The International Jewish College Prep Boarding School. Style Guide. Rev. 8/16

Transcription

1 American Hebrew Academy The International Jewish College Prep Boarding School Style Guide Rev. 8/16

2 Introduction This official American Hebrew Academy style guide was developed in order to create branding unity and consistency with respect to all Academy communications, which include written, visual, oral, and media. Our audience (all potential students, parents, alumni, alumni parents, current students, past, present, and future donors, supporters, board members, vendors, professional colleagues, and the general public) needs to perceive the American Hebrew Academy brand as strong, well-defined, and consistent. Our goal in establishing this style guide is to inform all Academy faculty and staff how best to: Always present a professional message representative of the Academy s high standards. Establish Academy standards of uniformity for all American Hebrew Academy communications. Ensure an easily recognizable American Hebrew Academy brand presence on all internal and external communications. We have established style and branding guidelines for font, color, logos, and seals, signature blocks in s, and other written communications. This guide does not apply to internal day-to-day Academy communications such as s among staff and faculty. It is intended for all other communications including: all s from your American Hebrew Academy account to outside addresses, marketing, public relations, letters, brochures, flyers, newsletters, posters, signage, websites, digital communications, and logo wear, such as t-shirts, uniforms, and promotional items. We seek to present a unified, consistent, professional face when we communicate in the name of the American Hebrew Academy. We want our school to be recognized as the unique and extraordinary institution that it is, and this style guide should help to simplify our communications by creating easy-toimplement choices for all faculty and staff. If you have any questions about this Style Guide and the implementation thereof, please contact Hillary Zaken (hzaken@americanhebrewacademy.org) or Phil Cathcart (pcathcart@americanhebrewacademy.org) of the Communications Department. Realities of the Digital Age Whether an advertisement, t-shirt, digital file, or billboard, today most such media is designed on a computer. The designed images on a screen often differ greatly from the actual image on a poster, uniform, or online depiction. It is critical that all use of the Academy brand appear professional and is visible without distortion. Be cognizant of color contrast and size - will the end user/audience be able to easily see the brand? Always obtain a proof before final approval when using the Academy brand. Acronyms The acronym AHA should never be used externally. It is reserved for ease of use on internal communications among faculty and staff only. For external purposes, once defined, the American Hebrew Academy can be referred to as the Academy. 1

3 Logo Guidelines The American Hebrew Academy logo, seal, and tagline are used to positively identify the Academy s brand. Our logo, in the official and complete form, consists of the words AMERICAN HEBREW ACADEMY, our tagline, The International Jewish College Prep Boarding School, and the Academy seal. The seal portion of the logo can be used only when there is not enough space for the entire official logo, or when the tagline and name have been used nearby, to avoid duplication. However, unless absolutely necessary, the entire logo should be used at all times. These guidelines specify how the logo and its colors are to be used to create a foundation for visual unity, impact, and consistency when utilized in print and electronic media. In an effort to maintain uniformity, do not recreate the logo by inserting seal and typing our name and tagline, or by screen capture, copying, or scanning. Always use the Insert Picture from File command in the Insert menu in Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Publisher, Excel, and Outlook. Keep the seal in the same position, either to the left of left aligned text or centered above centered text. Do not change the font in the text (font styles and specifications are located in this document). The text of the logo should always be parallel to the bottom of the page. Do not slant or rotate the logo in any way. Do not stretch any part of the logo at any time. The.gif files are not able to be scaled up without losing significant resolution and becoming pixelated. If a large image is required, please use an.eps file or contact the Communications Department. The image needs to be at least 3 tall or 3 wide in order to maintain readability. Be sure to leave enough space (at least.25 ) on all sides of the logo to ensure it is not crowded and is prominently displayed. If there is a need for a specific size or specific format not mentioned here, please contact the Communications Department for assistance. All logos (both.gif and.eps formats) can be found in the following location: \\Numbers\Academy Departments\Communications\Official Logos. The Academy seal shall never be used without the tagline except as noted above. Official American Hebrew Academy Logo: American Hebrew Academy The International Jewish College Prep Boarding School American Hebrew Academy The International Jewish College Prep Boarding School 2

