GEC style Guide by Quan Phan

CONTENT

Inside the Brand 2

CONTENT

Content

Who We Are

Our History

Your Role

Introduction

Logo

Color Palette

Primary

Complementary

Our Fonts

Eurostile

Garamond

Century Gothic

Typography

Departmental Logo

Bebas Neue Pro

Meanings

The Wild Things

Construction

Colors

LGBTQ+ Programs

Gender-Based Violence Prevention

Our Personality

Design Elements

Advocates

Text Display

Old vs New

Illustrations

Incorrect Usage

Finishing Touches

INTRODUCTION

Who We Are MISSION The mission of the Gender + Equality Center (GEC) is to cultivate an affirming, educational, and diverse community by focusing on LGBTQ+ inclusion, interpersonal violence prevention, and advocacy for victims of gender-based violence. The mission encompasses the work that we do as the Center with 3 main functional areas: • Gender-Based Violence Prevention • Victims and Survivor Advocacy

At the GEC, we believe in educating, empowering, and advocating for all OU community members. The Educational Priority serves as our promise to our community members about their learning journey during their engagement with us. EDUCATIONAL PRIORITY The Gender + Equality Center will empower OU community members to create affirming, violence-free communities and actively work toward a just and equitable society.

GENDER + EQUALITY CENTER INTRODUCTION

• LGBTQ+ Programs.

INTRODUCTION

Our History The GEC has a unique history and place on our campus. When members of the OU community have a vision, anything can happen. One such vision became a reality after a needs assessment was conducted in order to establish a women’s Center on the Norman campus of the University of Oklahoma. In November of 1999, the Women’s Outreach Center opened its doors as a part of Student Life.

INTRODUCTION

From the moment the ribbon was cut at the Center’s grand opening, we have served the OU community offering referrals and student support in the heart of the Oklahoma Memorial Union. The Center has made tremendous strides and changes over the years. Some of the Center’s initial programs included the Sister to Sister Mentoring Program, World AIDS Day Quilt, Women and Wheels auto maintenance workshop, Clothesline Project, Rape Awareness Week, eating disorders awareness, and various support groups.

In fall 2008, the Peer Educator program expanded to include sexual assault prevention. These peer educators give Step In, Speak Out and Our Voice presentations, focusing on consent and active bystander intervention issues. In the fall of 2017, Step In, Speak Out became mandatory training for all incoming freshman and transfer students. Also, in 2008, the Women’s Outreach Center developed the Sooner Ally program, then later changed to LGBTQ+ Aspiring Ally, to reduce prejudices towards the LGBTQ+ students as well as to provide different resources on and off-campus. The Aspiring Ally programs expanded to adapt to the needs of LGBTQ+ students and other specific groups such as Medical, K-12, or Greek Allies.

INTRODUCTION

In 2008, the Center took over the Sexual Assault Response Team for the University and eventually rebranded to form OU Advocates. OU Advocates is a group of staff from the Division of Student Affairs, trained to respond 24/7 in the event of a student experiencing sexual assault. In 2010, the Center launched the LGBTQ+ Program Advisory Board. The advisory board is made up of undergraduate and graduate students creating program opportunities that will help educate and build awareness and support for our LGBTQ+ students and the broader campus community. Throughout the year, the LGBTQ+ Program Advisory Board hosted many events to help educate and raise awareness, such as Candle Light Vigil, National Coming Out Day, LGBTQ+ History Month, and LGBTQ+ Health Week. The Program Advisory Board has now becomes a programming branch of the Center’s LGBTQ+ Programs.

While some of the programs have changed over the years, the mission to support students on OU’s campus has not. Building awareness through outreach, hosting seminars, and providing resources and referrals are all a part of the Gender + Equality Center today. We continue to be committed to addressing issues of gender, celebrating diversity, developing leaders, empowering students, and supporting the LGBTQ community.

INTRODUCTION

In 2015, the Women’s Outreach Center changed its name and came to be known as the Gender + Equality Center, better encompassing the work done by the Center. In 2020, the LGBTQ+ Programs launched the Mentorship Program that connects LGBTQ+ students to their peers and alumni members.

