The National Forest Brand Guidelines by The National Forest Company

Brand GUIDELINES

Contents Brand

04 - 05

Brand values

06 - 07

Tone of voice

08 - 13

Tone of voice - Bringing it together

14 - 15

Writing for our audience

16 - 21

Copy style

22 - 27

Logo

28 - 33

Tree rings

34 - 39

Typefaces

40 - 45

Colours

46 - 51

Using colour

52 - 53

Page layouts

54 - 55

Page structure

56 - 57

Photography

58 - 73

Templates

74 - 83

Accessibility

84 - 85

Brand PROPOSITION

Our BRAND

The National Forest is a greenprint for a more fulfilling way of life, inspiring people and businesses to reconnect with nature and create a place to grow together.

To get visitors, residents, and businesses as excited as we are about the National Forest, we need them to understand exactly who we are. That's why our brand's so important. By making sure we have a consistent look, feel and tone rooted in our values and personality, our essence will shine through every leaflet, poster, and web page. These guidelines will give you everything you need to create communications that are true to the National Forest. Together, we can connect with and inspire our audiences, showing them how the Forest can be part of their everyday lives.

Brand CHARACTER Our character forms the heart of our brand experience. It's our sense of self and it's the sense of place, and is expressed through our tone of voice, our typography, and our use of colour and imagery.

Our five key brand characteristics are:

Bold Brave, pioneering, self confident. Alive Passionate, enthusiastic, engaged. Extraordinary Unique, visionary, inspiring. Open Welcoming, generous, enabling. Down-to-earth Humble, hard-working, straight-talking.

Brand VALUES

Sustainability IS ACHIEVABLE

We all need something to believe in. Whether we're organising an event or creating a brochure, everything we do should have our values at heart.

Our Forest is built on, and built for, achievable sustainability. That's not a fuzzy aspiration; it's already how we work. We set out to make all events, plans, and activities environmentally and financially sustainable in the long term. And to see it all through, we engage our communities to help them care for their Forest, too.

Forests ARE FOR EVERYONE The Forest is an inclusive, accessible and welcoming place. We're developing a woodland culture where everyone has access to the benefits the Forest brings, and we want everyone to find something to love about forest life.

Trees TRANSFORM THINGS Trees define our Forest, and the transformative power of trees continues long after they're planted. With the National Forest, we're changing lives, perspectives, and the way people and businesses coexist with nature.

Tone OF VOICE

Energised

The National Forest is full of life, an exciting place where there's always something new and inspiring to see. So, our tone of voice is full of active verbs – move, run, walk, look, feel, believe, invest – directed straight at the reader to create enthusiasm and movement.

Our tone of voice takes our writing beyond informing or explaining. It should make people feel empowered, revitalised, inspired and reconnected.

How this works

It also reflects what makes us unique: our enthusiasm, boldness, energy, and our passion for forest life. By sticking to these guidelines, we can create an emotional connection with our audiences, inspiring them to think about how it feels to be a part of the National Forest. Importantly, our tone has been designed to work across all of our audiences, including visitors, residents, and businesses. So, no matter who you're talking to, the same rules apply.

- Use active verbs and imperatives e.g. Move, walk, run, play. - Copy should move quickly, rather than rambling. - Always address the reader as ‘you’, no matter the audience. - Be direct.

Examples

E xplore. Discover. Grow. Start an adventure in your National Forest.

Come along for an adventure at the National Forest.

Make your mark on the Heart of the Forest.

Make a difference to the future of the Heart of the Forest by getting involved in Black to Green.

We're down to earth and don’t say more than we need to. Sentences are quite short, sharp, and communicate clear and memorable messages. We stick to facts and don’t over-sell, as we’re confident that our offer will appeal to our audiences.

Simple

In instances where you can't simplify the content of your copy, you can still keep it clear and concise using the tips below.

While our language is clear and simple, we still need to entice our reader. We immerse the reader in National Forest life using inspiring and emotive imagery, phrasing, and rhythm. Here it's not necessarily about getting a point across quickly; instead, we're trying to inspire. This means there can be a little more flexibility with sentence length, though you should still keep them as simple as possible.

