Medway Council Brand Guidelines: 1 - September 2007
Medway Council Brand Guidelines: 1 - September 2007
Medway Council Brand Guidelines: 1 - September 2007
Introduction
Contents
Introduction/electronic templates
- Alternative versions
- Clear space
- Other logos
- Fonts
- Literature templates
10
01634 332776
- Accessibility
15
01634 332885
- Signage/vehicle liveries
17
01634 332782
- Advertising
18
- Stationery
19
20
- Introduction
21
22
- A-Z of style
23
33
34
- Contacts
36
Electronic templates
The council has standard templates for use on
desktop PCs:
Microsoft Word documents
Microsoft Word - letters produced
(for printing on headed paper)
Microsoft Word faxes
Microsoft Powerpoint
Email signatures
These templates are available on Connections at
http://connections.medway.gov.uk/
brandguidelinestemplates
or from the Communications Team.
Standard two blues, colour references are shown in the table below
Colour
Pantone
Magenta
297
51%
0%
293
100% 56%
Yellow Black
Green
Blue
Hexidecimal
0%
0%
153
206
243
99CEF3
0%
0%
00
102
204
0066CC
Alternative versions
Where possible the Medway Council logo and
strapline should be displayed in colour on a flat white
background. If the logo is used on a coloured or
textured background ensure that the background is
tonally even and either sufficiently dark or light so
the logo is easily legible.
If the colour logo and strapline are not appropriate,
alternative versions are shown here.
Black only
Pantone 293
only
Clear space
M
M
Clear space
You should ensure adequate clear space around the
logo as shown here. This is equivalent to the width of
the M in the word Medway. This clear space should
be completely clear of typography and any other
graphic devices.
White
reversed out
Med
1
Serving You
3
Me d w a y
Serving You
Serving
Me d w a y
M edw
Other logos
Medway Council services or teams
Medway Council teams or services must not have or
use their own logos.
Fonts
Fonts
Frutiger light
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Frutiger Roman
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Frutiger Bold
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Frutiger Black
Garamond
Garamond Bold
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
10
Literature templates
There is a standard template for all printed leaflets
and information booklets. This is designed to
ensure the councils visual identity is presented in a
professional and consistent way, while allowing for
a creative design treatment for the documents cover.
There are different rules for the council's core and
non-core literature.
Summer of fun
Sporting facilities in Medway
Core literature
The design templates for core literature are intended
to introduce a consistent look and feel to the
council's permanent printed materials. This is
important because it presents a professional image
for the council and makes it easy for customers to
quickly identify the information they need.
Core literature covers
permanent information
about council services
that we provide.
Your recycling
collection service
10mm
6mm
6mm
32mm
22pt Frutiger bold on 26.4pt leading. 100 per cent black
70mm
10mm
margin
10mm
11
12
Non-core literature
Non-core literature is promotional information that
the council produces to market an event or campaign.
The information will have a limited shelf life with a
definite start and end date. Materials should be
disposed of after the expiry date. Examples would
include a brochure for an event or festival, or a leaflet
about summer activities in leisure centres.
While council branding remains important on noncore literature, it is lower profile than on core
literature. It recognises that these types of materials
need to promote council activities more strongly,
often in commercially competitive situations.
The final decision on whether literature is core or noncore rests with the council's Communications Team.
www.medwaycarshare.com
Greig Burgoyne
Undercurrents
17 March > 13 May 2007
Visitor Information Centre, First floor, 95 High Street, Rochester, Kent ME1 1LX
Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm
Free admission
www.medway.gov.uk/arts
Mike Scott
ChaiWood
Greig Burgoyne
Undercurrents
Visitor Information Centre, First floor, 95 High Street, Rochester, Kent ME1 1LX
Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm
Free admission
www.medway.gov.uk/arts
Mike Scott
ChaiWood
6mm
6mm
6mm
28mm
6mm
13
14
Partnerships
Where Medway Council works jointly with other
organisations, for example with Kent Police or
Medway Primary Care Trust, joint publications may be
produced. Both organisations may have their own set
of brand guidelines.
As an organisation Medway Council would prefer its
logo to appear in the bottom corner in the same way
as non core literature with adequate clearance from
other elements. Partner logos should then sit in a row
6mm
6mm
6mm 28mm 6mm
Accessibility
15
Accessibility
5mm
Who to contact
Customer services: 01634 333333
8am to 8pm (Mon-Fri) 9am to 1pm (Sat)
Please note: Calls to customer services may be recorded or
monitored for security and staff development purposes.