6 INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Your Role Publicity and graphic mediums are essential to our work. They promote our work and events of the Center. They also play a crucial part in educating the OU Community members by making our educational materials more engaging and accessible to the public. GOALS: The goals of publicity for the Gender + Equality Center include: • Advance the Gender + Equality Center’s Mission and Education Priority by producing high quality and educational graphic content. • Produce professional content that visually promotes GEC’s learning goals and outcomes: Socially Just Leadership, Advocacy, and Self-Awareness. • Brand events, programs, and educational materials (prints, website, or social media) • Publicize educational strategies to the members of the OU Community at large.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The Graphic Design Intern’s responsibilities may include but are not limited to: • Design marketing materials to promote the Gender + Equality Center programs. • Create flyers, posters, advertising and publicity for events. • Utilize creative abilities to communicate the messages of the center including LGBTQ programs, sexual assault prevention, and social justice issues. Some of the projects (events, social norm campaigns, and social media posts) may include: Events: LGBTQ Orientation Events Take Back the Night Rape Awareness Week Domestic Violence Awareness Month LGBTQ History Month Stalking Awareness Women’s History Month Crimson & Queens Events and more...

Social Norm Campaigns: Consent Definitions (September) Rape Awareness Week (October) My Costume is not my Consent (October) Dating Violence (February) Consent does not go on break (March) and more...

INTRODUCTION

You are a part of our team! The Interns play an important role in the work we do as the Center. From creating educational materials such as graphics or videos to putting on programs for students, the work of the intern team helps to advance the mission and the educational promise of the Gender + Equality Center.

LOGO

Departmental Logos INSTITUTIONAL LOGO

OFFICIAL LOGO

GENDER + EQUALITY CENTER

SHORTENED LOGO

LOGO

SYMBOL LOGO

All of our logos can be found on the I: Drive > GEC-INTERNS > Graphic Designs > Logos in both ai and png format.

LOGO

Meanings The new GEC logo was created in 2015 when the Center changed its name from the Women’s Outreach Center to the Gender + Equality Center to better reflect its work with the LGBTQ+ community.

OLD LOGO:

LOGO

This is an old logo of the Women’s Outreach Center

SUPPORT

COMMUNITY

These curves represent different levels of support that the GEC provides for the OU Community.

The circles pay homage to the original logo of the Women’s Outreach Center. They stand for the OU Community that we serve.

The curves are not complete to signify that we always have room for growth, and we are not the end-all-be-all for everyone.

They also represent the affirming community.

LOGO

Construction OFFICIAL LOGO 4x

4x 2x x

GENDER + EQUALITY CENTER

x 2x

The minimum clear space

EUROSTILE HEAVY (all caps)

MYRIAD PRO BOLD

GENDER + EQUALITY CENTER

MYRIAD PRO REGULAR

(all caps, tracking 105)

LOGO

(all caps, tracking 105)

LOGO

Construction SHORTENED LOGO

GEC

4x 2x x x 2x

x 2x

EUROSTILE BLACK (all caps)

The minimum clear space 4x

SYMBOL LOGO 4x 2x x

LOGO

x 2x

LOGO

Colors

Black #000000

Gray #A6A9AB

White #FFFF

Purple

RGB:

RGB: 166 169 171

RGB: 255 255 255

RGB: 113 073 135 LOGO

0 0 0

#714987

LOGO

LGBTQ+ Programs AREA LOGO

LGBTQ+ PROGRAMS PROGRAM LOGO (examples)

PROGRAM ADVISORY BOARD NOTES

ASPIRING ALLY

MENTORSHIP PROGRAM COLORS

• The symbol is all gray (#A6A9AB) • The bar is converted to the Philadelphia rainbow flag (with black and brown stripes) - See colors

#A6A9AB

#714987

#0B5E94

#639766

#F4BB48

#F36616

#E63434

• This applies to all programs, initiatives, and trainings that relate to LGBTQ+ topics

#794E17

LOGO

• The text is aligned at the middle of the bar (using the squares on the bar to mark the distance)

#000000

• The main purple text is 2x the black and gray text

LOGO

AREA LOGO

Gender-Based Violence Prevention GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE PREVENTION

PROGRAM LOGO (examples)

STEP IN, SPEAK OUT

OUR VOICE

NOTES

#RELATIONSHIPGOALS

COLORS

• The symbol is all gray (#A6A9AB) • The bar is converted to teal and purple - See colors • The main purple text is 2x the black and gray text

LOGO

#A6A9AB

#714987

• Make sure to have a hyphen (-) between gender-based

#16ADB5

• This applies to all programs, initiatives, and trainings that relate to gender-based violence topics

#000000

• The text is aligned at the middle of the bar

LOGO

Advocates AREA LOGO

OU ADVOCATES PROGRAM LOGO (examples)

INTRODUCTION TO OU ADVOCATE

NEW ADVOCATE TRAINING

NOTES

NEW ADVOCATE TRAINING 2.0

COLORS

• The bar is all gray (#A6A9AB) • The main purple text is 2x the black and gray text • The text is aligned at the middle of the bar

#A6A9AB

#714987

#16ADB5

#000000

LOGO

• This applies to all programs, initiatives, and trainings that relate to OU Advocates Program

LOGO

Old vs New These logos are updated as of 2021. Please use the most updated version

OLD NEW Make sure the circles and curves are evenly spaced.