How this works

- Don’t use complex phrasing – if you can say it simply, do.

- Use appropriate adjectives to make the forest sound desirable.

- Avoid jargon.

- Paint a scene for the reader with imagery.

- Use snappy sentences.

- Experiment with different words to make copy more exciting.

Creative

- Don’t over embellish, exaggerate, or fall into the trap of saying the same thing in different ways.

Examples

- Play occasionally with sound and rhythm to bring fun into copy, such as with alliteration or assonance.

eep track of local wildlife. Step out as K a walk leader. Join a conservation team. However you want to be involved, you’ll find the perfect opportunity with Black to Green.

By supporting our new Charnwood woodland, you’re helping us to make people's lives healthier and happier. Learn more about how you can be a part of the National Forest below.

This document outlines a special opportunity for you to support the creation of new woodland in the Charnwood area of the National Forest.

Rustling willow leaves and warm sunshine. Another morning in your National Forest.

A trail with leaves and sunshine. Another day in the National Forest.

There's something to do in all weathers

hatever the weather, we'll keep you busy W at the National Forest.

at the National Forest, from walks to bike rides.

Pull on your wellies and brave the rumbling rain clouds, or slather on the suncream for a summer walk.

T he chop of a spade digging into the earth, smiles and laughter, rustling branches. When you Plant A Tree with the National Forest, the memories you make are just as important as the woodland you'll grow.

I f you Plant A Tree with the National Forest, you're sure to create some special memories.

We don’t simply see birds, trees, or flowers; we refer to chaffinches, horse chestnuts, and cowslips. If we’re describing a scene we show our expertise and understanding of the environment, encouraging our readers to feel that enthusiasm too.

Knowledgeable

We want residents, business owners, investors and visitors to feel a sense of ownership of the National Forest. Where appropriate, we refer to it as ‘Your National Forest’, though exceptions can be made when addressing stakeholders or formal contacts.

Personal

How this works

- Be specific – what type of tree, bird, or bee is it? Remember that, generally, you should use lowercase for species names; if you're not sure, check online for exceptions.

- Address the reader directly in the second person: 'you', 'your'. Be careful not to sound too commanding, though. Try to make the reader feel involved and inspired.

- Use the correct terms when talking about nature and the environment, while staying accessible. Depending on the audience you can scale technical terms up and down. Just keep in mind how much the reader will understand.

- Refer to the brand with first person plural pronouns: 'our', 'ours', 'we', 'us'. Never use third person ('they', 'their'); it creates distance and feels really impersonal. - Use relaxed, friendly language, without being too overly conversational.

- Expand abbreviations to show we want our readers to understand and be a part of our world. - Avoid childish phrasing – families are only one part of our audience.

Examples

Examples A bird on your fence. Butterflies fluttering by your washing line.

A nosy robin, watching from your fence. Brimstone butterflies fluttering by your washing line.

We aren’t just planting trees. We’re creating homes for local buzzy bees and chirping birds.

We aren’t just planting trees. We’re creating valuable habitats for local wildlife.

By introducing wooded areas like these, we’re making habitats for wildlife, creating new opportunities for local businesses, and building a beautiful British landscape for you to explore.

The National Forest Company and its partners are increasing forest cover with ambition and imagination, creating habitats for wildlife, a woodland economy and a beautiful landscape for people to enjoy.

With your help, we can continue transforming the local area together after all, it is your National Forest.

With the help of residents, the National Forest may continue to transform the local area – because the Forest is for people.

Bringing it all TOGETHER If we've got the tone of voice right, this is how our copy should look.

Energised Feels direct and exciting. Copy is snappy and sentences don't drag on for too long.

Simple

Keeps readerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention, has a clear meaning, and is easy to understand.

Creative

I nspiring, creates a picture, and is fun to read.

Knowledgeable

S hows weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re experts, but is still accessible and understandable.

Personal Creates a connection and relationship with the reader, making them feel involved.

Writing for OUR AUDIENCE While we should always make our tone consistent across all audiences, we can scale up different aspects depending on who we’re talking to. It’s important that, no matter the audience, we still keep our tone clear, succinct, and recognisably National Forest.