4 Typeface Guidelines and Specifications General font, English: Special Publications font, English: Scala General font, Hebrew: Garamond (David) דוד The Academy s general font is Garamond. This typeface is available on all Academy computers and should be used in all day-to-day communications from the American Hebrew Academy, including letter and correspondence. The Academy s official font is Scala. It is only used in all marketing materials and advertisements. Scala is the font used in the tagline of the Academy logo. This typeface has a limited distribution and is not used in general correspondence. The Academy s official Hebrew font is David.(דוד) This typeface is available on all Academy computers and should be used in all communications in Hebrew from the American Hebrew Academy, including letter and correspondence. Examples of these are below: Garamond abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Garamond Italic abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Garamond Bold abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Scala abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Scala Italic abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Scala Bold abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ David אבגדהוזחטיכמנסעפצקרשתןםךףץ David Italic אבגדהוזחטיכמנסעפצקרשתןםךףץ David Bold אבגדהוזחטיכמנסעפצקרשתןםךףץ 3

5 Color Specifications American Hebrew Academy has an official color palette, Academy Navy and Academy Gray. These are the only colors to be used in our external communications. When putting out newsletters, flyers, brochures, posters, or external s (to anyone outside of faculty and staff) these are the only colors that should be used. The Academy also uses three supplementary colors, Academy Blue, Academy Orange, and Academy Green, which may be used to supplement the official color palette. These are the colors that appear on the official American Hebrew Academy letterhead and on the web site. From time to time, color variations are necessary to create contrast, for black and white images or limited color printing, due to cost. In such circumstances, please seek approval for use of any other colors or variances in official Academy communications or brand, by contacting the Communications Department. Academy Navy: Academy Gray: Pantone 280 U Pantone Cool Gray 8 C 100 M 81 Y 21 K 6 C 0 M 1 Y 0 K 43 R 0 G 71 B 133 R 161 G 161 B 161 Academy Blue: Academy Orange: Academy Green: C 76 M 25 Y 0 K 0 C 9 M 57 Y 93 K 0 C 58 M 22 Y 100 K 4 4 R 0 G 155 B 222 R 226 G 132 B 50 R 121 G 153 B 0

6 Athletic Guidelines The American Hebrew Academy s official athletics color palette is blue, red, and white. Those are the only colors which are to be used in promoting Academy athletics. The official mascot of the Academy is the Eagle, which should only be used by the Athletics Department, or with prior permission of the Communications Department. No other mascot or colors should be featured on any Academy athletic gear or promotional materials. American Hebrew Academy Electronic Mail Guidelines and Specifications The s that you send to outside audiences such as prospective students, parents, donors, and the larger Academy community are important. In addition to conveying necessary information to your readers, your s also shape the perceptions people have about the American Hebrew Academy, and are often subsequently further transmitted to others. Our audience needs to perceive the American Hebrew Academy brand as strong, well-defined, and consistent. Different people and different companies use different electronic platforms, distorting your personalized . Your may not always appear as you intended in other or computer programs, and might look unformatted, unprofessional, and inconsistent with our brand. Accordingly, all Academy employees shall follow the guidelines here to ensure a consistent Academy image. These best practices will help you write s that will accomplish your goals and enhance the reputation of our school. Most importantly, this guide will help you avoid common mistakes. By using this guide, your communications will become more effective. Please use it consistently. There are two sections to this guide: Best practices Style Guidelines BEST PRACTICES Keep it brief In general, s should be brief and include links to more information. People scan , so keep paragraphs short and use bullets and headlines to highlight important information and quickly convey key points. Placing your main message above the fold (the visible part of the screen after the fully loads), gives your recipients a good idea on what the contains. Use a single call to action The focal point of your should be the action you want the recipient to take. Only make a single request. If you ask recipients to do several things, they may fail to respond to your primary request. 5

7 Electronic Mail Guidelines and Specifications, continued Be consistent Use consistent language to refer to programs, events, or actions you wish the recipient to take. If you create multiple s, you should talk about these concepts in the same way across s. Keep subject lines short and clear and include American Hebrew Academy or the Academy wherever possible. Refrain from using the acronym AHA except in internal communications. Readers often decide whether to open an based on the subject line. Some things to consider when creating your subject line: Keep your subject line straightforward; avoid ambiguity and word plays. Limit your subject lines to about 50 characters. Use American Hebrew Academy in the subject line if possible. In order to protect privacy, avoid using student names in subject line. Limit use of Reply All The Reply All function is meant to be used when all of those people originally addressed in the will benefit from the response. This should be used sparingly and only when the information in your response is relevant to all recipients. Mass s Please do not use the Everybody list unless absolutely necessary. Everybody really means everybody with an Academy account. You may send your message to Students only or other select groups found in the address list. It is disruptive to students to send mass s during class time. Please refrain from sending mass s (Everybody, Students, etc.) during those hours. Please send mass s only before or after class hours. Avoid jargon Use the same language your readers would use. Explain terms that are familiar AHA speak to you, but that your readers may be seeing for the first time. Example: TCB, LSB, CIAO, Friendly, JELL. Use spelling and grammar-check wisely Please proofread and spell check your before pressing send. However, also remember that while spelling and grammar-check programs can help you spot mistakes, these programs do not know what you are trying to say. Please review each suggested correction before you accept the change. Sending out communications with typos and spelling errors reflects poorly on the Academy. Mobile compatibility Research shows that over 46% of users open their s on a smartphone. Please design your s to be mobile friendly by conforming to the Style Guidelines listed in this document and following these recommendations. This includes the following: s should be succinct and to the point. Many servers truncate long s, and you don t want your message to be lost. Keep the subject line length short. Most mobile devices only display characters. Pre-header text - otherwise known as the first line of your - is visible when you view your inbox on a mobile device. Make sure to place valuable content in your opening to ensure that the reader opens your , and also to inform about the content of the message. 6

