Style Guide. Maintaining the corporate identity of the Oregon Business Development Department, dba Business Oregon

Transcription

1 Style Guide Maintaining the corporate identity of the Oregon Business Development Department, dba Business Oregon

2 Introduction The Oregon Business Development Department operates under the assumed business name Business Oregon. This style guide details how the department and stakeholders can showcase Business Oregon s brand through the department s own documents, presentations and other communication materials. This guide contains information on the use of Business Oregon logos, colors, fonts and identifies templates staff and partners can use in their work. The Department will go by its assumed business name in all communications materials, only using the statutory agency name, Oregon Business Development Department, in statutory language and other governmental documents where it is legally necessary to do so. Consistency is a key factor in developing a recognizable and compelling brand image. This guide is a tool to implement a consistent brand image for the agency. If you find you have further questions, please contact the Communications team at Business Oregon. Business Oregon 775 Summer St, NE Suite 200 Salem, OR To Download Files: For Staff and Stakeholders: For electronic logo files, please visit For Staff Only: The templates, logo files and other tools are available to staff on the department s intranet site, at

3 The Logo Logo 1a The Business Oregon logo and integrated Where business grows tagline should be used in all official department materials and communications. There are a several different versions of the logo, to optimize its use on different backgrounds, size limitations and mediums. The logo can be used in color or in black. One Color Version (Black) Logo 1b Dark Background Version (For use on any dark background) Logo 1c

4 When displayed smaller than 2 wide, the secondary version should be used, with no tagline, as it becomes difficult to read. Full Color (No tagline) Logo 2a One Color (No tagline) Logo 2b Dark Background (No tagline) Logo 2c 2 2 Like any company logo, a logo s consistency in use is critical to its effectiveness. It is not to be altered in any way. For instance, the logo should not be: Stretched: Rotated: Use alternate fonts: Re-colored: or otherwise altered in any way.

5 There are different logo file formats available for your use on our website. For common use in MS Office programs like Word, PowerPoint and Excel, the PNG format works best. Formats include: Common MS Office Use: Websites, s: Adobe Suite or other professional layout application: PNG PNG, GIF, JPEG EPS, AI These electronic files can be downloaded from When providing a logo to a professional print shop or designer, the EPS format should be used. By downloading the logo, you agree to the terms of its use outlined in this document. The Business Oregon name, logo and tagline are trademarks of the Oregon Business Development Department, an agency of the State of Oregon. The trademark symbol must always appear with the graphic marks.

6 Tagline The tagline for the agency is Where Business Grows. The tagline is incorporated into the main agency logo, but can also be used on its own in marketing copy. There is also a separate logo using just the tagline and the word go from the word Oregon in the full logo. This logo will only be used by Business Oregon in its own marketing materials. This secondary logo can only be used when the full Business Oregon logo appears elsewhere in the layout.

7 Fonts Like logos, fonts are also important to a brand image. We want customers to recognize information coming from Business Oregon. Consistent font use provides comfort and familiarity for readers, and therefore Business Oregon employees are asked to use these fonts where possible. The primary font for copy-writing is Garamond. Garamond is a serif font ideal for copy in articles, brochures, policies, etc. However, Times New Roman is the official state font for correspondence with other state officials such as letters to legislators, memos for the Governor, etc. Business Oregon uses Garamond for other items because of its wider range of typesetting options (condensed, bold, light, etc.). For titles, ad copy, headings and other brochure-like items with short copy, a sans-serif font often needs to be used. Century Gothic is our primary sansserif font, which is also used to make up the Business Oregon logo. Garamond abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Times New Roman abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Century Gothic abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ NOTE: Professional printing vendors, please use Adobe Garamond in print production.

8 Colors Primary Department color: Pantone: 368 CMYK: RGB: Web/html: #7AC143 Secondary Department colors: Pantone: 450 CMYK: RGB: Web/html: #67652F Pantone: Process Blue CMYK: RGB: Web/html: #0093D0 Pantone: 152 CMYK: RGB: Web/html: #F3901D Pantone: Pantone Yellow CMYK: RGB: Web/html: #FFEF00 Pantone: 193 CMYK: RGB: Web/html: #D11242 These colors will be the main palette for marketing collateral used by Business Oregon, with different shades and opacities of the above colors used as well.

