Buckinghamshire New University Brand Guide

BRAND GUIDE

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Buckinghamshire New University’s Brand Guide 2021. This summarises our new logo, colours, graphic elements, design rules and templates.

It will be an important tool for use by our own staff, partners and suppliers.

The strength and consistency of our branding and overall corporate identity is an integral part of the role we fulfil to our students and within the community.

This attention to detail with our brand is a natural progression. It follows on from our previous achievements and is just the beginning of our commitment to effect change and deliver an outstanding experience to all that we interact with.

Professor Nick Braisby Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer

OUR VISION

For Buckinghamshire New University to become a University that is highly connected, permeable, student and customer-focused, business-oriented, strategically aligned, impactful and aligned to strategic partners.

OUR MISSION

To transform lives through inspiring, employment and profession focused education, enabling people positively to impact society and their future. It calls for us to assess the value of our work through the University’s impact on students, staff, stakeholders, communities and strategic partners.

OUR BRAND VALUES

We’ve developed our brand values to reflect who we are and what’s important to us as a University. These will be shared externally.

The HR led DRIVE values will remain as our internal behavioural values.

Career-focused

We blend academic and hands-on practical learning with work placements to inspire, challenge, motivate and support our students to aim higher and achieve their career goals. Our lecturers are industry professionals, our courses are stimulating, creative and entrepreneurial, encouraging innovation, critical thinking and creative problem solving skills; an approach that equips our graduates with the confidence to work as part of a team, navigate uncertainty and thrive in their future careers.

Inclusive

We treat each student from every background and belief as an individual. We embrace and celebrate difference, respect and support each other. Our campuses are safe and welcoming places, where everyone can be themselves and feel that they belong.

Student centred

Students are at the heart of everything we do, they are our customers, and their opinions matter. We listen and respond to their needs, treating them with care and compassion. We strive to provide a holistic student experience, which goes beyond earning a degree. We enable our students to find and explore new passions through a host of free social, cultural and sporting opportunities, so that everyone can participate and flourish.

OUR BRAND VALUES Open

We are open to new ideas and new ways of doing things, continuously evolving and seeking new and better means to inspire and enable learning. We are committed to access and academic achievement for all, regardless of age, background, circumstance or location. We create opportunities for those who want to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential.

Connected

We collaborate with our strategic partners to create courses that are relevant, engaging and meet the needs of tomorrow’s economy. We work with our students and the Students’ Union to ensure a positive and successful learning experience. We build networks with businesses and communities to deliver the best outcome for our students and we help our students connect with the world of work.

Ethical

We are committed to fairness in our policies, practices and procedures. We act responsibly in our approach to the environment, social responsibilities and on sustainable development. We actively participate in The United Nations sustainability goals. We take our duties as a centre of learning, neighbour, partner and employer seriously.

IMPORTANCE OF A STRONG BRAND

We have an enviable and powerful asset in our name and reputation, we must use this wisely in order to protect the good value that it adds to Buckinghamshire New University.

Only by protecting our brand identity and staying true to our brand values can we benefit from the advantages they give.

The brand identity works with, and reinforces the value and recognition of the Buckinghamshire New University brand.

TONE OF VOICE

Our tone of voice is the way we write and speak to our different audiences - our carefully chosen language. Our language is not just the construction of words - it is the intonation, the phrasing and conviction. From prospectus to website, adverts to speeches, a consistent tone of voice will help build and strengthen our brand. It is a vital part of our brand identity and an important way to communicate our values.

The words a person uses tell us a lot about their personality and it’s the same with brands. After all, brands are often described as ‘personalities’ and as such our tone of voice has been developed to help us choose words that bring our brand’s personality to life.

Importantly, when used consistently, tone of voice can help build trust in our brand.

TONE OF VOICE

Why is it important?

Having a set tone of voice enables you to have a personality, meaning you can relate to your consumers (our students) on a more personal level. A relationship can then form and with this comes brand loyalty and our family feel.

• to engage with our students and staff

• to build trust in what we do

• to stand out from the competition.

Everybody uses tone of voice to create a strong brand persona.

Whether we’re talking to a potential student over the phone, via email, at an open day, in a direct mail pack, on social media or in a press release, every time we communicate, we are using a tone of voice.

Being aware of this can mean we can work as a team to create one distinctive voice.

TONE OF VOICE

Our principles

EXPERT AND EFFECTIVE Leader / Sage

We have conviction in our beliefs, and confidence in our services. Our sentences are short, succinct, and to the point. We talk with absolute clarity and never hide behind jargon.

INSPIRING AND INVITING

Creator / Magician

There’s a positive, can-do attitude in our communications. Our words are enticing, exciting, and encouraging.

TRUSTWORTHY AND CARING

Caregiver / Everyman

We speak like a real person, and we’re not afraid to show our feelings. Our voice sounds thoughtful and warm.

TONE OF VOICE

How our principles sound to students

EXPERT AND EFFECTIVE

We offer state-of-the art facilities to ensure you can achieve more.

Our lecturers and industry experts support you as you develop your skills.

We enable you to develop the skills you need to ensure you are career-ready upon graduation.

INSPIRING AND INVITING

Whether you’re applying for a degree, starting an apprenticeship, or furthering your career, there’s a world of exciting opportunities for you to explore at BNU.

TRUSTWORTHY AND CARING

Throughout your studies, it is important to care for your physical health as well as your mental health and wellbeing.  We understand there may be times where you may feel that you need some extra help. We are here to support you and ensure you get the most out of your time here.

STRAPLINE

A good strapline creates a strong and clear brand image in the customer/student mind.

It defines the University uniquely and helps set us apart from competitors.

INSPIRED. EMPOWERED. EMPLOYED.

LOGO

OUR LOGO

Looking back to the future

Buckinghamshire New University can trace its roots to 1891, where it started as the School of Science and Art. Since that time it has continued to evolve and gained university status in 2007.

The University’s coat-of-arms tells of our rich history. We want to build on this, and have developed the new logo to incorporate its key elements, whilst retaining an overall look of modernity.

OUR LOGO

What goes into our logo?

We have worked in conjunction with the College-of-Arms to ensure our new logo not only looks good and has good links to our history, but also adheres to rules around heraldry and it’s future use.

Main graphic device set into a shied emblem, its basis is in our crest and split into two distinct sections.

Two swans to match the Crest and a link to the emblem that has long been a part of Buckinghamshire.

Addition of ‘chevronny’, 14 separate sections as advised by the College-of-Arms.

Greater emphasis on the torch, as held by a swan on our Crest. The torch has a classical reference to ‘enlightenment’ in eduction.

A new modern font with classical overtones to elevate our status.

Addition of our establishment in 1891 to reinforce our longstanding in education.

OUR LOGO

Primary logos

OUR LOGO

Stacked logo

Clear space

This is the minimum distance the logo should be separated from other elements.

