THE LITTLE
BRANDBOOK
We believe that to achieve beyond the ordinary as standard, we must be open to the extraordinary. That’s not to say there isn’t structure and purpose to what we do. Our goal is to engage and inspire. And through that, to exceed our clients’ expectations. Our brand is an expression of who and what we are and it is vital that each of us understands we have a role to play in what makes Seal different.
CLEAN BRIGHT NOVEL INVENTIVE INNOVATIVE CREATIVE REFRESHING
These guidelines are designed to help us all achieve that goal.
UNLIMITED
Fresh Insightful Inspirational
Our approach at Seal can be summed up in a single word - UNLIMITED. It applies to our people, our ideas, our way of doing things. Everything is possible.
FRESH
WELCOME
OURVALUES These values are an intrinsic part of our identity. They drive everything we do. Only by approaching every task with an inquisitive, open mind, can we provide dynamic and stimulating solutions.
OURpositioning We love being based in the West Midlands but as an inspirational agency we think national. We always punch above our weight. That’s how Unlimited thinking sets us apart.
Fresh Insightful Inspirational
OURCULTURE OURPEOPLE
Seal’s a great place to work – talent thrives here.
A place where hard work is respected and rewarded. We embrace fresh ideas and are quick to adopt new thinking. That’s the way we like it. We also know how and when to have fun and there’s a healthy social calendar to prove it.
We are a varied and colourful bunch with a common purpose to bring our values to life.
enthusiastic and unlimited in our response
OURtone of voice
investigative minds combining market intelligence with creative flair
Friendly, approachable, professional.
innovative and stimulating ideas people
MOTIVATING ENCOURAGING INSPIRING STIRRING ROUSING MOVING
INSPIRATIONAL
Whether written or verbal communication, our tone is warm, inclusive and engaging. We’re neither inappropriately chatty nor starchy and dry. Just clear and concise. We find it makes friends and influences people.
OURservices
Marketing
We are proud to be an award-winning full service creative communications agency. We can provide a genuinely integrated service across PR, Digital, Marketing and Design. Or simply one of these specialisms.
We offer marketing insight and campaign management from brand strategy and positioning to design and advertising across all mediums above and below the line, on and offline.
With proven experts in each discipline, whatever part of the mix you choose, we offer real insight and expertise.
design
Seal’s PR armoury blends traditional with new media from strategy development to campaign implementation. All our work is tailored and measured to meet business objectives and spans media and community relations, crisis management, social media, public consultation and events.
Our in-house studio provides creative concepts and inspirational designs from brand identity and logos to corporate guidelines, web design, on and offline brochures, exhibition and campaign materials.
DIGITAL Our expertise embraces all the latest online/offline technologies with every response bespoke to every brief. We provide strategic consultancy and implementation across website and mobile design and development, mobile apps, online marketing (SEO, PPC, Video Optimisation), and social media marketing.
PERCEPTIVE SHREWD DISCERNING UNDERSTANDING AWARE INTUITIVE ASTUTE
INSIGHTFUL
PR
clearance zone
clearance zone
The Seal logo is an inherent part of our identity. It symbolises the impact, strength and confidence in the marketing solutions we provide. Our logo consists of white customised lettering with a subtle reflection, centred within a black box. Wherever possible the logo should be used as a tab/label, so when positioning the logo it should be placed to the very edge of your page, this can be from any one edge.
clearance zone
OURLOGO It is absolutely vital that we do not alter our logo and therefore:
clearance zone
Consider the clearance zone when using the logo. ie. minimum distance - where items such as other logos and text can be placed near the Seal logo.
stretch
We don’t or squash our logo, adjusting its proportions vertically or horizontally. We don’t rotate our logo to any angle, it always sits square.
To work out your clearance zone take the width from the far right, straight-edge of the letter ‘a’ to the far right foot of the letter ‘l’ (see pink dotted lines). With this measurement, align to the edge of the black box on each side and you have your clearance zone.
THETITLE The almost speedy Klingon fights one elephant. Quark easily telephoned five subways, yet the angstridden elephant untangles five fountains, and one mostly and then it was n’t bourgeois before they went pawnbroker towed two spee.
We never adjust the background, text colour or use a tint for the black square.
We never use our logo smaller than 2cm2 to ensure the emphasis of the logo remains and the text is still legible.
When using photography to full page size the logo can sit over the image without a clearance zone. It simply needs to align with the bottom edge of the page. If the photography is not full page, you need to include your clearance zone.
OURtypeface {mac} AVANT GARDE {all weights} abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
OURtypeface {pc} calibri {all weights} abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcDefgHiJKlmnoPQrsTuvwXYZ
Giving definition and clarity, this font is to be used for all headings and body copy in all emails and written communications.
BASKERVILLE HANDCUT {all weights} abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R ST U V W X Y Z
CODE {light and bold} a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r st uv w x y z
creaTive
JOSEPH CHILTON PEARCE
Used for all main body copy this font is smart, flexible and functional in terms of being easy to read. It effectively represents the way we work.
Used for headers and in all circumstances for the 3 Seal values (Fresh, Insightful, Inspirational). This font reflects and ties in the design of the Seal logo.
This stylish and contemporary font is to only ever be used as a graphical element to highlight key words. Wherever possible the ‘light’ weight should be used, bold is only to be used if light becomes too small. It should be used in conjunction with Baskerville for headers.
esig
OURcolours Our almost exclusive use of black and white is a confident and striking statement in an increasingly cluttered world. We enhance this with the subtle use of shades of grey and our three accent colours. This clean, clear and straightforward approach helps us to achieve real stand-out. It also delivers impact across many different communication channels – much like the marketing solutions we provide for our clients.
PANTONE 7488 M c 55
m y k 0 100 0 r g b 128 195 66
PANTONE 2985 M c 60
m 0
y 4
PANTONE 184 M k 0
r g b 74 199 235
c 0
m y 83 26
k 0
r g b 240 83 127
OURdesign You’ll notice all external communications and 99% of our internal documents have a recognisable Seal ‘look and feel’. This is achieved through the careful and considered combination of our logo, typeface and colours with any other copy and graphic content. Whether it’s an email template, a credentials presentation, a contact report or a web page, consistent and correct use of these essential elements keeps our brand strong and effective.
We don’t just live our brand - we drive it too! When you are proud of something it’s good to let everyone know. What do we mean by Seal style? For us it’s about how we approach everything. It’s not dictatorial and it allows for personal interpretation and a great sense of creative freedom but it always plays to our Fresh, Insightful and Inspirational mantra.
confident and colourful perceptive and astute
Fresh Insightful Inspirational
OURstyle
energising and motivating
UNLIMITED
seal.uk.com