9 Templates: The letterhead and PowerPoint templates are both available to Business Oregon staff through the network drive, or on the intranet at The following are examples of what is available: Letterhead Business letter Memo Press release PowerPoint templates

10 Writing Style Guide Writing Style The department, as well as the state, follows the Associated Press (AP) Style of writing. Every document is to follow this standard, with the following exceptions: All important words in headlines are capitalized All references to the Governor depicted as "Governor" (not governor) Tips for daily use Capitalization and references to the department, board or commission and to a specific city or the state are written as: Welcome to the city of Prineville. The state of Oregon has 3 million citizens. The department has 110 employees. Comma usage in lists are written as: The department administers programs that assist businesses, communities and people. (no comma between the last 2 items) Agency Standards Plain Language Content must be written in "plain language." This includes publications, forms and instructions, licenses, agency notices and administrative rules. A document meets the plain language standard if it, whenever possible: Uses everyday words that convey meanings clearly and directly Uses the present tense and the active voice Uses short, simple sentences Defines only those words that cannot be properly explained or qualified in the text Uses type of a readable size (refer to readability guidelines) Uses layout and spacing that separate the paragraphs and sections of the document from each other (refer to readability guidelines)

11 Readability Guidelines State Standards Minimum standard for publications, forms and instructions, notices, reports and other documents, is 10th grade or below. Using proper line length You should have from 9 to 11 words on each line. If there are more than 11 you need to increase the size of the font; less than 9 and you need to decrease the size. Connecting words and short words (such as and, or, if, but, when, as) should be counted in pairs. What fonts to use and when Fonts to use in printed documents are to be: Serif for text body copy of any document; Sans Serif is best used for headlines, short phrases and photo captions. Never combine more than two typefaces on the same page. Never combine two serif fonts on the same page, and never combine two sans serif fonts on the same page. Fonts for use on web pages should be: Sans Serif, since a visitor is looking at the copy on-line. Downloadable documents should follow guides for printed documents. Very rarely (almost never) use all capital letters. The human eye recognizes words not only by their letter groups, but by their shapes. So, when you set words in all caps you are making it hard for the reader, actually slowing them down. Also, all caps take up a lot more space. Use upper and lower case or small caps. Spacing paragraphs and content groups A subhead should have little or no space after it and before the paragraph that follows. There needs to be space between paragraphs that apply to its subhead. This keeps the head and appropriate information together, visually. First lines of all paragraphs should be flush left (not indented). Colors Colors used on our web site should follow those outlined in the Branding Style Guide. Resources AP Style Guide (online database at the state library need username and password)

12 Specific Guidelines for the Web Use the general writing guidelines specified above plus the following: Keep Content Scannable Write in the "inverted pyramid" style, putting the most important information at the top of each document. Consider identifying documents with brief "executive summaries." Also try: Headlines that identify documents; subheads that keep readers moving through them (avoid the "clever" subs) Bullet points Numbered lists Questions and answers Bold or colored highlights (but sparingly) Pulled quotes to emphasize major points A few simple, easily recognizable icons Avoid: Extensive use of hard-to-read italics, mixing too many fonts, and using underlines for anything except links. Keep Content Short Do your readers a favor; don't contribute to information overload. Instead: Write short, direct sentences (general guideline: maximum of 20 to 25 words). Break up long paragraphs (general guideline: maximum of three to five sentences). Be succinct. Use only your best details and examples. Write less. Usability research indicates that the most effective Web documents are 50% shorter than their print counterparts. If you must include more information, see the next section. Edit ruthlessly. Trim every unnecessary word.

13 Keep Content Segmented Take advantage of what the Web does well by layering information. Split long material into smaller chunks of varying lengths, linking them to the original document and to each other. Consider presenting some information as: Checklists Primers or glossaries Fact sheets or "at a glance" boxes Testimonials or short case histories Formatted personal profiles Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) documents Resource lists Price lists Quizzes (with informative answers and relevant scoring) Charts, tables or graphs Resources Readability testing Clarity Rating Calculator