Clear space

OUR LOGO

Inline logo

Clear space

This is the minimum distance the logo should be separated from other elements.

Clear space

OUR LOGO

Secondary logos

OUR LOGO

Torch

Clear space

The standalone torch is ONLY used for social media purposes.

This is the minimum distance it should be separated from other elements.

Clear space

OUR LOGO

Shield

Clear space

The shield use is for branded documents only. As such artwork should be set or approved by the creative design team for its use.

If the shield is used as a stand alone element, the clear space is measured off the height of the swans.

This is the minimum distance it should be separated from other elements.

Clear space

OUR LOGO

Minimum reproduction

Due to the detailed elements within the shield there is a minimum reproduction size for our primary logos.

Need a smaller logo?

Simplified variants

For very small scale reproduction there is a simplified version, this is used in embroidery or small badges etc.

This is only available upon request from the Creative Design team.

creativestudio@bucks.ac.uk

17mm(h)

65mm(w)

30mm(h)

45mm(w)

17mm(h)

32px(h)

14mm(w)

16px(w)

OUR LOGO

Primary logo placement

The black logo is our primary logo placed either in clear space or on a block white background element, observing the minimum spacing rules.

The primary logo can be placed over block colour or image elements.

OUR LOGO

Other placement options

As a secondary use, the logo can be reversed, and placed on any of the approved colours from our palette.

See approved colour palette.

Buckinghamshire New University | Brand Guide | 24

OUR LOGO

Incorrect usage

A few rules are necessary for maintaining the integrity of the brand. Don’t compromise the overall look of the logo by rotating, skewing, or distorting in any way - that includes adding unnecessary and unattractive text decorations like drop shadows and outlines. Here are a few examples of some ways you should NEVER consider using the logo.

A. Don’t rotate the logo.

B. Don’t squash or stretch.

C. Don’t resize any part.

D. Don’t add drop shadows or other text styles.

E. Don’t place elements in the logo clear space.

F. Don’t use off brand colours. Reference in the colour usage section.

X X X X X X A C E G

X B D F

THE COAT OF ARMS

Our coat of arms is an official endorsement, not our main brand logo.

The University coat of arms is a mark of endorsement and should never be used as a logo or icon.

It is specifically used in materials such as degree parchments and at ceremonial and public events.

The coat of arms should never appear with the University’s name attached to it. This is to ensure that it is not mistaken for our logo.

To obtain a copy, and to discuss terms of usage, please contact the Creative Design team.

THE COAT OF ARMS

Minimum reproduction

35mm(h)

35mm(h)

26mm(w)

26mm(w)

35mm(h)

22.5mm(w)

Buckinghamshire New University | Brand Guide | 27

THE COAT OF ARMS

Incorrect usage

A few rules are necessary for maintaining the integrity of our coat of arms.

A. Don’t squash or stretch.

B. Don’t add additional branding elements to the coat of arms.

C. Don’t add drop shadows or other text styles.

X X A C

X X B A

TYPOGRAPHY

TYPOGRAPHY

Primary fonts

GILL SANS NOVA

Use for headlines

UPPERCASE

Letter tracking (spacing): 80pt

GILL SANS NOVA

Gill Sans Nova

Use for body copy

Sentence case

Letter tracking (spacing): 20pt

Gill Sans Nova

TYPOGRAPHY

Secondary fonts

The primary fonts should be used for all professionally reproduced artwork. Where use of the primary fonts is unavailable, the following secondary fonts are approved for use in presentations and word processed documents.

Gill Sans

Available as a Microsoft system font Use for all copy

Gill Sans

Arial

Available as a Microsoft system font

Use for all copy

TYPOGRAPHY

Stylised layouts

Quotes

To further identify a piece of work as from Buckinghamshire New University, we have stylised layout styles for quotations.

Garamond Premier Pro

Use for quotes

Sentence case

Letter tracking (spacing): 0pt

Garamond Premier Pro

Big Caslon

Use for speech marks

Big Caslon “

COLOURS

COLOURS

Colours to reflect our audiences

The University has to communicate with many stakeholders, our colour palette has been created to effectively communicate across a spectrum of users.

COLOURS

Base palette

Acts as a grounding for all our palettes, can be used for backgrounds or accents.

Black

CMYK - 30/20/30/100

RGB - 0/0/0

Hex - #000000

Pantone - Black6C

Light Grey

CMYK - 14/11/10/0

RGB - 225/223/226

Hex - #E1DFE2

Pantone - Cool gray 3C

Dark grey

CMYK - 62/52/61/57

RGB - 69/58/59

Hex - #45443B

Pantone - 418C

Paper

CMYK - 7/5/5/0

RGB - 240/240/240

Hex - #F0F0F0

Pantone - Cool gray 1C

Mid grey

CMYK - 53/36/37/17

RGB - 123/133/136

Hex - #7B8588

Pantone- 430C

White

CMYK - 0/0/0/0

RGB - 255/255/255

Hex - #FFFFFF

Pantone - N/A

COLOURS

Undergraduate/ younger audience

This palette has been designated as the primary colour selection as younger students make up the majority of our core audience.

Primary colour palette

Yellow

CMYK - 11/12/79/0

RGB - 236/212/75

Hex - #ECD44B

Pantone - 610C

Aqua green

CMYK - 71/9/34/0

RGB - 58/172/175

Hex - #3AACAF

Pantone - 7472C

Orange

CMYK - 1/69/91/0

RGB - 235/105/36

Hex - #EB6924

Pantone - 7578C

Cerulean blue

CMYK - 73/10/3/0

RGB - 11/172/224

Hex - #0BACE0

Pantone - 638C

Red

CMYK - 14/91/81/3

RGB - 205/51/49

Hex - #CD3331

Pantone - 1797C

Navy blue

CMYK - 100/81/33/20

RGB - 26/57/101

Hex - #1A3965

Pantone - 534C

COLOURS

Postgraduate/ mature audience

Lime

CMYK - 26/6/74/0

RGB - 211/212/94

Hex - # D3D45E

Pantone - 380C

Teal green

CMYK - 52/12/36/0

RGB - 136/185/173

Hex - # 88B9AD

Pantone - 3248C

Dusky pink

CMYK - 28/29/24/4

RGB - 190/176/179

Hex - # BEB0B3

Pantone - 435C

Stone blue

CMYK - 74/31/24/7

RGB - 63/137/166

Hex - # 3F89A6

Pantone - 7459C

Mature red

CMYK - 19/98/97/11

RGB - 183/31/27

Hex - # B71F1B

Pantone - 7620C

Navy blue

CMYK - 100/81/33/20

RGB - 26/57/101

Hex - #1A3965

Pantone - 534C

PATTERNS

PATTERNS

Our patterns

Patterns are an essential part of our brand and help to create a cohesive, creative and distinctive visual look that makes us recognisably BNU.

Our patterns are derived from elements of our new logo, so that the visual cues are clear throughout all our branded outputs.

