Branding Guide
Branding Guide for New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (NMSBVI)
ELEMENTS OF NMSBVI's BRAND
Official Logos are our most immediately visible and recognizable means of identification.
Typography includes the fonts that we use in our logo, online and other printed marketing materials. Accessibility should always be a top-of-mind consideration.
Colors keep our presentation consistent in print, product, and digital communication.
Images convey the truest image of who we are and what we do. Best practices should also be apparent in visual communications.
Logos
Appropriate Use of School Logos
Primary Logo:
-
- Office supplies (letterhead, business cards, notepads)
- Shirts or uniforms for staff
- Promotional or recruiting items (pens, apparel, tumblers, etc.)
- Fundraising items
- Traditional printed marketing collateral (Annual Report, brochures, flyers, posters, etc.)
- Electronic branding (website, social media)
Official NMSBVI Logo (Includes Written School Name):
-
Full Logo (Includes Written School Name)
This logo is best used for promotion and identification on professional and educational items such as letterhead and presentations. Consider this logo when:
- audience is out of state/country or may not be familiar with the school.
-
Horizontal Logo (Graphic, Acronym, Braille & Written Name):
This logo is best used in situations when a long, horizontal logo is a better design choice or the best fit for the project.
-
Partial Logo (Graphic, Acronym, Braille):
This logo is preferable when producing smaller items such as business cards or small marketing items such as pens. Consider this logo when:
- space is limited
- target audience is local or familiar with the school
- size makes inclusion of the words in the full logo too small to read
Logo Color and Proportions:
- Black or blue for professional purposes (business cards, letterhead, etc.)
- May vary on collateral materials to improve cohesiveness with the piece, or to improve contrast with the background.
- The logo should not be stretched, squeezed, or reduced in size to the point of being illegible
Athletic Logo
-
- NMSBVI Golden Bear Mascot
- Colors: Golden Bear Blue & Gold (see official school colors)
- Combinations of Golden Bear Blue, Gold, Black & White may be used for the NMSBVI acronym, however Golden Bear should remain as shown with blue and gold fur; white teeth and tongue.
- The athletic logo may or may not include “Golden Bears”, but should always include “NMSBVI”.
- Consider contrast with the background when designing merch.
- For logo clipart, contact Tiffanie Owen
TYPEFACE & FONTS:
- Typeface and font selection carry additional weight for our audience due to accessibility concerns. Simplicity is always preferred.
- “Verdana” recommended (This is Verdana.) It uses more space, but the kerning (space between letters) is easier to read than fonts such as Tahoma, or Arial.
- Verdana is also preferable due to unique shapes. In Arial, for example, the upper case “l” and lower case “l” are the same glyph and can be easily confused. In Verdana, the “I” and “l” are distinguishable.
- Typefaces and fonts with serifs or “tails” should be avoided.
(The exception is the use of Copperplate Gothic in the Athletic Logo to parallel the official school logo.)
- Avoid italicized type.
- Avoid cursive, “curly Q”, “cartoony” or overly “scripty” fonts.
- 16 pt. is recommended for accessibility over the typical 12 pt.
- Leading (line-spacing) should be no less than 1.0 or “single-spaced”.
- Avoid using colors that do not strongly contrast with the background.
Fonts Used
These are the fonts used within our brand assets. Typography includes the fonts that we use in our logo, online and other printed marketing materials. Accessibility should always be a top-of-mind consideration.
Jost
- Web Font
- Jost is an original font created by indestructible type*. It is inspired by 1920s German sans-serifs. This is version 3.7. Jost is designed and maintained by Owen Earl, who is the creator of the font foundry indestructible type*. in 2020 Owen Earl, and Mirko Velimirovic worked together to make Jost a variable font.
Verdana
- Web Font
- The Verdana typeface family consists of four TrueType fonts created specifically to address the challenges of on-screen display. Designed by world renowned type designer Matthew Carter, and hand-hinted by leading hinting expert, Agfa Monotype's Tom Rickner, these sans serif fonts are unique examples of type design for the computer screen.
Arial
- A contemporary sans serif design, Arial contains more humanist characteristics than many of its predecessors and as such is more in tune with the mood of the last decades of the twentieth century. The overall treatment of curves is softer and fuller than in most industrial style sans serif faces. Terminal strokes are cut on the diagonal which helps to give the face a less mechanical appearance.
Color Palette
NMSBVI’s official school colors are royal blue and gold. Consistent and uniform use of these colors throughout our branding efforts promotes our institutional identity.
#1f2c8a
Golden Bear Blue
- RGB: 31-44-138
- CMYK: 100-97-11-2
#ffd51a
Golden Bear Gold
- RGB: 255-213-26
- CMYK: 0-16-90-0
#121d71
Golden Bear Blue (Secondary)
- RGB: 18-29-113
- CMYK: 84-74-0-56
#ffdd47
Golden Bear Gold (Secondary)
- RGB: 255-221-71
- CMYK: 0-11-71-0
#37439e
Golden Bear Blue (Accent)
- RGB: 55-67-158
- CMYK: 65-58-0-38
#d3ad00
Golden Bear Gold (Accent)
- RGB: 211-173-0
- CMYK: 0-18-100-17