Visitors

e want to entice our visitors. So, W the emphasis is on being energetic, knowledgeable and creative. It’s also especially essential with visitors to avoid jargon or internal lingo (for example, ‘the forest economy’), as they’re unlikely to have come across these phrases before.

Residents

Our communications with residents should make them feel proud to live in the National Forest, and inspire them to get involved. We should be extra personal to give them ownership, and knowledgeable, reminding them how wonderful it is to call the Forest home. T hese audiences are more formal, but our tone should still be the same. The main difference, however, is that we can stick with the National Forest, rather than your. Otherwise, we use our knowledgeable, energetic, and simple tone to clearly convey our messages. You should still be creative, where appropriate, as this can help bring our reasons to believe in the Forest to life.

Businesses, government and other stakeholders

Examples by AUDIENCE These examples, which are longer pieces of copy, will give you a good idea of how the tone of voice can be used with different audiences.

Businesses, government and other stakeholders Original The National Forest is a bold, environmentally led regeneration project covering 200 square miles of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire. We are a national exemplar of what can be achieved through forest creation and as such we are extremely proud to be representing the UK in the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy – an international programme to support climate change mitigation launched at the Commonwealth Conference in November 2015. This document outlines a special opportunity for you to support the creation of new woodland in the Charnwood area of The National Forest.

New There’s more to the National Forest than trees. Covering 200 square miles of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire, our venture inspires people and businesses to get back in touch with nature - and helps everyone flourish. In fact, our model for a new way of life has made such an impact that we’re representing the UK in the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy. By supporting the new Charnwood woodland, you’re helping us to grow a healthier, happier Britain. Learn more about how you can be a part of the National Forest below.

Resident Original

ake a difference to the future of the Heart of the M Forest by getting involved in Black to Green

Whether you want to get hands on with some practical conservation tasks, are interested in recording local wildlife, fancy helping to conserve the industrial heritage or even becoming a walk leader – there are plenty of different opportunities to get involved with. Or if you just have a bit of spare time and want to meet some new people we can find something to suit you. Black to Green provides regular training and skill development opportunities to help equip you with the knowledge and confidence to start exploring something new.

Visitor Original

T he National Forest is one of Britain’s boldest environmental projects: the creation of a new forest across 200 square miles of parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire, linking the ancient forests of Needwood and Charnwood.

In what was once one of the country’s least wooded regions, the National Forest Company and its partners are increasing forest cover with ambition and imagination, creating habitats for wildlife, a woodland economy and a beautiful landscape for people to enjoy. For more information on The National Forest visit www.nationalforest.org or call 01283 551211.

We also work with partner organisations across the Heart of the Forest to promote their opportunities and support what they can offer.

New Covering 200 square miles of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, New

Make your mark on the Heart of the Forest

Keep track of local wildlife. Step out as a walk leader. Join a conservation team. However you want to be involved, you’ll find the perfect opportunity with Black to Green. We can even offer training and skill development if you’d like to try something new. Explore our opportunities below. Whatever you choose, Black to Green is a chance to get outdoors, meet new people, and make a difference. With your help, we can continue transforming the local area together - after all, it is your National Forest. 20

and Staffordshire, and linking the ancient Needwood and Charnwood Forests, the National Forest is one of Britain’s biggest environmental projects. In 20 years, we’ve grown the region’s woodland cover from 1% to 27%. By introducing wooded areas like these, we’re making habitats for wildlife, creating new opportunities for local businesses, and building a beautiful British landscape for you to explore. If you’d like to know more, visit nationalforest.org or call 01283 551211.

Our STYLE

Our brand name

We're the National Forest. You should only capitalise 'the' when it's at the beginning of a line - otherwise, it should be lowercase. If you'd like to use a shortened phrase to refer to the National Forest, always use 'the Forest' rather than abbreviating. The word 'Forest' is always capitalised when it's used as a shortened form of 'the National Forest'. For the National Forest Company, also use lowercase t. In shorthand, you can refer to it as 'the Company' or 'the NFC'.

Alongside the tone of voice, we also have style rules for our copy. These help to keep all our communications the same.

Example

Welcome to the National Forest.

Welcome to The National Forest.

Make your mark on the Forest.