We have a set of 12 patterns that are used as graphic devices that provide a huge range of possibilities for layouts to make our brand stand out from the crowd.

PATTERNS

Pattern #1

This pattern is derived from using the ‘Chevronny’ as a basis.

PATTERNS

Pattern #2

This pattern is derived from using the ‘Chevronny’ as a basis.

PATTERNS

Pattern #3

This pattern is derived from using the shield outer and inner frame.

PATTERNS

Pattern #4

This pattern is derived from using the ‘Chevronny’ as a basis.

PATTERNS

Pattern #5

This pattern is derived from using the ‘Chevronny’ as a basis.

PATTERNS

Pattern #6

This pattern is derived from using the shield shape and inverting it to make the distinctive pattern.

PATTERNS

Correct usage

The pattern elements can be scaled and positioned in a number ways to add interest to branded elements. A few examples are shown opposite.

A. Can be placed next to block colour elements and imagery.

B. Reverse pattern placement to work across block colour and image elements.

C. Can be scaled for use across a wide range of uses, from a wallpaper to an accent element.

D. Can be placed in any colour from the approved colour palette.

PATTERNS

Incorrect usage

Don’t compromise the overall look of the brand by incorrect positioning.

A. Don’t rotate the patterns.

B. Don’t mix the pattern colours together.

C. Don’t align two patterns together.

IMAGERY

IMAGERY

Image selection

Our images should harmonise with the subject and our audience. As such, where possible, we use our own image library to showcase the University facilities and the real life experience of being a BNU student or staff member.

Colourful, diverse, imagery that is eye catching and tells a story to every viewer, so reinforing the positive experience and work the University does is paramount.

There are occasions where our own imagery is limited, in these instances we do use stock library. Again, as long as we aim to show a real life experience without the subject looking too posed or ‘glossy’ these can be suitable substitutes.

Stock image use is restricted to the creative team and approval must always be gained should you wish to use it on behalf of the University.

For questions about images, please contact: creativestudio@bucks.ac.uk

IMAGERY

Primary image types

Our primary image type is either full bleed colour or isolated imagery. These two types of images work best across all media when combined with other brand elements.

Full bleed colour imagery

IMAGERY

Secondary image types

For special projects and campaigns, the use of monotone and duotone images are permitted.

These will typically be set by the University’s creative team. If you wish to use them in your documents or presentations, these will need to be approved by the creative team first.

Monotone

Duotone

IMAGERY

Placement - bringing the elements together

Opposite is an example of bringing the brand elements together in a harmonised design.

A. Placement of primary logo, adhering to spacing rules

B. Placement of text elements, combining title and body text

C. Placement of pattern elements

D. Relevant, bright colourful use of imagery

E. Block colour elements

ICONOGRAPHY

Icon usage

Part of bringing out facts and stats to life is by making them more visually exciting. We regularly create iconography and infographics to add depth.

TOP 20 UK University for student experience

Bucks Students’ Union in UK’S TOP 3

TEF SILVER

in recognition of our teaching excellence

92% of graduates in work or further study six months after graduation

UP 10 PLACES

to 19th best for social inclusion

13,000 volunteering hours by students to help make a difference (2019-20)

100 MILLION invested in our campuses

TOP 3

University in London and South East for teaching quality and student experience

Carbon footprint target for 2020 already exceeded

64% REDUCTION since 2011

BRINGING THE BRAND TO LIFE

BRINGING THE BRAND TO LIFE

Examples of our brand in action

The following few pages show examples of our brand working across various media, from print, digital to large format reproduction.

UNDERGRADUATE PROSPECTUS 2022

CAMPAIGNS

ID BADGE AND LANYARDS

STAFF I.D CARDS STAFF I.D CARDS STUDENT I.D CARDS

SIGNAGE/DISPLAY

INSPIRED. EMPOWERED. EMPLOYED. bucks.ac.uk

SIGNAGE/DISPLAY

TEMPLATES

TEMPLATES

Selection of templates

As a University, we have a selection of basic templates to ensure staff can reproduce commonly requested documents.

These are:

• PowerPoint presentation template

• digital letterhead

• formatted email signature

The creative team are able to provide assets to brand documents, such as logo files and are available to create fully branded documents/solutions for the University.

Please contact your marketing partner to discuss options.

TEMPLATES

Printed collateralletterhead

The University has a selection of pre printed stationery items, including this letterhead for the Vice-Chancellor’s Office.

This has been set with specific contact information and is different to the general letterhead which is available as a digital (Word) template only.

TEMPLATES

Printed collateralcompliment slips

Printed compliment slips are for use by the Vice-Chancellor’s Office only. Requests from other departments will need to be approved.

WITH COMPLIMENTS

INSPIRED. EMPOWERED. EMPLOYED.

TEMPLATES

Printed collateralbusiness cards

As we move towards a more sustainable future, business cards are only available to those who’s roles require them.

If you require a business card, please contact creativestudio@bucks.ac.uk .

INSPIRED. EMPOWERED. EMPLOYED

TEMPLATES

Digitalletterhead

The University has a version of the letterhead for general use which is set for Microsoft Word.

All setting for the fonts are preset into the template.

it is available for download from the intranet, BEN, or by request from the Creative Studio.

A. Generic letterhead design set into background of the template.

B. Department specific contact detailsusers must update this to the relevant information, prior to use.

To update this section you need to edit the header/footer element in Word.

C. Preset body text element designed to work with addressing for C5 window envelope.

D. Document is set with continuation design template.

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Yours sincerely

Name Surname

TEMPLATES

PowerPoint presentation

The University’s PowerPoint presentation template has a number of features designed to help put a good presentation together.

The Presentation template is available to download on the intranet, BEN.

TEMPLATES

Using the PowerPoint presentation

A number of preset elements have been created to help your presentation looking great, whilst being on brand.

A. There are two cover options available.

B. There are four presentation slide options, we recommend you mix them up to add interest to your presentation.

C. There are two end side options.

TEMPLATES

Using the PowerPoint presentation

A. Hidden slides are in sections to provide you with a visual reference to all of the slides available.

B. Guides are set into the presentation. To ensure you create a well formatted document, do not place text elements outside of this zone.

C. Text headers and body text elements are preset to get you started. All font and sizes have been set into the presentation; it is recommended not to alter these.

D. The brand colour palette has been preset into the presentation to ensure consistency. Do not use colours outside of the brand.

TEMPLATES

Email template

The University has created an email template to work with our Microsoft Outlook email client to maintain consistency in our brand through all communications.

The email template has been designed to work primarily in light mode, but will work for users with dark modes enabled.

The email template is available on the intranet, BEN.