8 Electronic Mail Guidelines and Specifications, continued Caution You relinquish all control once an has been sent. Never send an that would harm you or the Academy if published or forwarded to others by the intended recipient. Given that you have no control over the re-publication of by others, use caution and discretion in writing communications and the transmission of other information such as scanned documents, files, and photos. Privacy concerns Privacy is a great concern for all educational institutions, and protecting the privacy of our students is a priority. When ing, please keep the following points in mind: Please do not list students names in the subject line of an ; this could expose sensitive information. All s to students and parents should be from your American Hebrew Academy account only. Please do not use your personal to contact students, except in case of emergency. STYLE GUIDELINES address For all external s, please use xxxxx@americanhebrewacademy.org as your official address, rather than the shortened xxxxx@aha-net.org address. Our official website is americanhebrewacademy.org, and our addresses should lead people to our site. Similarly, in all signatures, letters, business cards and other printed material, please list your official address as xxxxx@americanhebrewacademy.org. Use the Academy logo and signature on all mass communication The American Hebrew Academy logo is an important part of our brand image. The logo ties your message to all other communications that your audience has received from the Academy. It also tells your readers that your message is legitimate and not SPAM. signature guidelines can be found at the end of the Electronic Mail Guidelines and Specifications section of this document. Put your key message in the upper-left corner This is the first place users look, so put the most important information here. If a reader employs a preview panel, they often see nothing beyond the top few inches of an . Should they choose to ignore the and your key message is at the bottom, they will never see it. Use 12-point font Readers will skip your message if they have to strain to read it. Use the Academy s general font, Garamond, in 12 point size in all your external communications. Use color carefully Choose colors that make your message easy to read. Viewers quickly delete messages that are difficult to scan. Do not use backgrounds or stationary in official communications. Black is recommended for the main text of all communication. Do not use graphics for headlines or body copy Graphics and images are often suppressed by the reader s service provider. Many readers choose not to download images, so they will miss part of your message. Don t turn your entire message into a graphic; if readers do not choose to download your image, they will miss your message completely. This goes for all images, including headers, which obscure text the reader needs to see. 7

9 Electronic Mail Guidelines and Specifications, continued Signature Guide All Academy staff and faculty members shall use a standardized signature to help keep a coordinated and professional image. In addition to the Academy and Honor Society logos, the signature includes options for social media icons such as the Academy s official Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as a personal philosophy statement or quote. These logos can be found in the following location: \\Numbers\academy departments\communications\official Logos Signature Elements: (Font: Garamond. Size: 10pt - 12 pt. Color: Black) First Name Last Name ( with hyperlink) Title American Hebrew Academy 4334 Hobbs Road Greensboro, NC Office Phone: (336) , ext. xxxx Fax: (336) 217-xxxx [Academy logos and social media icons with hyperlinks may be added here] Elements of Academy Style The American Hebrew Academy does not follow any one official stylebook for Communications purposes. The following are general guidelines for grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and writing style which should be utilized for all official communications. Apostrophes: For plural nouns ending in s, add only an apostrophe: the students questions, states rights For singular common nouns ending in s, add s: the duchess s invitation, the witness s answer For singular proper names ending in s, use only an apostrophe: for goodness sake For singular proper names ending in s sounds such as x, ce, and z, use s: Marx s theories Acronyms: Do not use an acronym unless you have used it earlier, along with the full term: The class will take place in the Lab Science Building (LSB). We will meet in LSB 105. Capitalization: The Academy s editorial style follows these capitalization rules: Use lowercase letters except when uppercase is clearly required. Do not capitalize entire words or sentences. Readers consider this equivalent to shouting and it is also more difficult to read. For emphasis, bold fonts may be used. Commas: Use commas to make sentences more clear, but don t overuse them. The Academy s editorial style is to use the oxford (or serial) comma, meaning a comma is used before the conjunction and the last item in the list to avoid ambiguity: Separate items in a series with commas: The American Hebrew Academy is a Jewish, international, and college prep boarding school. 8