Make your mark on the NF.

With the National Forest Company, we've transformed more than 200sq miles of the Midlands.

With TNFC, we've transformed more than 200sq miles of the Midlands.

Our tone of voice is conversational, but we like to keep things succinct. For that reason, we write dates in the format dd.mm.yy and times using the 12-hour clock. If you're writing communications specifically targeted at an American audience, or another audience that uses the format mm.dd.yy, you can use this instead; however, we recommend using the UK format at all times. When writing about timeframes, always use ‘from’ and ‘to’.

Dates and times

Capitalisation

We use sentence case on titles and subtitles. This means we only capitalise the first letter of the line, unlike title case, where every word has a capital letter. If an area of woodland or forest has an official name - for example, a name you would see on a map, rather than one you might use in conversation - this should be capitalised. Areas we consider important, such as the Heart of the Forest, and products or events are also capitalised. 'Forest life' is not, except at the start of a sentence.

Example 21.01.17

Let’s grow together. Learn more at our stakeholder event on 21.01.17.

Let’s grow together. Learn more at our stakeholder event on the 21st of January 2017.

10am – 6:30pm.

From 7am to 12pm

Web address

2 1st January

10:00 – 18:30

From 7am - 12pm

When writing web addresses, don't include the 'www' at the beginning. Also, if writing as part of a sentence try to embed it in the middle if possible. This avoids the need for a full stop at the end of the address.

Example

We only capitalise the ‘t’ in ‘the National Forest’ when it’s at the beginning of a sentence. If we ever refer to ‘the Forest’, meaning our National Forest, we capitalise the ‘f’ so readers know we’re talking about a specific place. If you’re unsure, follow standard grammar rules: only capitalise proper nouns, like place names and product names, and titles.

Example Charnwood woodland

Charnwood Woodland

Barratt Pool Wood

Barratt pool wood

Plant a Tree

Plant A tree

Heart of the Forest

Heart of the forest

Welcome to the National Forest

Welcome to The National Forest

nationalforest.org

www.nationalforest.org http://www.nationalforest.org

Explore nationalforest.org to find out more.

To find out more, visit nationalforest.org.

Numbering

Write the numbers one to ten in words, and anything from 11 upwards in digits. There's just one exception: percentages are always written in digits, regardless of the number.

Apostrophes

Follow the usual grammar rules for apostrophes: they should only be used to show that someone or something possesses something else, or to replace a missing word or letters. It’s used in ‘five minutes’ walk’, for example, because we write this instead of ‘a walk of five minutes’.

Example Covering 200 square miles of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, and Staffordshire.

Covering two hundred square miles of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire.

In 20 years, we’ve grown the region’s woodland cover from 1% to 27%.

In twenty years, we’ve grown the region’s woodland cover from 1% to 27%.

Just one or two miles away.

Just 1 or 2 miles away.

Example The National Forest is one of the country’s biggest environmental projects.

The National Forest is one of the countries biggest environmental projects.

Find cosy B&Bs just 5 minutes’ walk from your favourite trails.

Ampersands Dashes

You can use the dash (-) to represent a short pause or for emphasis, in the same way that you might pause during conversation to bring attention to a point. Don't overdo it, though, and if you're not completely comfortable with how it works in your copy, you needn't use it at all.

Try not to use ampersands (&) at all. If you’re writing a Tweet, though, you can use an ampersand to bring down the character count.

Example Ramble by silver birch, wild cherries, and fledgling oaks.

Ramble by silver birch, wild cherries, & fledgling oaks.

Example Linking the ancient Needwood and Charnwood Forests - the National Forest is one of Britain’s biggest environmental projects.

Our venture inspires people and businesses to get back in touch with nature - and helps everyone flourish.

With your help, we can continue transforming the local area together - after all, it's your National Forest, too.

Find cosy B&B’s just 5 minutes walk from your favourite trails.

We're always looking for new volunteers - we couldn't do it without you. Get involved - you can find more information here. 27

Our LOGO The National Forest logo is recognised across the UK. It's an essential part of our identity, featured on road signs, leaflets, websites and more. It's important we use it consistently, and our logo guidelines explain sizing, colours, placement and variations.