Directorate

@bucksnewuni

Pronouns I use: she, her, hers

Buckinghamshire New University

High Wycombe Campus

Queen Alexandra Road

Directorate or School Telephone: +44 (0) 1494

Ext. 0000

@bucksnewuni

Queen Alexandra Road

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 2JZ

Job Title

Dark mode preview

Directorate or School

Telephone: +44 (0) 1494

Ext. 0000

Pronouns I use: she, her, Buckinghamshire New

High Wycombe Campus

Queen Alexandra Road

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 2JZ

TEMPLATES

Email template personalisation

Once you have copied the template available into the signature edit feature in Outlook, it can be personalised to your needs. It is set with the font Gill Sans, native to Microsoft devices.

A. Update your name, include your title and credentials if you wish and your job title/position goes below.

B. Include your department and contact number, you may insert your mobile number if you wish.

C. Update the pronouns to suit your preference.

D. Update the address based on your primary campus location. Only one address is permitted.

Name Surname

Job Title

Name Surname

Job Title

Directorate or School Telephone: +44 (0) 1494 522 141 Ext. 0000

Pronouns I use: she, her, hers

Buckinghamshire New University

High Wycombe Campus

Queen Alexandra Road

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 2JZ BUCKS.AC.UK

@bucksnewuni

@bucksnewuni

BucksNewUniversity

Directorate or School

Telephone: +44 (0) 1494

Ext. 0000

Buckinghamshire New

High Wycombe Campus

Queen Alexandra Road

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 2JZ

Name Surname

Job Title

Name Surname

Job Title

Directorate or School

Telephone: +44 (0) 1494

Ext. 0000

Pronouns I use: she, her,

Buckinghamshire New

High Wycombe Campus

Queen Alexandra Road

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

HP11 2JZ

Name

Name

Name Surname

Job Title

Name Surname

Job Title

Directorate or School

Telephone: +44 (0) 1494 522 141

Ext. 0000

Pronouns use: she, her, hers

@bucksnewuni

TEMPLATES

Buckinghamshire New University

High Wycombe Campus

Queen Alexandra Road

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 2JZ

Email template

BUCKS.AC.UK

incorrect usage

@bucksnewuni

BucksNewUniversity

Name Surname

Job Title

To ensure that the University maintains consistency and our One University approach, all staff members are required to use the email template.

Directorate or School Telephone: +44 (0) 1494 522 141

Ext.

Pronouns

@bucksnewuni

@bucksnewuni

Amendments, additions or changing the template in anyway is forbidden.

Buckinghamshire

BucksNewUniversity

A. Do not remove any elements of the template, it must be used in its entirety. Example has missing text and missing colour graphic.

B. Do not change icons or add other social links. Example has additional social links.

C. Do not add other elements to your signature unless explicitly approved by the University. Example has additional event banner and TEF silver logo.

Pronouns I use: she, her, hers

Buckinghamshire New University

Buckinghamshire

Name Surname Job Title Directorate or School Telephone: +44 (0) 1494 522 141 Ext. 0000

@bucksnewuni

@bucksnewuni

BucksNewUniversity

BucksNewUniversity

Directorate or School

Telephone: +44 (0) 1494 522 141 Ext. 0000

Buckinghamshire New University High Wycombe Campus

Queen Alexandra Road High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 2JZ

@bucksnewuni

@bucksnewuni

BucksNewUniversity

Pronouns I use: she, her, hers

Buckinghamshire New University High Wycombe Campus Queen Alexandra Road High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 2JZ

BUCKS.AC.UK

@bucksnewuni

BucksNewUniversity

@bucksnewuni

@bucksnewuni

BucksNewUniversity

BucksNewUniversity

Name Surname

Job Title

Directorate or School Telephone: +44 (0) 1494 522 141

Pronouns use: she, her, hers

Buckinghamshire New University High Wycombe Campus Queen Alexandra Road High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 2JZ BUCKS.AC.UK

Name Surname

Job Title

Directorate or School

Telephone: +44 (0) 1494 522 141

Name @bucksnewuni @Bucksschoolaccount

Buckinghamshire @bucksnewuni @Bucksschoolaccount

0000

Pronouns use: she, her, hers

BucksNewUniversity

Buckinghamshire New University High Wycombe Campus

Queen Alexandra Road High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 2JZ BUCKS.AC.UK

@bucksnewuni @Bucksschoolaccount

@bucksnewuni @Bucksschoolaccount

BucksNewUniversity

@bucksnewuni @Bucksschoolaccount

@bucksnewuni @Bucksschoolaccount

BucksNewUniversity

HOUSE STYLE A-Z

HOUSE STYLE

A accommodation

advice (noun), to advise (verb) adviser (not advisor)

affect (make a difference to)

ageing (not aging)

A-level

all right (your answers are all right)

alright (are you alright?)

alumni (plural)

alumnus/alumna (singular)

alumnae (plural female)

amend, amendment among, not amongst

analyse

AS-level

audio-visual

autumn, spring, summer, winter

Abbreviations

ext, fax, tel

Accents

Only use accents on foreign words, and don’t do so if the word has been anglicised, eg cafe, fiance.

Exceptions

Précis, exposé (to distinguish from expose)

To insert accents in Word documents go to the Insert menu and choose Symbol.

Acronyms and abbreviations

Peppering your documents with capitals and abbreviations can be confusing to your readers. Don’t assume everyone knows what the initials stand for – unless the organisation concerned is commonly referred to in its abbreviated form, for example BBC, RAC.

Write out the full name the first time you use it, followed by the shortened version in brackets. After that, just use the abbreviation.

If you only use the term once, then you don’t need to add the abbreviation in brackets unless it is a useful piece of information.

Note: When using initials, plurals do not take an apostrophe and the ‘s’ is lower case, eg LAs.

Buckinghamshire New University, officially abbreviates to BNU.

HOUSE STYLE

A

Addresses

When writing addresses, avoid unnecessary punctuation. The address should not contain:

• full stops at the end of addresses

• a comma between the number and the street name

• abbreviated forms of Road, Street or Avenue

• a comma between the town/ county and postcode.

The postcode should appear after the town or city on the next line. Occasional variations may be permitted in order to comply with computer systems already in use.

Example

Marketing & Student Recruitment

Buckinghamshire New University

Queen Alexandra Road

High Wycombe

Buckinghamshire

HP11 2JZ

American English

Beware American usage of words and spelling, for instance, capitalizing (rather than the English capitalising), or gum (glue), trunk (boot of a car), color, favorite, theater etc. You can change the default language settings in Word to UK English.

Ampersand

Ampersands (&) should be used sparingly.

Apostrophes

Apostrophes have a variety of uses:

• omissive - when you’re contracting two words, eg: don’t, shouldn’t, couldn’t

• when you are describing a period of time, eg: two years’ experience, four months’ work, 48 hours’ training

• possessive - when something belongs to somebody/thing, eg: Judith’s book, the University’s mission, the world’s resources

• words and names ending in s also take a singular s eg: James’s, Bucks’s plural nouns take a singular apostrophe, eg: children’s games, old folk’s home.