14 775 Summer St, NE, Suite 200 Salem, OR fax TTY Letterhead Example

15 Business Letter Example January 1, 2009 The Honorable Ted Kulongoski 160 State Capitol 900 Court Street Salem, Oregon Dear Governor Kulongoski: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed velit erat, interdum non, dapibus ac, laoreet et, ligula. Nullam tincidunt facilisis velit. Proin vestibulum ultrices urna. Suspendisse velit. Aliquam erat volutpat. Praesent egestas luctus velit. Pellentesque ac pede a pede euismod imperdiet. Aenean eleifend. Nam viverra mollis urna. Nullam felis. Vivamus sagittis purus in libero. Etiam vitae eros. Cras volutpat. Morbi vestibulum pede. Suspendisse tincidunt fermentum libero. Pellentesque molestie. Nulla mauris ligula, luctus vehicula, sollicitudin eget, egestas sit amet, arcu. Ut accumsan eleifend dui. Pellentesque ac eros at risus sodales pretium. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Praesent et tellus eget enim ullamcorper auctor. Pellentesque vitae massa. Vivamus pulvinar. Cras sed arcu. In adipiscing odio at sem. Pellentesque consectetuer lorem et orci. Donec quam risus, porta in, semper nec, congue quis, nulla. Warm regards, Tim McCabe Director 775 Summer St, NE, Suite 200 Salem, OR fax TTY

16 Memorandum Example MEMORANDUM DATE: January 1, 2009 TO: FROM: SUBJ: Sarah Miller Nathan Buehler Business Oregon memo template Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed velit erat, interdum non, dapibus ac, laoreet et, ligula. Nullam tincidunt facilisis velit. Proin vestibulum ultrices urna. Suspendisse velit. Aliquam erat volutpat. Praesent egestas luctus velit. Pellentesque ac pede a pede euismod imperdiet. Aenean eleifend. Nam viverra mollis urna. Nullam felis. Vivamus sagittis purus in libero. Etiam vitae eros. Cras volutpat. Morbi vestibulum pede. Suspendisse tincidunt fermentum libero. Pellentesque molestie. Nulla mauris ligula, luctus vehicula, sollicitudin eget, egestas sit amet, arcu. Ut accumsan eleifend dui. Pellentesque ac eros at risus sodales pretium. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Praesent et tellus eget enim ullamcorper auctor. Fusce eu eros viverra erat placerat ullamcorper. Nunc massa. Etiam congue, risus ut consequat pretium, magna lacus tincidunt lacus, non scelerisque enim magna ut urna. Nathan 775 Summer St, NE, Suite 200 Salem, OR fax TTY

17 News Release Example NEWS RELEASE May 13, 2009 MEDIA CONTACT: Marc Zolton State to Highlight Export Growth Opportunities for Oregon Companies at Showcases Across the State The Oregon Economic and Community Development Department (OECDD) will host four International Road Show workshops next week for Oregon businesses seeking assistance and information on how to expand their export sales. State officials, along with local partners, will host the lunch hour presentations as part of World Trade Week in Portland May 18, 19 and 22, in Eugene on May 20 and in Bend on May 21. The events are designed to help small- and medium-sized business owners expand their knowledge about potential export markets in such places as Mexico, Canada, Japan and the Middle East. Officials from those international partners will be hand to answer questions and provide information on how Oregon businesses can expand and diversify their export markets. "Export markets are a critical component to growing existing Oregon businesses," said OECDD Director Tim McCabe. "The state has the technical expertise and the international relationships to help Oregon businesses find export opportunities for their products." On May 18 at the Nines Hotel in downtown Portland, the Portland Development Commission will co-host OECDD Japan Representative Office Director Jun Mokudai and U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council President Edward Burton who will make a presentation about doing business with their respective nations. On May 19 in Portland,

18 ProMéxico Investment and Trade Commissioner Ricardo Vargas and Canadian Trade Commissioner Doug McCracken will make similar presentations on export opportunities to their nations. In addition, the Mayor's International Business Awards dinner will be held from 6 p.m.to 9 p.m. on May 18 in the Portland City Hall rotunda. On May 20, the Eugene Chamber of Commerce will co-host OECDD's Mokudai and Burton will again present. On May 21 in Bend, Economic Development for Central Oregon will co-host Mokudai and Burton. Finally, on May 22 in Portland, the Japan-American Society of Oregon will co-host an Oregon agricultural export panel featuring private-sector and government experts. In addition, at each of the events one-on-one meetings are available for with the trade officials and OECDD International Trade Officers. Companies must request (see below) a meeting with a specific country representative. The Oregon Economic and Community Development Department works to create, retain, expand, and attract businesses that provide sustainable, living wage jobs for Oregonians through public-private partnerships, leveraged funding, and support of economic opportunities for Oregon companies and entrepreneurs. Visit for more information on doing business in Oregon

19 MS PowerPoint Template