You can use any of the below colour variations depending on your needs. As a rule, use the Jay Blue and Forest Green logo on communications targeted at formal audiences, and the remaining colours for visitor or resident audiences. On light backgrounds use logos with text in Charcoal Black, and in dark backgrounds the text should be Elderflower White.

Logotype Colour variations

If you're creating a mono version of a design, for example when printing in black and white, you can use a 100% black logo on white backgrounds and 100% white on black.

For formal audiences (e.g. government and corporate)

Visitor and residents use

Logotype Do's & don'ts

The logo should only ever be used in the exact form shown on this double-page spread. Don't use the icon by itself, place the text next to the icon, or any other amendment. Find a few more rules about logo use below.

Coloured backgrounds

Use entirely Elderflower White or Charcoal Black logos against coloured backgrounds. On road signs, it's fine to use 100% white.

Never use coloured logos on a coloured background.

Photography

General use

Mono version

Charcoal Black

100% Process Black

General use

Mono version

When using photography, do place it in clear space where the logo will be fully legible. If the image you're using doesn't have any clear space, use an alternative. 30

If you're using photography as a background, don't place the logo in a busy part of the image (e.g. over faces, action, etc.) where it won't be properly visible. 29 31

Logotype Clearspace

Always keep a consistent space around our logotype this helps to make it clearer. The minimum clear space around the logotype is always the height of the two lines THE NATIONAL FOREST. If you change the size of the logotype, make sure you adjust the clear space too.

Logotype Minimum size

The logotype should always be properly visible. So, it must never be any smaller than the logos shown below. In print, our logotype must always be a minimum of 30mm wide. In digital materials, make sure it's always at least 200px wide.

For print

30mm

For digital

200px

Our TREE RINGS Our tree rings are used subtly in our communications as a background, pattern, or accent. They symbolise the long-lasting impact of our work, a quiet reminder of nature at the core of everything we do. We want our imagery to shine, so to avoid taking attention away from the photography our tree rings are used as an accent. They can be used in two ways: as a slice of colour along the edge, or as part of a background panel. Both examples are shown.

Tree rings as accent

Tree rings as background

Your PLACE TO GROW

nationalforest.org

You can also use the tree ring as a background. In this case, colour it Charcoal Black Primary, and place on a panel in Charcoal Black Secondary. Both colours should be set to 100% opacity.

When used as an accent, the tree rings are featured on a slim, coloured strip. Here, the dotted line shows how it should be positioned: the top of the tree ring lines up with the bottom of the logo and fills all remaining space below. Colours are simple. Use a colour from the National Forest palette p46 for the print itself, supported by its secondary shade for the strip of background. In this example, we've used Forest Green.

The print is an enlarged crop of one of the large tree ring assets. These should always be much larger than the margin, filling it completely and showing the detail of the tree rings.

Resize the print and position it to house the headline - however, it shouldn't touch or go beyond the right edge of the panel.

Your PLACE TO GROW

In the example, you can see how this works. The print doesn't touch the right or top edges of the panel, but is still large enough to create space around the headline.

For layout, see page 54

nationalforest.org 37

Tree rings Variations

We've illustrated six tree ring accents, named after different trees. You can find more information about how to implement the tree rings on the previous page.

Tree rings Colour variations

Below, you can see how the tree rings are used in different colours. Every print style can be used with any colour from the palette, but the first two colours shown below should only be used for formal audiences. There's one rule: always use the primary colour for the print, and the secondary colour for the background. Don't mix two different colours.

1. Oak

2. Silver Birch

3. Sycamore

4. Hazel

5. Willow

6. Cherry

39 19

Our TYPEFACES To create a consistent look and feel across our printed materials, we use the following typefaces for downloadable PDFs and print media. This typeface won't show up online or on emails; we have an alternative typeface to be used in these cases on page 44. With all typefaces, the minimum size is always 16pt online and 10pt in print. This is to make sure our text is always visible. We've suggested specific font sizes for different media. You can find these from page 74.

Headline typeface

Our headline typeface is FS Siena Thin. It has a classic feel without feeling old-fashioned, carefully balancing modernity with tradition.