OLD NEW Make sure the curves are smoothed and evenly spaced, the ends are not squared

OLD LOGOS Please make sure the sub-logos follow the style guide. These logos are no longer in use.

LOGO

University of Oklahoma | Gender + Equality Center

LOGO

Incorrect Usage DISTORTION

LOW CONTRAST

GENDER + EQUALITY CENTER

DO NOT distort the logo by stretching the logos in any ways. ROTATION

DO NOT use the logo on backgrounds that make part of the logo difficult to see. You can change a part of the logo to white if needed. SHRINK

LITY CENTER

GENDER + EQUA

DO NOT rotate the logo and not having it flat (unless the design calls for it).

LOGO

SMALL LOGOS

These versions of the logo should only be used on social media posts or design elements, almost like a watermark.

GENDER + EQUALITY CENTER

DO NOT shrink the logo to be too small. You should reconsider the composition of the design, or use the shortened/symbol version. CHANGING LINE WEIGHT

DO NOT alter the design by the line weight.

COLOR PALETTE

Primary Colors

Black #000000

Gray #A6A9AB

White #FFFF

Purple

RGB:

RGB: 166 169 171

RGB: 255 255 255

RGB: 113 073 135

0 0 0

#714987

#794E17

#E63434

#F36616

#F4BB48

#639766

#0B5E94

#16ADB5

R: 121 G: 78 B: 23

R: 230 G: 52 B: 52

R: 243 G: 102 B: 22

R: 244 G: 187 B: 72

R: 99 G: 151 B: 102

R: 11 G: 94 B: 148

R: 20 G: 170 B: 178

COLOR PALETTE

Complementary Colors Here are some palettes that we often use in our graphics. You can also find some colors that might complement our signature purple (#714987)

#166B8C

#26A699

#F2B035

#F24141

#F29191

#D97EA8

#956DA6

#262840

#2E3559

#03070D

#FFB37A

#FF8E7A

#EB697F

#986D81

#3E667A

#264653

#2A9D8F

#E9C46A

#F4A261

#E76F51

#F20C49

#3BBFBF

#9BF2D2

#F2C48D

#F29188

Struggling to find some colors for your design? Utilize the following tools • Adobe Color Theme • Explore Color Theme Both available in Adobe Illustrator

Purple #714987

RGB: 113 073 135

COLOR PALETTE

HELPFUL TIPS

TYPOGRAPHY

Our Fonts EUROSTILE

Garamond

Regular, Oblique, Medium, Medium Italic, Bold, Bold Oblique, Heavy, Heavy Italic, Black, Black Italic _________________

Regular, Italic, Bold

Great versatile font that can be used as headings if used all caps, or body text. This font is used for our logo.

The University of Oklahoma’s wordmarks use Adobe Garamond Pro.

Century Gothic

BEBAS NEUE pro

Regular, Italic, Bold, Bold Italic _________________

Thin, Thin Italic, Book, Book Italic, Regular, Italic, Bold, Bold Italic, ExtraBold, ExtraBold Italic, & more _________________

Great modern font that is often used in our documents. Can be used as headings or body text.

Extremely versatile font with varying line weights, used often in our designs. Reccomended if you have a lot of text elements in your

THE WILD THINGS

The Wild Things Script

BOLD, BOLD ITALIC

_________________ Less versatile but softer version of Bebas Neue. Use sparingly.

Our script font. Add shear (slanted) to have a hand-written effect.

TYPOGRAPHY

_________________

TYPOGRAPHY

Eurostile EUROSTILE

TYPOGRAPHY

G r 1 w ! C 24

ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:;

Regular

Bold

ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:;

Regular Oblique

Bold Oblique

ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:;

Medium

Black

ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:;

Medium Italic

Black Italic

TYPOGRAPHY

Garamond Garamond ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:; Regular

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:;

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:; Bold

TYPOGRAPHY

Medium

TYPOGRAPHY

Century Gothic Century Gothic ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:;

TYPOGRAPHY

7 G ; z Q ! 26

Regular

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:; Italic

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:; Bold

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:; Bold Italic

TYPOGRAPHY

BEBAS NEUE Pro

E w g ?

