Within these pages, you will find detailed specifications and standards for the Sterling logo, including its clear space requirements, proper use cases, color schemes, typography, essential brand elements, photographic style, co‑branding principles, and their implementation across various mediums.
Reflecting Sterling's unwavering dedication to excellence, coherence, and sophistication, these guidelines are meticulously crafted to ensure our corporate identity is represented accurately, uniformly, and vibrantly across all platforms.
in branch materials, advertising content, digital interfaces, merchandise, and event activations, ensuring that every touchpoint aligns with Sterling's brand ethos.
In January 2019, we introduced as the symbol of our re‑imagined identity, signifying a fresh, contemporary aesthetic that vividly encapsulates our bank's upward journey and strategic future direction.
This refined and dynamic visual identity marks our evolution from conventional banking practices towards an innovative, agile workforce poised to offer groundbreaking solutions. It embodies our progress, reflecting a blend of simplicity, elegance, and dynamism.
Our updated branding enables us to more effectively communicate our narrative, setting the stage for enhanced influence and engagement. The Rising Sun symbolizes our ambition and commitment to becoming Nigeria's leading bank, dedicated to delivering exceptionally impactful and valuable services to all our stakeholders.
The refreshed Sterling wordmark features a handcrafted font, imbued with a modern, approachable charm and a structured foundation. This evolution maintains the spirit of the original design and transitions from the subtle white arc to a more pronounced solid red circle that enhances the logo's visual presence.
The redesign strengthens the logo's impact & transforms
it into a distinctive mark or monogram that confidently represents our brand. Our new logo is presented in two primary variations꞉
1. tailored for environments where space is limited.
2. , which serves as the primary representation of the Sterling brand identity.
In scenarios where color reproduction capabilities are restricted or the fidelity of colors cannot be guaranteed, it is advisable to opt for the monochrome version of the branding materials. This ensures that the integrity and clarity of the brand's visual identity are maintained, even in less‑than‑ideal printing or display conditions.
The monochrome palette is strictly limited to black, white, and shades of light gray, ensuring a consistent and professional appearance across various mediums. This approach not only enhances the versatility of our brand's representation but also aligns with our commitment to maintaining high standards of quality and coherence in all brand communications.
In applications where the logo is placed on any of our brand colors or superimposed over imagery, it adopts a reversed‑out treatment to ensure optimal visibility and brand consistency. When integrating the logo with photographic backgrounds, it's crucial to guarantee ample contrast to maintain the logo's legibility.
Careful consideration should be given to the backdrop's composition and color scheme to ensure that the logo stands out distinctly, preserving its integrity and ensuring it remains a focal point within any design layout.
Ensuring ample clear space around the Sterling logo enhances its aesthetics and establishes the correct visual hierarchy.
The clear space guideline specifies a protected zone surrounding the logo, prohibiting any graphic elements, imagery, or text from intruding into this space. The dimensions of this clear space are based on the "x‑ height," which refers to the height or width of the logo's icon—the prominent red sphere.
In contrast, the "y‑height," the height or width of the smaller white sphere, dictates the length of the wordmark. The Sterling wordmark is precisely composed of seven "Ys.”
The spacing between the logo icon and the wordmark is consistently set at half the "y‑height," ensuring a balanced and harmonious presentation.
It is imperative that our logos maintain their visibility across all applications. While resizing to accommodate various materials is permissible, it's crucial to adhere to the minimum size requirements to ensure clarity and legibility.
The Sterling logo must not be scaled down to widths less than 25mm, to prevent any compromise in readability.
On A4 printed advertisements, the logo dimensions should be no less than 60mm by 32mm, and for digital formats, a minimum of 32 pixels is required.
25mm 32pxTo ensure the integrity and consistency of our brand identity, please adhere to the following guidelines when utilizing our logo꞉
1. Alterations such as stretching or condensing compromise the logo's integrity.
2. Reversing or altering the colors can dilute brand recognition and impact.
3. Rotating the logo can disrupt its visual coherence and recognizability.
4. The use of gradients can detract from the logo’s clarity and simplicity.
5. the logo’s clean and professional appearance.
6. Specifically, placing the logo on a red background can lead to visual conflicts and diminish its visibility.
instances, we have devised a guideline on how partner logos should be positioned in relation to the Sterling logo to ensure a cohesive and harmonized visual presentation.
This arrangement specifies that partner logos are to be placed above the Sterling logo, adhering to a structured and elegant stacking order. This configuration is designed to maximize visibility and recognition of both brands within limited vertical spaces, ensuring that the partnership is communicated effectively and the integrity of each brand's identity is preserved.
these guidelines, the size of a partner's logo should be adjusted to match the height of the Sterling wordmark, ensuring both logos are presented as equals.
This strategy emphasizes a unified representation that respects the identities of both Sterling and its partners, aimed at achieving a cohesive visual statement across joint marketing efforts, digital appearances, event branding, or collaborative products.
The Sterling brand identity is distinguished by a palette of four primary colors. It's important to note that the printed colors depicted in this manual may not precisely correspond to their specified hues.
flagship color, dominates our primary communications, embodying energy, ambition, courage, and leadership.
This vibrant shade represents warmth and passion.
Complementing this are Sterling Black and Sterling Gray, primarily utilized for textual elements, offering depth and contrast. Sterling White underscores our commitment to clarity, transparency, and the inherent purity of our brand.
The secondary color palette is designed to enhance and complement our primary colors, offering a sophisticated foundation that adds depth and vibrancy to all our materials. This carefully curated range of hues enables us to create dynamic, engaging designs that resonate with our audience and elevate the visual appeal of our collateral.
selection aligns with our commitment to clarity, accessibility, and professionalism in all forms of communication.