FS Siena / Thin

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 !@£$%^&*()_+ FS Siena / Bold

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 !@£$%^&*()_+ 40

We use FS Siena in Light for subheadings and body copy. Use 10pt for body copy.

Subheading and body copy typeface

For quotes, use FS Siena in Light Italic.

Quote typeface

FS Siena / Light

FS Siena / Light italic

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 !@£$%^&*()_+

If you're writing an email, using Microsoft Office, or adding copy to the website, use Calibri. It's a clearly legible, Windows-friendly typeface, and a good alternative when FS Siena can't be used. On Word documents and emails, use 10pt Calibri.

For email, web, and Microsoft Office

Calibri Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 !@£$%^&*()_+

Calibri Regular

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 !@£$%^&*()_+

Calibri Italic ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 !@£$%^&*()_+

45 43

FORMAL AUDIENCES While we want a consistent feel across all our communications, for government and corporate we create a slightly more formal look using blue and green.

Our COLOURS

Jay Blue

For our colour palette we've taken inspiration from nature. This creates a connection between our creative and our forest environment, with added vibrancy to create a bold, fresh look for the brand. For formal audiences, we use our blues and greens. All other colours are used for visitors and residents. This helps us to create a distinct look and feel for these two sides of the National Forest, while still keeping all our materials consistent. Every colour has a primary shade, used on titles, text, and tree rings, and a secondary shade, which is used on backgrounds for the tree ring accents.

Secondary

Primary CMYK

075 / 022 / 000 / 000

CMYK

083 / 036 / 008 / 000

RGB

000 / 158 / 226

RGB

000 / 132 / 188

HEX #0584be

HEX #1c9cd8

Forest Green

Primary

Secondary

CMYK

074 / 000 / 074 / 000

CMYK

080 / 017 / 080 / 000

RGB

047 / 172 / 102

RGB

040 / 145 / 086

HEX #289559

HEX #34ad68

VISITORS AND RESIDENTS For communications with visitor or resident audiences, we introduce vibrancy and excitement with a brighter colour palette.

Poppy Red

Spindle Orange

Secondary

Primary

Secondary

Primary

CMYK

000 /100 / 100 / 000

CMYK

015 / 100 / 100 / 008

CMYK

000 / 075 / 100 / 000

CMYK

017 / 078 / 100 / 007

RGB

224 / 009 / 009

RGB

189 / 000 / 000

RGB

233 / 091 / 013

RGB

196 / 077 / 007

HEX #bd0000

HEX #e00909

Foxglove Pink

HEX #c44d07

HEX #e85a0c

Catkin Green

Primary

Secondary

Primary

Secondary

CMYK

000 / 097 / 004 / 000

CMYK

017 / 100 / 017 / 004

CMYK

020 / 000 / 095 / 000

CMYK

035 / 017 / 100 / 003

RGB

229 / 000 / 126

RGB

199 / 000 / 110

RGB

221 / 219 / 000

RGB

181 / 179 / 005

HEX #c7006e

HEX #e5007e

HEX #b5b305

HEX #dddb00

Base COLOURS Charcoal Black and Elderflower White can be used in combination with any of the above colours. They're inspired by natural shades, used instead of the harsher absolute black and white.

Charcoal Black

Elderflower White

Primary

Secondary

Primary

Secondary

CMYK

010 / 000 / 000 / 075

CMYK

020 / 000 / 000 / 100

CMYK 002 / 002 / 017 / 000

CMYK 002 / 003 / 028 / 000

RGB

081 / 084 / 084

RGB

000 /000 / 000

RGB 253 / 247 / 223

RGB 253 / 243 / 201

HEX #fdf7df

HEX #fdf3c9

HEX #505353

HEX #000000

Sometimes, you might need to print in black and white; we call this mono. If you're only able to create a mono version of a design, you should use 100% black and 100% white values. This is the only time you should use full black or white. 50

Using COLOUR

Example

In any single composition, use colour sparingly. Whether it's a leaflet or a social media post, a colour should only be used with two others: its monochromatic shade, and black and/or white. This means, if you're using Jay Blue, you can then combine it with the darker shade of Jay Blue, Elderflower White, and Charcoal Black. You shouldn't combine it with any other colour.