Don’t use an apostrophe to form a plural with numbers and letters:

• 1990s not 1990’s

• three As at A-level

• CDs (not CD’s)

HOUSE STYLE

ADon’t use an apostrophe in the contraction its (belonging to it) eg: Its CD drive is broken.

Audience

Think about who you are writing for. Most of our writing style guidelines will apply to the majority of audiences, but you may need to change the tone for different audiences and in different circumstances, for instance if you are writing a formal letter or academic paper.

Awards

A-level

BA (Hons)

BEng (Hons)

BSc (Hons)

FDA

FDSc

GCSE

MA

MPhil

PGCert

PGCE

PGDip

PhD

HOUSE STYLE

BBA (Hons)

bachelor’s degree benefit, benefited, benefiting

BEng (Hons)

BSc (Hons)

Bucks Students’ Union budgeted

Buckinghamshire New University

The full name should be used on formal documents, such as certificates, contracts, transcripts, letters and governing body materials.

‘BNU’ is used as the abbreviated form of our name.

‘Bucks’ is no longer the approved abbreviation of the University name.

Use the full name in the first instance, followed by a shorter form.

Bullet points

(See also lists, presentations and numbering of paragraphs)

Where the list consists of single words or brief phrases that relate to the previous sentence all initial letters should be lower case. Punctuate as follows:

Example

The open day programme includes:

• tours of the University.

• visits to halls of residence.

• talks on finance.

• visits to academic departments.

HOUSE STYLE

BWhere the list consists of short sentences or phrases related to the previous sentence initial letters should be lower case. Punctuate as follows:

Example

The course was designed to.

• introduce students to basic concepts;

• familiarise students with the terminology;

• provide basic relevant statistics.

Where the list consists of longer, complete sentences, punctuate as for normal sentences:

Bullet points can help to break up text and make it easier to read and digest.

Solid round bullet points should be used.

If you need to use secondary bullet points, you should use open round bullet points.

When using bullet points in presentations, remember:

• the bullet point should be a short summary of a key point, not an entire sentence;

• bullet points should follow a consistent style;

• as a guideline, slides should not have more than six bullet points and each bullet should be no more than six words;

• bullet points alone can be boring – add pictures, diagrams, audio clips or videos.

HOUSE STYLE

Ccafe

capitalise, capitalising

CD-ROM

childcare competence, competences (National Vocational Qualifications; functional skills) competency, competencies (behavioural trait; functional and behavioural skills combined) complement (that which completes or fills up) compliment (expression of admiration) computer-aided design continuous (without interruption) continual (happening frequently) cooperate, cooperation,

cooperative coordinate, coordinator council (an administrative or advisory body) counsel (advise/guidance) coursework

Campuses

High Wycombe Campus is a short walk from the bus and train stations in High Wycombe on Queen Alexandra Road.

Our Uxbridge Campus is close to the Metropolitan and Piccadilly tube line to central London.

University Campus Aylesbury provides degree level courses as well as professional developmental programmes.

The famous Pinewood Studios is the location of our the newest campus, opened in 2020.

Capitals

Keep your use of capitals to a minimum.

Capital letters interrupt the flow of the eye across the page. Think about why you use them. Would you leave your House in the morning to go to your Job? No. So why should a student leave their Hall of Residence to meet a Tutor? You don’t need to capitalise when referring to something in general.

Subject disciplines should not be capitalised, but course titles should:

BSc (Hons) Air Transport with Commercial Pilot Training

The programme includes lectures in history of art, computing and geography. But, if you are using official titles, use capitals. Don’t use capital letters in headings, except at the beginning and for proper nouns.

HOUSE STYLE

CCapitalising historical periods and events

Capitalise names of widely recognised epochs in anthropology, archaeology, geology and history, for example the Bronze Age, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Victorian era, the Enlightenment, the Third Reich.

Also capitalise periods named after specific dynasties or people, for example the Tudors, Elizabethan. Use lower case for medieval, baroque.

Art movements:

Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Cubism, Dadaism, Gothic, Impressionism, Pop Art, Rococo, Surrealism, Arts and Crafts movement etc.

War:

First World War, Second World War; Crimean/ Boer/Vietnam/ Gulf War; Hundred Years War.

Capitalising job titles

(See ‘job titles’)

Capitalising proper nouns

Names of people, places, countries and organisations should take capital letters. Commas

It is acceptable to put a comma before and, particularly in longer sentences or lists.

Example

John

Smith, High Wycombe

Copyright

Creative work such as books, poems, pictures, drawings, music, and films, may be protected by copyright. If you are uncertain about whether you are able to use a piece of writing, diagram or picture, you should seek the express permission of the originator. If you don’t have permission, then you shouldn’t use that piece of work.

Course

A course is a programme of study.

Course titles

Write BSc (Hons) or BA (Hons).

Capitalise course titles, but don’t capitalise academic terminology.

HOUSE STYLE

Ddependant (noun)

dependent (adjective)

disc ( computers)

dissertation

dotcom

Dr

driving licence

Dash

The en-dash – is longer than a hyphen, and has a different function. It is used without spaces when there is a distinction in meaning between two words. It is also used to replace ‘to’ in numerical phrases, such as students aged 18–60 or pages 2–12. Either enter two dashes as you type or press num lock then Alt + 0150.

You can use en-dashes in the same way that you’d use brackets to indicate parenthesis.

When you use them in this way, leave a space either side of each dash.

Dates (see also ‘Time’)

Use numerals for numbers above ten. Use English date formations, ie day, month, year.

• 1 January 2018

• 1920s, 1930s (not 1920’s, 1930’s)

• The 19th century

• The first century

Degree classifications

Degree classifications are:

First, 2:1, 2:2 or 3rd. Never use 1st.

Use a capital when referring to a First, but a lower case initial letter for first-class degree. Never use first degree, as this can be confused with an undergraduate degree. On degree certificates, and in references, the classification should be written in full, eg Second Class Honours (Lower Division).

Examples

She was awarded a First in Computing He was awarded a 2:1 in Air Transport with Commercial Pilot Training. She was awarded a first-class honours degree in Business.

Directorates

The correct usage of Directorate is at the end, for example Marketing & Student Recruitment Directorate.

Directorate names may be abbreviated if they are long and provided they have been mentioned in full in the first instance, for example M&SR.

Disability

Avoid outdated terms that stereotype or stigmatise. If you need to refer to disability, try to structure sentences in a positive way.

HOUSE STYLE

DExamples

John Smith, who has muscular dystrophy, is a first year student... (not suffers from, or is a victim of)

John Smith, who is a wheelchair user, studies...(not wheelchair bound, in a wheelchair)

John Smith, who has a hearing impairment... (not is deaf)

Refer to disabled people (not the disabled) and somebody who is visually impaired (not blind).

For further guidance, consult the Disability Service on 01494 605 049 or email disability.service@bucks.ac.uk .