10 Elements of Academy Style, continued Use commas with numbers larger than three digits: Our 88,000 square foot Athletic Center When a phrase lists only a month and year, do not separate the year with commas: February 2013 was a cold month. When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with commas: May 27, 2013, is Graduation Day. Hyphens: Use a hyphen for compound adjectives before the noun: well-liked student, full-time job: She was a well-liked student. Do not use a hyphen when the compound modifier occurs after the verb: The student was well liked. Her job became full time. Dashes vs hyphens: Use a hyphen to link two words that modify the word that follows them: on-campus visit. Use dashes to insert phrases in sentences: With a dash you can either use two hyphens or select insert/symbols/special characters from the main toolbar you can add information within a sentence. Numbers: Numbers: Spell out the numbers one through nine. Use Arabic numerals for 10 and up. Dates: Always use Arabic figures, without st, nd, rd or th. When a phrase lists only a month and year, do not separate the year with commas. When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with commas: The new web site will launch in January March 7, 1945, is my mother s birthday. Time: Use figures except for noon and midnight, and use a colon to separate hours from minutes: 3:30 p.m. 4 o clock is acceptable, but time listings with a.m. or p.m. (with periods) are preferred. Quotation marks: Periods and commas always go within quotation marks. Dashes, semicolons, question marks, and exclamation points go within the quotation marks when they apply to the quoted material. They go outside when they apply to the whole sentence. Use single marks for quotes within quotes: Mr. Brown said, She told me, I wish I had won the lottery. Titles: Titles of academic courses: - Do not italicize course titles or put quotation marks around them: Dr. Scott teaches Introduction to World Politics. Titles of articles or press releases: only capitalize the first word. Academy students attend prestigious conference. Titles of books, movies, operas, plays, poems, albums, songs, radio and TV programs, and works of art: Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters. Put quotation marks around all such works except the Bible and books that are primarily catalogs of reference material: Hatikva, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Jurassic Park. 9

11 Elements of Academy Style, continued Titles of newspapers and magazines: Do not place these titles in quotation marks. Capitalize the in the name if that is the way the publication prefers to be known. Lowercase the before names if listing several publications, some of which use the as part of the name and some of which do not: Time, Newsweek, the Washington Post and the New York Times. Titles of directions/regions: - Lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc. unless they are part of a proper name: The cold front is moving east. I lived in western Massachusetts. She is from Northern Ireland. Titles of seasons: Lowercase spring, summer, fall and winter, unless part of a formal name: My favorite season is spring. She will compete in the Winter Olympics. Parentheses Place a period outside a closing parentheses if the material inside is not a sentence (such as this fragment). If the material is an independent complete sentence, place the period inside the parentheses. Periods: Leave only one space after a period or other punctuation marks at the end of a sentence. Use one space after a period in initials: J. K. Rowling Academy Descriptive language If a short and concise descriptive of the Academy is needed, please use this boilerplate developed by the Communications Department for your oral and written communications. The American Hebrew Academy is the only international Jewish college prep boarding school in the world. Since its founding in 2001, the Academy has inspired intellectually adventurous teenagers from 31 states and 35 countries to pursue excellence in a one-of-a-kind academic environment. The diverse culture, customs, and values of Judaism challenge Academy students of all backgrounds to maximize their full academic, personal, and spiritual potential which serve as the foundation for lifelong learning, community service, and global engagement. Rigorous study, experiential learning, competitive athletics, creative arts, travel around the world, and leadership development are at the core of the Academy s holistic curriculum. The American Hebrew Academy is an elite school with an internationally acclaimed faculty and staff, state-of-the-art facilities, the world s largest closed loop geothermal heating and cooling system, and a stunning 100-acre lakefront campus in Greensboro, North Carolina. Graduates are regularly admitted to prestigious colleges and universities and go on to positions of leadership in business, medicine, law, finance, social service, and the Jewish community in the United States, Israel, and around the world. 10

12 American Hebrew Academy 4334 Hobbs Road Greensboro, North Carolina (336)