Page LAYOUTS There are three different ways you can set out the page. You can use an image as a full background with the tree ring accent, combine an image, panel, and tree ring accent, or use an image with the tree ring panel. Tree ring accents are always one column wide. Panels should be sized in a way that fits the image you're using, but must always be less than half of the page. On portrait materials, the panel is used at the bottom of the page.

Your PLACE TO GROW

nationalforest.org This example shows how an image, panel, and tree ring accent can be used together. If you're not comfortable applying a gradient to the image, use a solid Charcoal Black panel on the side of the image with the tree print accent.

Your PLACE TO GROW

nationalforest.org

The above example shows an image used as a background, combined with the tree rings accent. You can read more about the tree ring accent on page 34. Note that a gradient is used on the image on the left-hand side, allowing the header to stand out. 54

Here, we use the larger charcoal tree ring panel with the image. You can find out more about the tree ring panel on page 37. 55

Portrait

Page STRUCTURE We've created an easy to follow design grid system to keep layouts consistent in our marketing materials. These will help you to know where to position the logo, tree rings, and headline, as well as to get sizing correct. When using the grid system, as a general rule always leave at least one column or row between pieces of copy, headlines, and other items.

Brand GUIDELINES

Within this grid, the logo should always be scaled to the height of two rows and placed one row from the top or bottom of the document. The first line of headline copy is set to the height of a single row. Finally, the tree ring accent is the width of a single column, and always on the left-hand side.

Once everything has been sized and placed correctly, the image can be added. The image shown here has had a gradient applied to help the text stand out; to understand how this works and our rules about using gradients, see page 72.

Landscape

Brand GUIDELINES

Leaflet GUIDE

In a landscape document, create the grid by dividing the width into 22 equal-sized columns, rather than 16. To create the grid, divide the width of the document into 16 equally sized columns.

Then split the document into rows the same size as the width of the columns. 56

For a DL document, create the grid by dividing the width into ten equal-sized columns.

Our PHOTOGRAPHY

Forest centric

If your marketing material is about the National Forest more generally, or if you're targeting businesses, stakeholders, or another formal audience, photography can be focused on the forest. Use imagery that features people, but makes the setting the focal point of the shot.

People centric

In materials about activities or people, or targeting visitors or residents, use imagery that makes people the hero. This creates a more personal, emotive feel. You can crop photographs to get the right effect.

OVERVIEW These attributes are what give our photography the National Forest look and feel. By following these points closely, we'll ensure our images are always consistent and that they strike the right tone. Approach We use lifestyle photography to capture authentic-looking moments.

Setting Always run photography shoots on location. This makes our images authentic and helps us to show people what the National Forest is really like.

Lighting Using natural light allows us to highlight the natural tone of the shot. There is a lot of flexibility in taking this approach; if directed with consideration you can achieve natural flares and dramatic backlit images.

Models Our people are the heroes of National Forest imagery. We only use models that are either real visitors, workers, or residents, or models who seem like they could be. When choosing models, they can be any sex, height, ethnicity and age. We want images to seem authentic and inclusive, not commercially aspirational.

Our photography SHOULD Feel sincere

Look natural

Be carefully framed

Show energy and motion

Photography should capture emotive, authentic-

Take care with colour saturation. The colours

If you want to use an image in your

The Forest is always filled with movement.

looking moments rather than showing obviously

in our images need to feel natural, and not too

communications, it'll need to have plenty of

Each image should capture part of an action,

staged shots. Subjects shouldn't look directly into

exaggerated.

space for logos, copy, etc. So, don't get too close

even if only subtle; it could be anything from hair

to the subject when taking a photo.

being rustled in the wind to someone halfway

the camera, or seem as though they're posing for a photo.

through stepping over a stream.

Our photography SHOULDN'T Force symmetry

Overuse Photoshop

Use extreme lens effects

Symmetry always looks contrived, particularly

Retouching of photos should be really subtle.

Don't warp images by using wide lenses or other

if you're photographing people. Avoid it wherever

Don't overuse Photoshop to create new images or

effects; it doesn't look natural or create the right

possible.

compositions, or overly manipulate photographs.

feel for the brand.