Dyslexia and accessibility

When preparing support material for students with accessibility issues (for example dyslexia) here are some points that you should bear in mind:

• text should be left aligned

• use Arial at 12 point or greater, wherever possible

• keep a clear uncluttered layout

• ensure words are not split between lines

• avoid large blocks of capital letters

• avoid italics

• avoid underlining words

• keep the use of punctuation such as commas, semi-colons and full stops to a minimum

• try to avoid placing text over a busy image or texture

• ensure good contrast between the text and background

• maintain adequate spacing.

Don’t forget to ask whether participants have special requirements (physical or dietary) when you are organising a meeting or event.

HOUSE STYLE

E

earth, the east e-commerce

effect (a result/bring about a result) eg

e-learning email

end-of-year euro, euros ext

eg

The abbreviation eg comes from the Latin exempli gratia, and indicates that one or more examples follow. Use a comma before eg.

Don’t use a full stop afterwards. Like ie, ergo and et al, eg is rarely used outside formal academic writing. In marketing copy, eg can often be replaced by for example, or such as. Do not confuse eg with ie. You do not need to include full stops in eg.

Example

We offer part-time courses in a wide range of subjects, such as business and management.

Ellipses

If you are using an ellipsis in mid sentence to signify an omission, there should be spaces before and after the ellipses.

Example

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Braisby, said: “I’m delighted that … students have joined us this year.” etc

Try to avoid adding etc to the end of sentences. Rather than etc, try using including.

Example

This course looks at the key issues facing the music industry today, including intellectual property, the digital revolution and changing business models.

Ethnicity

Please make sure that written text is inclusive of all races and creeds.

HOUSE STYLE

EExam papers

There are standard templates for cover sheets which can be edited and adapted by school for both exams and time constrained assessments (TCAs). Material should be in plain English with clear, unambiguous and precise instructions. Keep formatting to a minimum. The exams team provide a proofreading service and read every exam paper in advance, so that they can advise invigilators of the exam requirements.

Exclamation marks

The exclamation mark is used after true exclamations, which express surprise, fear, or some other emotion, eg: What a magnificent dissertation!

Occasionally an exclamation mark may be enclosed in parentheses to indicate irony:

Example

After a long and careful (!) search, the student found his library book.

Exclamation marks should always be used with restraint, and you should never use more than one together.

HOUSE STYLE F

Facebook

fax FDA FDSc

fiancé

focus, focused, focuses, focusing forum, forums

formula, formulas

foundation degree

freephone

full stop full-time

Fewer (see also less)

The basic rule of thumb is if you can count it, use fewer. Fewer means not as many, whereas less means not as much. However, use less if you are referring to a period of time.

Examples

A shower uses less water than a bath, so you should take fewer baths.

She will be finishing her course in less than six weeks.

There are fewer people taking part this year.

Fonts

Every newspaper and magazine uses a limited number of typefaces (fonts) in a restricted number of sizes and styles. Here at Buckinghamshire New University, our marketing materials will always follow the Brand Guidelines.

Additional font styles may be used occasionally for specific purposes, at the discretion of the Marketing & Student Recruitment Directorate. For letters, documents such as reports, minutes, faxes and memos, spreadsheets and presentations, use Gill Sans/Arial as the default fonts.

Full stops (full points)

Leave a single space after a full stop.

HOUSE STYLE

GGCSE

goings-on

graduand (one who is about to receive a degree)

graduate (one who has been awarded a degree)

Gender

Use non-discriminatory language and write in a non-gender specific manner.

Avoid terms which imply gender stereotyping in work, eg cleaning lady, best man for the job. Use Chair, not Chairman, Chairwoman or Chairperson.

Geography

Capitalise defined geographical areas, such as, the North, Black Country, East Anglia, Lake District, Midlands, Peak District or West Country. Areas referred to by compass points are written in lower case, for example, north, south-east, south-west.

HOUSE STYLE

Hheadteacher (not headmaster or headmistress)

health care, health care professionals

higher education

honorary award

honorary doctorate

honorary fellow

honours (lower case unless part of a specific degree)

Headers and footers in documents

In most document templates the headers and footers are set up already.

In multi-page documents you should:

• Include the University name in the header.

• Where relevant include the school or directorate name in the footer.

• Use page numbering. It is useful to the reader if you select page 1 of 2, which is available through the header/footer autotext.

• At the end of the document include the authors (generally job titles only), the date created, drafting history, and file location.

Headings

Headings should be in bold, never underlined.

Underlined headings look like hyperlinks to web pages.

High Wycombe

High Wycombe should be used in preference to Wycombe.

Honours/Hons

If it is part of a degree title, honours should be written, in the abbreviated form eg BSc (Hons) Games Development.

Include a space between the subject title and Hons.

Honours should be written in the lower case

if referred to within a general sentence.

Example

John Smith left Buckinghamshire

New University with an honours degree in Social Work.

Hyphenation (see also dash)

The hyphen (-) looks like a short dash, but the hyphen and the dash are very different; whereas the hyphen unites, the dash separates. Certain words and phrases tend to evolve from separation to linkage. The trend in English is for frequently used word combinations to grow together from two words to one, sometimes passing through a hyphenated stage, for example from electronic mail through e-mail to email.

The following principle is useful to know: Two or more adjectives before a noun that act as one idea (one-thought adjectives) are connected with a hyphen.

HOUSE STYLE

HExample

This is a low-budget film.

Use a hyphen in expressions where words have become linked by usage to express one idea.

Example

mother-in-law, top-notch, fine-tune, X-ray.

When written as words, fractions and cardinal numbers consisting of two words are hyphenated.

Example one-fourth, two-thirds.

Hyphenate words prefixed by ex-, self-, or all-, and some words prefixed by cross-.

Example ex-wife, self-evident, allinclusive, cross-reference.

HOUSE STYLE I

ie

install instalment

International Baccalaureate

inter-cultural

internet

inter-relationship

ie (see also eg)

The abbreviation ‘ie’ comes from the Latin ‘id est’ meaning that is. As with eg, no full stop is necessary. Use a comma before ie but try to avoid using it if possible. Do not use ie when you should use eg.

Initials

Do not add punctuation to the initials of names, such as JK Rowling, WH Smith.

‘ise’

Use ‘ise’ rather than ‘ize’ at the end of a word (except capsize and size).

Italics

The following are generally italicised: titles of books, periodicals, TV programmes, films, plays, operas, song titles, names of ships and aircraft. Also italicise foreign (including Latin) phrases not yet naturalised and scientific names of plants and animals. Do not use italics to add emphasis. Do not italicise titles of chapters, articles, or sections, which take single quotes. It’s and its Be careful to check your punctuation. It’s means it is. Its means belonging to it.

Example

The University is located in the centre of High Wycombe; its main campus is a short walk from the railway station, but it’s also easy to catch a bus.

