COURTESY FOR OUR PARTNER COMPANIES YakGear isn t the only brand we care about. We also want to do right by the companies whose products we carry. Below, you ll find a list of their approved logos, as well as the proper way to refer to the individual companies in written text. v Backwater Paddle Company C-Tug The Fish Grip YakGear Fish Stik HOLDFast Grips RAILBLAZA YAKGEAR BRAND GUIDE 5

7 YAKGEAR MARKETING CONTACTS Our crew worked hard to provide a thorough YakGear overview, but hey nobody s perfect. If there s something we ve missed that you feel needs clarification, or if you just want to know more, please contact a team member below. We re always glad to help. David Mariscal davidm@yakgear.com Bill Bragman bbragman@yakgear.com Myles Bragman myles@yakgear.com YAKGEAR BRAND GUIDE 6