3 X

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:;

Book

Light

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:;

Book Italic

Light Italic

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:;

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:;

Bold

ExtraBold

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:;

Bold Italic

ExtraBold Italic

TYPOGRAPHY

Bebas Neue Pro

TYPOGRAPHY

The Wild Things THE WILD THINGS

TYPOGRAPHY

B % 5 a 28

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789!@&/*:; Bold

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789!@&/*:; Bold Italic

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!@&/*:; Script

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Our Personality The Gender + Equality Center’s designs may vary, but all designs follow these principles. They shape our decisions to design and create our educational/publicity materials, not only for our graphics but also for the language attached to those materials.

We are bold.

We are professional.

Our design and our approach to the content should be bold. They should be attention-grabbing and generate conversations among our audience.

The language and the design elements we use must communicate and stem from our sense of professionalism. We are a representative of the University and our community at large.

We are approachable. We are educational. Our language and graphics must be easy to understand and approachable to our audience. The topics we discuss are often heavy and can be shame-triggering. Our content should be straightforward and digestible for the community.

This principle is at the heart of what we are trying to do. The content we put out, via graphics or language, must be based on research and recommended best practices in the field. The approach of how we display the content, graphically or language, must be of service to our audience’s learning process.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Each principle has a set of guiding questions to ensure our designs are aligning with our brand essence.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Our Personality We are bold... It isn’t easy to stand out in the sea of digital content. Regardless of the quality of our materials, the truth is, if our graphic materials are not standing out, no one will engage with our work. It starts with what we are trying to say. Our messages should be timely, relevant, and personal to our audience. They should also be able to be easily understood on their own without much explanation. We can certainly be playful as long as we don’t compromise on the integrity of the message. Then, our graphics are supporting what we are trying to say. Overall, it should be attention-grabbing, succinct, and direct.

The combination of color choices and graphic illustrations are eye-catching and stand out among other designs.

I SAW THE BRUISES & CHOSE TO IGNORE THEM... UNTIL I COULD

TALK TO MY FRIEND ALONE. I DIDN’T WANT TO PUT HER IN DANGER.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

GUIDING QUESTIONS:

• What do I feel when I look at this? • Do I genuinely want to learn more about this subject based on this graphic? • What kind of discussion does this generate? • Are we being intentional when we craft our message and graphics? • Is there an element that makes me smile upon closer inspection?

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution – www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please contact the Women's Outreach Center at (405) 325-4929.

This was reliant on the shock factor. The “punchline” was smaller and can be lost. This can be triggering to survivors.

but we are not aggressive. Have you ever felt taken aback or been overwhelmed by a graphic? That’s certainly the opposite reaction of what we want. Attention-grabbing does not equal shock value. If you want our audience to start a discussion, make sure that we set them up for a meaningful discussion about the subject, not about how we approach that subject!

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Our Personality We are professional... The language and the design elements we use must communicate and stem from our sense of professionalism. After all, we still have a duty to represent the University and our community at large.

GUIDING QUESTIONS: • Does this follow the graphic guidelines? • Do the design elements or language feel appropriate? • Are there any mistake or typo in our work? Always double check your work, or find another set of eyes if you’re unsure. • Does it feel clean and uncluttered? • Does the composition of the graphics look balanced?

This design does meet our standards of professionlism. The design is clean, although it could show more of our personality.

Make sure to double check your work to make sure that there is no typo or that all the links/QR codes/details are accurate.

but we are not cold. Just because we are professional does not mean that we don’t have a personality. We want to be sincere in our messaging and be culturally relevant and timely. Most of our events or campaigns reoccur annually, so ask yourself: what makes this year special?

DESIGN ELEMENTS

The easiest way to communicate our professionalism is through our standard of graphics. Making sure that we provide high-quality graphics and content is extremely important. Always double-check our messages and graphics to make sure they don’t have any typos (we inevitably will, and of course, we will still find them after we get them printed or post online... such is life!). Also, make sure that we send appropriate files so that none of our work is pixilated or in the wrong format. Some of our content is heavy, and they are real experiences that people have to live through. We don’t want to make light of these issues in any way.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Our Personality We are approachable... Our language and graphics must be easy to understand and approachable to our audience. No one needs to major in social sciences to understand our content. If people don’t understand what we are saying, they can’t learn from it. Use Layman’s terms to describe what we are trying to communicate. Our graphics should be inviting and friendly. We are charismatic and fun people! Make sure our graphics reflect our personality as the Center in an appropriate way.

