BRAND STANDARDS MANUAL
JUNE 2012
CONTENTS What is a Brand?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Why Brand Standards Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Brand Identity
Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Brand Elements
Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Logo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Typography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
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(CONT.) Stationery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Standards for Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Merchandise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
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WHAT IS A BRAND? “A brand is more than a name, more than a logo, more than an attitude. A brand is the totality of human perceptions that an audience attaches to an organization...� - International Association of Business Communicators
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WHY BRAND STANDARDS MATTER The Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club started in 2007, and has grown to over 500 members. The new brand identity for the Hiking Club that was established in June 2012 is described in this manual. Adhering to the guidelines in this manual will help to ensure a strong brand and a strong future for the Hiking Club.
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MISSION The mission of the Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club is to make a positive difference in people’s lives. Hike with us for better health and be one with nature. It will be the best part of your day!
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VALUES
The Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club embraces the following values: •
Inclusivity: The Hiking Club is open to everyone. No matter your skill level, we welcome everyone to walk the trails with us.
• Education: Our members learn about the benefits of outdoor exercise and how nature enhances their experience, so they can share that knowledge with others. •
Health: Physical and mental health are important for everyone’s well-being. The Hiking Club provides an opportunity for a great physical workout and a place to revitalize the mind, body and spirit.
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COLOR PALETTE The Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club color palette consists of natural, warm colors. The CMYK, RGB, Pantone, and Hexidecimal values for each color are listed below.
Pine Needle Green CMYK: 88, 28, 92, 16 RGB: 9, 121, 69 Pantone: 3425C Hexidecimal: 097945
Ivy Green CMYK: 85, 17, 100, 3 RGB: 12, 148, 71 Pantone: 356C Hexidecimal: 0C9447
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Lily Pad Green CMYK: 75, 0, 100, 0 RGB: 59, 181, 74 Pantone: 362C Hexidecimal: 3BB54A
Mantis Green CMYK: 50, 0, 99, 0 RGB: 140, 198, 64 Pantone: 376C Hexidecimal: 8CC640
Tree Bark Brown CMYK: 40, 65, 90, 35 RGB: 117, 76, 41 Pantone: 469C Hexidecimal: 754C29
LOGO
CINCINNATI PARKS
HIKING CLUB
The Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club logo represents what the Club is all about. • A man and a woman hiking through the trees with their dog signify the social and health-related aspects of the Club. The dog shows that pets are allowed as long as they’re on a leash. • The trees stand for the natural environment that surrounds hikers. Four trees represent the four seasons, highlighting that the Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club hikes year ‘round. • The Club name is presented in Futura Condensed, a tall, structured typeface that represents both the tall trees in the Mount Airy Forest and the strong relationships built by the Club.
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APPROVED LOGO VERSIONS The primary logo of the Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club is the full color version (1). The full color logo should be used whenever possible. When full color is not an option, other versions of the logo may be used. • • •
If color is not available, use the grayscale logo (2). If the logo will be displayed on a light background, use the Tree Bark Brown logo (3) or the Pine Needle Green logo (4). If the logo will be displayed on a dark background, use the White logo (5).
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LOGO SPECIFICATIONS Minimum Application Size The Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club logo should never be displayed at a size smaller than 1.25 inches tall.
Safe Area A Safe Area is a defined amount of empty space surrounding a logo. This space gives the logo breathing room and ensures that it won’t be overtaken with text or images. The safe area for the Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club logo should always be equal to the height of the “H” of “Hiking Club.”
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(CONT.) Improper Logo Use It’s important to maintain the integrity of the Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club logo, by making sure the logo is always displayed properly. The logo cannot be: Skewed (1) Rotated (2) Cropped (3) Displayed in any colors not described on pages 8-11 of this manual (4) Given a drop shadow effect (5) Displayed on a low contrast background (6) 14 | Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club Brand Standards
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TYPOGRAPHY Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club business materials, such as stationery, use two typefaces. • •
Use Futura Condensed Medium when emphasis is needed. This includes items such as the headers in this manual, names on business cards, and contact information on letterhead. Use Helvetica Neue Regular for the body of letters and emails. If Helvetica Neue Regular is not available, a similar typeface such as Helvetica or Arial may be used.
The Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club brochure was created using a unique handwritten script.
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Futura Condensed Medium ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 Helvetica Neue Regular ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
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STATIONERY A template for the Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club stationery is provided on the disk included with this manual When creating new business cards, align all text left, and place text .25 inches from the left edge of the card and .375 inches from the top of the card. Set the name and web address on the card in 14pt Futura Condensed Regular. Set all other information in 9pt Helvetica Neue Regular. When using the Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club letterhead, start the letter should start .75 inches below the bottom of the logo. Use 1 inch margins, and end the letter at least .25 inches above the green bar. Type body copy in 11pt Helvetica Neue Regular, Helvetica, or Arial.
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950 Eden Park Drive Cincinnati, OH 45202
Mr. Walter Tejada, Chair Arlington County Board 2100 Clarendon Boulevard Arlington, VA 22201 June 14, 2012 SUBJECT:
Park Enhancement Grant to Install Playground Fencing in Eads Park Dear Mr. Tejada,
As a representative of Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club, we support installation of a gated fence around the playground equipment installed in Eads Park. There are no sidewalks, physical barriers or fences separating the playground equipment and other sections of Eads Park from Fort Scott Drive between S. Eads and S. Grant Streets. Further, the section of Fort Scott Drive that parallels Eads Park is at the foot of a significant hill upon which vehicular traffic frequently exceeds the posted speed limit of 25 miles per hour. Eads Park is heavily used for developmental youth soccer practices and games as well as adult league and pick-up soccer games throughout the week; thus, the playground equipment is a significant attraction for children not directly or immediately involved in organized sports in the park. Distances between the playground and picnic
Pegge Burkley-Schneider Hiking Coordinator
513.604.3909 950 Eden Park Drive Cincinnati, OH 45202 pegge@hikecincyparks.com
www.hikecincyparks.com
gazebo, soccer field, and fenced portions of the park makes it difficult for dedicated adult supervision of the playground area when other activities are taking place in Eads Park. With a separation of less than 20 yards between Fort Scott Drive and the play area, we believe there are significant safety issues involving young children wandering or running onto Fort Scott Drive from the play area. This safety issue could be mitigated with installation of a gated fence around the playground equipment. Again, we support installation of a gated fence around the playground equipment currently installed in Eads Park.
Most sincerely, Pegge Burkley-Schneider Hiking Coordinator
Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club | 950 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45202 | www.hikecincyparks.com
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PHOTOGRAPHY Photographs used in print materials and on-screen materials for the Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club should be original photography whenever possible, not stock photography. The photographs should focus on hikers having fun on the trails, or focus on the natural beauty of Mount Airy Forest. To ensure quality, photographs used in print materials must be minimum 300 dpi. Photographs used in web and video materials must be minimum 72 dpi.
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STANDARDS FOR VIDEO Video messages for the Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club must identify all on-screen speakers using the Lower Third on the disk included with this manual.
Lower Thirds Lower Thirds should be located in the bottom left hand corner of the screen and should occupy two thirds of a widescreen (16:9) video.
Titles All titles of videos should appear on screen in Futura, in all caps.
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WEBSITE WordPress Theme www.hikecincyparks.com was created using WordPress. The theme used is Adventure Journal 1.7.2 by Contexture International.
Blog The tone of the blogs written for the website should be friendly and conversational. They should make the reader feel like they were on the trails with you.
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MERCHANDISE Current merchandise displays the Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club logo on the front left chest of t-shirts. The color of the logo varies depending on the color of the t-shirt. When developing new merchandise, there is some flexibility in the placement and size of the logo. For example, the logo could be displayed larger, centered on the back of a t-shirt. Be sure to follow logo standards listed on pages 10-15 when developing new merchandise.
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CONTACT For questions regarding Cincinnati Parks Hiking Club brand standards, please contact: Pegge Burkley-Schneider pegge@hikecincyparks.com
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Prepared as a component of the Capstone Course Multimedia Information Design Department Center for Innovative Technologies Cincinnati State Technical & Community College June 2012
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