IT terms

Commonly used IT terms include:

• email (no hyphen) but e-commerce

• hard disk, but compact disc or optical disc (disc = round!)

• internet (lower case initial letter)

• PCs, Macs

• software program.

HOUSE STYLE

J - K

Jargon (see also acronyms)

If you’re writing for an external audience avoid jargon, acronyms and hyperbole. For an internal audience terms specific to the higher education sector, such as REF or HEFCE, are hard to avoid, but should be written in full in the first instance.

Job titles

Use the title in full at the beginning of your document.

Example

The Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Buckinghamshire New University, Professor Nick Braisby, said …

The use of capital letters for job titles is largely a matter of convention – there are no hard and fast rules. However, professional editorial practice suggests that unnecessary capitalisation should be avoided – it makes the text look dated and makes it more difficult to read.

Where company or brand names appear in logos in capital letters or lower case, they should be typeset to match, for example easyJet, innocent, British Airways.

In general:

• Jobs: all lower case: copywriter, graphic designer, editor of The Times.

• Titles: use upper case when the job becomes a title: Queen Elizabeth, Professor Jones and for impersonal titles such as the Queen or the Lord Chancellor.

Justification

Marketing materials will normally be left aligned.

HOUSE STYLE

Lliaison

licence (noun), to license (verb) lifelong LinkedIn long-standing

Latin plurals

Some Latin plurals are so common that we don’t realise they are plurals, for example alumni and data. However, many plural forms look pedantic and put the reader off, for example:

• fora – use forums

• formulae – use formulas

• syllabi – use syllabuses.

Less (see also fewer)

The basic rule of thumb is if you can’t count it, use less.

Levels (see also years)

Avoid referring to levels in marketing materials unless directly relevant to the content of the course.

Refer to the first year, second year or third year, but be careful if you are referring to part-time courses. In internal or formal documents where it is necessary to refer to levels in a general sense use lower case.

When referring to specific levels use an upper case L and the relevant number, for example Level 4. However, remember that levels do not necessarily equate to years of courses. For example, the first year of a postgraduate programme will be at Level 7.

Examples

Students at these levels will be expected to complete an extended project. There are now 50 students studying the course at Level 4.

Lists (see also bullet points)

Punctuate short lists with commas, and larger lists or phrases with semi-colons. Preface the list with a colon. Put lists of names or courses in alphabetical order, in order to avoid implying a hierarchy, unless there is a particular reason for choosing a different order.

Example

The recipe uses an interesting variety of ingredients: flour, sugar, lemons, star anise and rum.

HOUSE STYLE

MMA (Master of Arts – an MA, not a MA)

marketplace master’s degree(s)

medieval

MPhil (Master of Philosophy)

MSc (Master of Sciences)

multicultural multidisciplinary

multimedia multinational multiprofessional

Measurements

Use standard abbreviations (km, lb, etc) but whenever possible use litre, mile and million in full to avoid confusion.

There is no need to add a full stop after a unit of measurement. There are no plurals and there is no gap between the numeral and the unit of measurement.

Examples

£10–20, 5–6K

1 mile, 1 metre, 1m, 2m, 3m

£1 million, £1M, £2M, £3M

£20,000–30,000 not £20–30,000 (unless you mean £20 to £30,000)

Modules

Module titles should be written out in full and take upper case initial letters. When writing a list of modules, divide with semi-colons.

HOUSE STYLE

Nnational curriculum

no-one north, north-west

Numbers

• Thousands: 1,000, 10,000 and 1,000,000.

• Spell out numbers one to ten. Use numerals for numbers over ten, and where attached to a percentage sign, a unit or sum of money.

• Also apply this to cardinal numbers eg fifth century, 12th century.

• Never use numerals at the beginning of a sentence; rearrange the order of words so that the number is not at the beginning, but ensuring that the sentence still makes sense.

• Fractions: three-quarters, onethird, two-and-a-half.

• Do not mix decimals and fractions.

• Elide as much as possible, eg 4–8, 115–116.

Examples

5%, 8cm, £3, $4, €6.

To access a euro sign, PC users should press AltGr + 4 on the main keypad, and Mac users should press alt + 2 on the main keypad.

Numbering of paragraphs

You should only need to number paragraphs in formal documents, such as reports, regulations, policy documents and minutes.

Paragraphs should be numbered 1, 2, 3 and so on.

Roman numerals should not be used. Avoid subsections if possible, but if you must use them, number them 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and so on. If these sections need dividing use letters.

Example

1 This is an example of a paragraph.

1.1 This is an example of a subsection.

1.2 This is the next subsection.

a This is a subsection division.

b This is the next subsection division.

HOUSE STYLE

OO-levels

official (relating to an authority or having the approval of an authority)

officious (asserting authority)

online organise, organising

HOUSE STYLE P

part-time

per cent, percentage

PGCert, PGCE, PGDip, PhD

postcode

postdoctoral

postgraduate

post-qualifying, post-qualification

postmodern postwar, prewar practice (noun) , practise (verb)

pre-qualifying, prequalification

pre-registration prescribe (issue a prescription or recommend with authority) principal (first in importance) principle (rule)

proactive Professor program (computers) programme (of study) proscribe (condemn or forbid)

Percentage

Write per cent out in full in general text.

Use % in tables.

Example

52 per cent of the student population is female and 48 per cent male, although there is wide variation between courses.

Point size

The standard size for internal use is 10 point. Documents should be produced in larger print sizes or alternative formats if requested.

Presentations (see also bullet points)

Presentation master templates are available on BEN.

Programme

A programme can be a brochure, prospectus or syllabus: a course is a programme of study.

Capitalise programme only when it is part of a full course title. A program is a piece of software.

HOUSE STYLE

Q - R R

Quotation marks

Check that quotation marks are curly not straight when they are printed. Use double speech marks for reported speech.

Quotes within quotes

Try to avoid quotes within quotes. However, when used, use double quote marks for the outer quote and single quote marks for the inner.

Example

The Vice-Chancellor quoted Oscar Wilde in his speech: “I don’t believe that ‘nothing that is worth knowing can be taught’”.

If the quote is a full sentence, put the closing punctuation inside the quote marks:

Example

“We are delighted that you will be joining BNU next year.”

If the quote is a full sentence that falls at the end of another full sentence, introduce it with a colon:

Example

He stated: “I’m delighted that you will be joining BNU next year”.

If the quote isn’t a full sentence put the punctuation outside the quote marks:

Example

He tells us that student numbers are ‘up this year’.

HOUSE STYLE S

semi-colon

south, south-west

state-of-the-art

stationary (not moving) stationery (writing materials)

Students’ Union syllabus, syllabuses

Saint

For names of towns, churches etc abbreviate to St, eg St Andrew’s Church, High Wycombe.

School

Titles of academic schools should begin with a capital S. Do not use a capital S when talking about schools more generally.

Sentence construction

Construct sentences so that they say what you mean.