The illustration with black outlines and graphic colors along with the cursive font create an approachable vibe.

Another way to look at it is through the lens of accessibility and representation. Make sure we follow our works, represent the vast array of our audience, and are accessible.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

GUIDING QUESTIONS:

• Would a stranger to the subject be able to understand what we are saying? • Are we using any jargon that might confuse people? • Are our graphics accessible to everyone? (especially people with visual impairment?) • Are our graphics/content representative of our diverse community? (race, ethnicity, gender, body types, etc.) • Are we being charismatic and friendly?

Whether intentional or not, the image comes off as phallic. Also this reminds us of the poster example of rape culture.

but we are not juvenile. Again, fall back on our professionalism principle. It is okay to be punny, but don’t make it cringy (we all know an example of this from somewhere). It is tempting to make our content lighter but avoid crude jokes and cheap laughs. We don’t want to disrespect anyone’s experience.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Our Personality We are educational... The content we put out must be based on research and recommended best practices in the field. We are viewed as the expert on campus for what we do, and our content must reflect that standard. As more research comes out, we must be able to change our approach. Don’t be stagnant in our ways! The approach of how we display the content, graphically or language, must be of service to our audience’s learning process. Don’t over-clutter or make our graphics distracting.

GUIDING QUESTIONS: •

What are we trying to communicate? Does this graphic serve that purpose? • How recent and relevant is the information we have? From whose perspectives is that information being produced? • Are the graphics distracting the audience from the information?

The graphic is informational and engaging with the illustrations and hand-drawn graphics.The accompanying information is wellresearched.

We will continue to educate our community, but the GEC will not patronize or shame our audience.

but we are not snobby. We want to speak with authority but certainly don’t want to talk down or patronize our audience. Everyone’s learning journey is different, and our content is for everyone. Shame is certainly not an educational tool. It is essential to make the best effort to meet people where they are and educate people.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

This principle is at the heart of what we are trying to do. In fact, all other principles link back to this one. Graphics are an important strategy for us to educate our audience by displaying information and resources in a visually appealing way.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Text Display Most of our designs (either social norm campaigns or graphics for event publicity) have a title text display component. This is often the main focus of the graphic. They might look different, but they are always following these simple rules. PRINCIPLES: • They will always fit neatly in a shape (often a box). • The most important parts of the text are bigger and emphasized (see ‘My Costume’ and ‘Consent’.) The rest of the text becomes space-fillers (see ‘Is Not My). They are often alternating to display contrast.

• These designs are often symmetrical. Suppose there is a component that is asymmetrical (see ‘Consent’), there will most likely be another component that counteracts it to bring back the sense of symmetry (see the dash line underneath). These principles are often used in lettering techniques by lettering artists. We often draw inspiration from lettering art and copy the compositions. However, make it yours by adding different design elements.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

• In terms of Typography, there should only be 3 fonts max used in a design. To create contrast or variation in the design, you can use multiple versions of a font (Thin vs Bold) to create a harmonious design.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Text Display

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Text Display There are tons of inspirations out there to make the text displays stand out even more. Here are some useful and easy techniques to add some ‘zazz’ to our designs! These effects are great on their own and are amazing if you combine them correctly.

BREAK OUT FROM A BOX As we said prior, most text displays can fit neatly in a box. However, the design elements can break out of the box to add an extra oomph to your design. Make sure not to overdo it.

SHEAR

RIBBONS

Add a slight slant to your design that gives it a hand-drawn or asymmetrical feel. We recommend a vertical axis with the shear angle at -10o.

Adding ribbons is a great way to break up your layout and give it a welcoming and softer feel. Make sure not to overdo them since it can look superfluous.

CRIMSON

is not my

DRAG SHOW

DROP SHADOW

DESIGN WITH THE TEXT

The drop shadow can add more contrast to the design. The shadow can be to the side (We recommend lower to the right) or in the center (as seen here). You can achieve this with the blend tool.