Arial, known for its clean lines and versatile readability across both digital and print mediums, ensures that our messaging is delivered with optimal legibility and consistency.
reflects our commitment to a contemporary and professional aesthetic, ensuring that our visual communications resonate with clarity, elegance, and modernity.
Albert Sans has been chosen for its versatility and readability, making it an integral part of our brand identity system. This typeface will be used across a wide range of mediums, including digital platforms, print materials, and environmental branding, to maintain consistency and reinforce our brand's presence in every interaction.
These elements are pivotal in establishing a unique brand image that sets us apart in the marketplace. Selecting the right imagery is critical to effectively convey our brand narrative and to communicate our message with impact.
To facilitate versatility in application and ensure seamless integration across diverse platforms, our studio photography typically features a pristine white backdrop, optimized for flexible cropping. The imagery is curated to evoke positivity and hope, with a buoyant and optimistic undertone that mirrors our brand's vision and values.
aim is to represent real‑life scenarios in a manner that's authentic and unstaged, steering clear of artificiality in styling or composition.
The imagery we choose conveys a sense of hope and positivity, reflecting the aspirational and forward‑ looking spirit of our brand. This visual ethos is integral to our branding, as it resonates with the core values of Sterling and fosters a genuine connection with our audience.
Sterling's brand imagery is curated in a versatile array of file formats to suit a multitude of application requirements, encompassing both vector and raster graphics.
Our vector graphics are meticulously crafted, composed of crisp points and continuous lines, ensuring high‑ resolution imagery that remains impeccably sharp at any scale. These are ideal for seamless transitions from small‑scale detailed work to expansive projects for print and signage.
Our raster images, constructed pixel by pixel, are tailored for scenarios where reduction in scale is needed. These images excel in digital displays, including applications for both desktop and web, as well as dynamic PowerPoint presentations.
intricate design and print work, offering robust functionality and precision.
a comprehensive suite of tools for advanced graphic design tasks. We further support꞉
reliable sharing of our designs.‑ PS꞉ PostScript files for direct printing with accurate color and detail rendition.
compatibility across various platforms while preserving the vector format’s scalability and clarity.
Photographic Experts Group, JPEGs lack transparency and are seldom used due to quality constraints.
superior for overlaying images over colors or other pictures, especially within presentations, ensuring visual integrity and impact.
Every file type is carefully selected to guarantee that Sterling's visual representations are articulated with the utmost clarity and fidelity, upholding the brand's esteemed reputation for quality in every venue.
patterns introduce a new layer of sophistication to our brand's narrative, enhancing the communicative power of our visual assets.
They can be showcased in their entirety as a vibrant constellation or segmented into halves or quarters for a more nuanced expression. Furthermore, they can be subtly integrated into our diverse palette of brand colors, serving as textural enhancements that elevate our visual storytelling.
Our presentation templates are designed with a minimalist aesthetic, a vibrant color scheme, and unparalleled adaptability. The diverse array of color palettes and layout structures empowers you to tailor your presentations to specific audiences without compromising the unified voice that embodies the Sterling brand.
Whether you ' re addressing stakeholders, clients, or internal teams, our templates are crafted to align with the strategic objectives of your communication while upholding the visual integrity of the Sterling identity.
Our email signatures are meticulously designed to function as consistent touchpoints for our brand, ensuring that each correspondence echoes our core messaging.
These signatures are strategic extensions of our brand's presence, maintaining uniformity and professionalism in our communications, whether they are intended for internal collaboration or external engagement.
We have elevated the uniformity of our card designs while ensuring each category is distinct through the use of our signature Metro design elements.
These elements not only embody the essence of our brand but also serve as a visual key to differentiate between the diverse range of card offerings.
The embodiment of our brand's ethos is partially expressed through the infusion of custom illustrations that carry a distinctive human touch. This element is not merely an afterthought but a core facet of our visual narrative, ensuring that our illustrations are as personable and engaging as the brand itself.
Our illustrative portraits are thoughtfully crafted, integrating a suite of features that celebrate our African heritage while showcasing a visually appealing style. These elements are deliberately chosen to not only distinguish our imagery but to also facilitate the effortless conveyance of our brand's story and values
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distinctly apart from other financial institutions.
Our tone of voice has evolved to mirror our unique ethos—Sterling stands out as the epitome of boldness in banking. Our communications are imbued with vibrancy, warmth, and an engaging spirit.
This voice, our signature, is a reflection of our personality and resonates throughout our advertising campaigns, our digital presence, and the seamless interactions with our clientele.
• Embrace kindness, fairness, and respect.
• Balance professionalism with approachability.
• Encourage real, unforced interactions.
• Make complex concepts understandable.
• Use plain language, avoiding jargon.
• Prefer short, clear phrases over complex ones.
Convey energy and use actionable language.
Value offerings holistically.
Highlight our strengths and achievements.
Our humor is crafted with care, avoiding crassness, grounded in sharp observations rather than clichés. We aim for sophistication, not oddity.
Wield humor wisely and appropriately.
Understand the customer's context before adding humor.
Aim for organic humor, not forced.
Active voice for straightforward messaging.
Clear communication of facts, regardless of favorability.
Own our actions and their impacts fully.
Offer consistent support and guidance.
Be the trusted advisor in customers' financial decisions.
A friend in finance, not just a financial institution.
1. Clarification on brand guidelines, usage, and best practices.
2. Requests for specific brand assets or templates.
3. Guidance on adapting the brand for new initiatives or campaigns.
4. Feedback or suggestions for enhancing the brand experience.
5. On any brand, marketing and communications related matter.