Using COLOUR We've created our images to allow flexibility with the National Forest colour palettes. By having clothing recoloured, a designer can select any image and ensure that it fits in with the chosen colour scheme.

Using GRADIENTS By applying gradients to our images, we're able to create a distinct look and feel. In particular, we bring added vibrancy to green tones to make every image stand out. Where text will be applied directly over the top of an image, we also use a darker gradient in the space towards the edge. This helps copy to stand out over the top. Before

Where the gradient starts on the image is judged by eye to suit the light, background, and contrast of the image - but we don't expect everyone to be able to do this. You can only create these gradients in a professional design suite like Adobe Photoshop, and it's important they're done properly. So, if you're unsure, stick with an image that's already been edited, and use a Charcoal Black panel rather than a gradient as on page 55. Note to designers: Avoid using the gradient tool in Photoshop when editing images. Instead, use the exposure and saturation levels to darken parts of the image to make the gradient seem as natural as possible.

After 72

Templates for PRINT & ONLINE

DL leaflet Use the template below for any DL leaflet. You might need to adjust the image position to make sure the headline and logo have enough space.

There's no need to create a brand new design every time you want some marketing materials. For DL leaflets and online advertising, use our templates, simply amending the imagery, copy, and colours where necessary.

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Your PLACE TO GROW

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FS Siena Bold/47pt FS Siena Thin/47pt 28 74

Letterhead

Email signature

There are two versions of the National Forest letterhead. The accented letterhead is used on pre-printed letterhead paper. For printing onto blank paper, use the letterhead without the treeprint accent.

The email signature follows a standard format using Calibri as the main typeface.

Calibri Bold/14pt Calibri Regular/10pt Calibri Bold/10pt Calibri Regular/10pt

The National Forest Company - Enterprise Glade, Bath Yard, Moira, Swadlincote, Derbyshire DE12 6BA Telephone: 01283 551211 Emal: enquiries@nationalforest.org Website: www.nationalforest.org

Company Registration: 2991970 Registered Charity Number: 1166563

FS Siena Thin/8pt 76 74

Social banners

Online ads

Social banners should use brand images cropped correctly around a focal point.

Online adverts use the tree rings to a greater degree to emphasise the brand, image and messages. Here the copy is positioned over the tree ring panel on the right side, where the usual layout rules cannot be followed due to size.

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78 74

Template for POWERPOINT

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Director of Development

Our PowerPoint templates make it easier to create professional, on-brand presentations. Simply change the copy and images to suit your needs. To keep things consistent, we've created templates for title slides, copy slides, and tables. This should give you everything you need.

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Title ilum   LOREM IPSUM

Title ilum   LORB REM IPSUM

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Thank you David Bourqueâ&#x20AC;¨ Director of Development 01283 554232 | 07855 129445 dbourque@na:onalforest.org www.na:onalforest.org

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ACCESSIBILITY It’s really important we make our communications accessible to everyone. In particular, copy should always be easily legible, and we need to be careful with opacity to be sure that our audience can properly enjoy our designs. Follow these rules to make your marketing materials clear and accessible.

Typeface We’ve chosen FS Siena and Calibri for their legibility. Always use these typefaces as laid out in the guidelines, and never use a font size smaller than 16pt on digital or 10pt in print.

Copy placement Copy shouldn’t be placed over busy parts of an image, as this makes it difficult to read. You can read more about copy placement from page 74.

Colour Make sure there’s enough contrast between text and background colours, allowing copy to be read easily.

Design

S ome of our design elements, like our tree print accents, are slightly transparent. Make sure you never change these elements to below 30% opacity.

Layout

arefully follow our templates, found on C pages 74 to 82, to help you create clear, uncluttered designs.

Closing statement

T o make sure everyone has the same access to information, you can add the line ‘To see this in a different format, call xxxx or contact xxxx@xxxxxx’ at the bottom of your communications.

More information Any questions? Get in touch using the contact details below. Alan Leather, Development Manager, 01283 554216 aleather@nationalforest.org

nationalforest.org The National Forest Company is a company limited by guarantee, (registered no. 2991970) and a registered charity (registered no. 1166563). NFC0717