There are many ways to fill in the text. One of the ways is to fill it with another design (as seen here). When you do this, make sure the text is still legible. It would be best if you try a handdrawn design and not use a preset pattern.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Illustrations There are various types of illustrations that are accompanying our text. From illustrative hand-drawn arts to flat graphics or more whimsical line works, each type of illustration brings in a unique vibe to our graphics. In general, most of them are decorative in nature. They are usually simple, not overly detailed—these help to communicate the charisma of our Center. Our visual language lives on the Illustration side (some text will always accompany it), ranging from semi-abstract to semirealistic (unless we are using actual photograph). The illustrations should clarify or further enhance the information represented in the text. The level of abstract depends on the subject, so use your best judgment.

ABSTRACT

DESIGN ELEMENTS

ILLUSTRATION

ART

REALISTIC

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Illustrations HUMAN SUBJECT

DESIGN ELEMENTS

We often put have various human subjects in our materials. They can range from abstract to detailed, but they all have an illustrative feel. If it is a flat graphic, we recommend that you not put the subject’s eyes, as they can look creepy if not done right. Ensure the anatomy is correct, and we want our graphics to feature people with different skin tones, body types, hairstyles, etc.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Illustrations ICONOGRAPHY We often use icons for our website or presentation. Icons are meant to illustrate the general idea of the subject quickly. Icons should be minimalistic but not super abstract (the audience shouldn’t have to guess what it is). There are different types of icons we can use. Depending on the background and other design components and the subjects, you can select various types of icons to use. Here are two common types of icons:

DESIGN ELEMENTS

SOLID ICONS (or filled icons)

HOLLOW ICONS (or line icons)

There is no clear answer on which one is better. However, for icons expressing the same meaning of the original subjects, solid icons are more recognizable. Hollow icons are better for icons that are endowed with abstract meanings (speech bubble, thoughts, etc.).

Regardless of which icons you use, make sure that they look uniform and look like they are from the same graphic family. They should have consistent line weight, visual language, etc. For example, the human subject icons in “Trainings,” “Intern,” and “Peer Educator” all have a different visual language. Make sure that they are consistent throughout, especially if they appear on the same graphic. Generally, here are some rules to keep in mind when you design our icons: • Not overly detailed • Consistent line weight (if the icons are hollow, apply thicker stroke) • The cap should be rounded and the join should be rounded (See in stroke properties panel). This approach will help to communicate a softer and more friendly vibe.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Illustrations STYLES For some of the social norm campaigns, make sure the illustrations are designed carefully. This is based on our four design principles we have established earlier: bold, professional, approachable, and educational. By designing something from scratch, we have the flexibility of moving different graphic elements around for different formats. Alternatively, you can combine your visual elements or text display with a photograph. Do not take a shortcut such as imagetracing a photo.

Do not just image trace a photograph. This looks obvious and does not look professional or show our personality as the center.

does not You can use a photograph as a background for your text display. No matter where you are Sexual Misconduct still applies.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

The image was simplified and looked professional. You can use an image as a reference for you to design your work.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Illustrations HAND-DRAWN We also often use different hand-drawn illustrations in our materials (primarily in our printed or social media). They bring out our personality as approachable and warm. That also allows us to explore our creative side (when we have time). These are often used to accompany a block of text or as coloring pages in our training.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

The principles for these are the same. Consistent line weight, illustrative feel, uniform style, not overly detailed, and the caps or joins are rounded.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Illustrations CAMPUS BUILDINGS Sometimes, we have campus buildings on our graphic. It might be best to search for a high-quality picture of said building taken by OU Marketing and Communications team. However, if you want to illustrate them from scratch, we recommend simplifying the image and breaking them down into simple shapes. Use the flat-viewed version of a building and make sure that they are recognizable.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

If you want to pick a more complex illustration style, make sure you select a recognizable view of the building and high-quality reference photos.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Finishing Touches There are many ways that we can put simple finishing touches on our designs. It’s the little things that make a huge difference. When you sweat the small stuff, people notice. These tie the design together nicely and make the design more cohesive. Some of these elements are required in order to be compliant with the institutional guidelines for designs.

EOO STATEMENT The Equal Opportunity Statement is required at the bottom of the graphics. It must be legible. The statement is below:

DESIGN ELEMENTS

“For accommodations, please contact the Gender + Equality Center at 405-325-4929 or gec@ou.edu”

@GEC4OU

TEXTURE BACKGROUNDS Sometimes all we need is a textured background such as watercolor paper, white brick wall, canvas texture, etc. Make sure the texture fits well with the designs. The textured backgrounds can be found in the Graphic Design Intern folder in the I: Drive.

GEC style Guide

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