Example

Not: Walking onto campus, a duck flew into me.

(This suggests that the duck was walking onto campus.)

But: A duck flew into me as I was walking onto campus.

HOUSE STYLE

Ttarget targeted targeting tel

Twitter Telephone numbers

Do not include hyphens and include a space between the area codes, the main number and the third digit of the main number, eg +44 (0) 1494 522 141.

Treat mobile phone numbers as having four figure area codes: +44 (0) 7769 123 456.

Use international numbers on stationery and adverts in publications that may be seen overseas, eg +44 (0) 1494 522 141.

Use tel, ext and fax in abbreviated form, without a full stop. Make sure you check all telephone numbers before a document is published by dialling them.

Templates

A range of document templates are available on our intranet, BEN.

Time (see also dates)

To express an academic year, or range of years, use the following format:

• 2020–21, or 2020–2021, using an endash

• Do not use 2020-21 or 2020/21

• Use am and pm, not the 24-hour clock. Use full stops not colons as separators.

• 3pm not 3.00pm, 9.30am not 09:30, 11.30pm not 23:30 (no space before the am/pm), noon (not 12 noon), midnight (not 12 midnight)

Titles (see also job titles)

Refer to a person using their first name and family name and any title. Only use Mr/Mrs/ Miss/Ms in correspondence and avoid using initials.

Example

Professor Nick Braisby, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive

Titles, newspapers and magazines (see also italics)

Do not capitalise ‘the’ unless it is part of the title.

Examples

the Daily Telegraph, the Mail on Sunday, the Financial Times

The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The Economist.

HOUSE STYLE

UUnderlining

Don’t underline unnecessarily. Headings should not be underlined because readers may think they are hyperlinks. Use bold for emphasis.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom consists of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and is synonymous with Britain. Great Britain refers only to the mainland. Beware of using England when you mean Britain, or vice versa.

University

We refer to the University as:

• Buckinghamshire New University (our formal name, used in contracts and on certificates, for example)

• BNU (used informally and in internal and external marketing materials for example)

• Bucks New University is no longer an acceptable abbreviation of the University name.

Capitalise titles, eg Buckinghamshire New University, but use lower case for general use, for example: There are two universities in Buckinghamshire.

Always capitalise when talking about Buckinghamshire New University, eg the University’s football team.

Do not confuse the University’s (belonging to the University) with universities (more than one university).

Upper case

Avoid putting words in upper case - it appears as if you are shouting at your readers and interrupts the flow of words.

US

Use US as the abbreviation for the United States, not USA. There is no need to spell out the words even at first mention. America is also acceptable (but don’t use America where ambiguity could occur with Canada or Latin America).

HOUSE STYLE

V - W - X - Y - Z

Vice-Chancellor (or VC)

vocational A-level website wellbeing west who’s (a contraction of who is or who has)

whose (whose book is this?)

Wi-Fi workplace

work-placement year world class worldwide worthwhile

Web addresses

Only precede web addresses with ‘http://’ if the address doesn’t start with ‘www’.

To remove hyperlink underscores in printed publications, right click on your mouse.

Remove the ‘www’ before a web address and if an address comes at the end of a sentence it’s fine to use a full stop.

Example

Find out more about the University’s schools by visiting bucks.ac.uk.

All web addresses should be checked before a document is published. When linking from one webpage to another make sure the hyperlink makes sense to the reader; don’t just say ‘click here’.

Work-based learning

Capitalise only when referring to a specific course.

X, Z

Years (see also levels)

Wherever possible, use years in place of levels; readers may not understand the levels.

Example

In the final year the modules for both courses are the same.

The four-year mode includes a work placement undertaken in the third year.

you’re (you are)

your (is this your book?)

CONTACT

CONTACT

Readily available assets

The University is keen for all users to reflect the brand correctly and a number of essential items have been created which are readily available. All items are downloadable on the intranet, BEN.

Logos

All variants of the standard logos are available in a range of file formats. Standard logos are available as black and white only.

JPG - Suitable for in-house use on all word processed documents.

PNG - Suitable for digital/web use as well as in-house presentations, these come with a transparent background to overlay into documentation with maximum flexibility.

PDF - These are vector graphics and designed for professional documents and reproduction

EPS - Similar to the PDF variant, these are the professional reproduction version of the logos and suitable for high quality reproduction at any scale.

Templates

The templates covered in this document are all available to download from the intranet, BEN. This document provides guidance on their usage. Need something different?

If you require a logo file in a specific size, colour or format, or a document created, please contact the Creative Studio for guidance.

CONTACT

Branded document service

The University are keen to maintain the integrity of our brand, to do this we are able to provide bespoke branded material for both online and offline purposes via the Creative Studio team.

The Creative Studio team is a small resource, so it is recommended that all departments use the templated materials where possible or to create simple documents following the brand guidelines themselves.

However, we recognise that there will always be a number of campaign, recruitment, corporate and other internal and external needs that should be provided by the creative team.

Directorates

If you would like to discuss the creation of a branded collateral, then please contact the Head of Design.

creativestudio@bucks.ac.uk

Schools

If you would like to discuss the creation of a branded documents, video or campaigns then please contact the Marketing Manager

- marketing@bucks.ac.uk . They will be able to discuss your needs, provide advice and manage each job through the Creative Studio.

SLAs

The Creative Studio have set Service Level Agreement (SLA) targets.

This provides an expectation of requests and the time they will take. Our SLAs are a guide as there are periods when the studio experiences higher than usual activity.

CONTACT

Brand guidelines contact

Downloads are available on the University

intranet, BEN.

Breaches of our corporate identity undermine our brand, so please read these guidelines carefully and consult the Head of Creative Design if you have any queries.

For further information and advice please contact:

Head of Creative Design

Marketing & Student Recruitment

Buckinghamshire New University

High Wycombe Campus

Queen Alexandra Road

High Wycombe

Telephone: 01494 522 141

Email: creativestudio@bucks.ac.uk

We will consider any requests for accessible formats that may be required.

This publication was produced by Buckinghamshire New University in April 2021 and is accurate at the time of going to press. © Buckinghamshire New University.

We reserve the right to amend information within this guide without prior notice.

High Wycombe Campus

Queen Alexandra Road

High Wycombe

Buckinghamshire

HP11 2JZ

Missenden Abbey

London Road

Great Missenden

Buckinghamshire

HP16 0BD

Aylesbury Campus

59 Walton Street

Aylesbury

Buckinghamshire

HP21 7QG

Uxbridge Campus

106 Oxford Road

Uxbridge

Middlesex

UB8 1NA

Telephone: 01494 522 141

Email: advice@bucks.ac.uk

BucksNewUni

@BucksNewUni

BucksNewUni

BucksNewUni

BucksNewUniversity

This publication was produced by Buckinghamshire New University in April 2021

Job ref: BF0933 Brand 2021 v2

© Buckinghamshire New University.