Back page
Who to contact
Customer services: 01634 333333
8am to 8pm (Mon-Fri) 9am to 1pm (Sat)
Who to contact
16
Customer services: 01634 333333 8am to 8pm (Mon-Fri) 9am to 1pm (Sat)
Please note: Calls to customer services may be recorded or monitored for security and staff
development purposes.
DL A5
A4
Back page templates showing
contact/accessibility panel
For alternative formats
please seek advice from the
Communications Team.
Who to contact
Customer services: 01634 333333 8am to 8pm (Mon-Fri) 9am to 1pm (Sat)
Please note: Calls to customer services may be recorded or monitored for security and staff development purposes.
Trading Standards, Medway Council, Compass Centre, Chatham Maritime, Chatham, Kent ME4 4YH
Email: consumer.protection@medway.gov.uk
Website: www.medway.gov.uk/fairtrader
This information can be made available in other formats from 01634 333333
If you have any questions about this leaflet and you want to speak to someone in your own language please ring 01634 335577
Signs
Signs give our customers an easy and quick way to
identify a council building or service. They must give a
professional and consistent image for the council.
The council has a standard design for signs that is
used for most signs (see right). In a few places it may
be appropriate to use an alternative design that is
more sympathetic to the environment in which the
sign is placed. Examples of this could include signs
placed in rural or conservation areas.
Please contact the Communications Team for advice
and to have your sign professionally designed.
All signs must be approved by the Communications
Team before they are produced.
Signs should not include team or directorate names
as this can lead to them becoming out-of-date.
Vehicle liveries
Our vehicles are our presence on Medway's roads.
Clearly and consistently branded vehicles mean
residents will be able to recognise council vehicles
wherever they are and will raise the profile of the
council's services.
The most appropriate style of livery depends on the
vehicle itself, the service and how the vehicle will be
used. Please consult the Communications Team for
advise. All vehicle liveries must be designed and
approved by the Communications Team before
production starts.
17
18
Advertising
Advertising
Ref: RD0690S
Ref: RD0690S
To apply
www.medway.gov.uk/sweepsfestival
To apply
visit
www.medway.gov.uk
visit
call
01634 333333
call
www.medway.gov.uk
01634 333333
email jobs@medway.gov.uk
email jobs@medway.gov.uk
Stationery
Compliment slip
Business card
Letterhead
19
Introduction
In 1998, when Medway Council was created, a
written style guide and comprehensive branding
guidelines were produced.
It is right that the written style guide be revisited and
updated. Since then we have all come across words
or issues that are not included in the guide.
Any such guide should be an evolving tool that is
there to help and direct staff working for an
organisation. It is restrictive in that it guides how an
organisation will present its written information.
This can be on printed material such as leaflets,
magazines, news releases, posters and exhibition
stands, as well as on websites and more.
It is not designed to be stifling consistent good
written style is an extremely important part of how an
organisation is branded. A successful written style
guide should demand the use of plain English.
21
22
Try to remember:
use everyday English which is easy to understand;
be concise and to the point;
A-Z of style
Abbreviations
There is no need to put a full stop at the end of the
most common abbreviations - Mr, Dr, the Rev, MP,
for example.
Use Cllr in the title for a council member, but when
referring generally to a councillor or councillors, spell
the word in full and do not use a capital C.
Avoid guessing games. Not everyone understands
abbreviations and acronyms (words formed from
initial letters, such as UNESCO) so spell them out first,
with the abbreviation in brackets.
Please dont create your own short forms of words
such as hour. Using hr instead doesnt help our
readers. Please dont abbreviate days of the week
use Monday, not Mon and Tuesday, not Tues.
Treat acronyms with caution. Some local authorities
have become almost military in their use of initials
and abbreviations, producing documents that mystify
the unfamiliar reader. We dont want to do that.
Acronyms
Keep the acronym as capital letters. Medway Local
Strategic Partnership (LSP) becomes Medway LSP
after the first reference is written in full.
Do not use full stops between letters CPA, not C.P.A.
Addresses
Should be written in the following style:
Name of individual and team or just team name,
Medway Council,
Building name,
Followed by the rest of the buildings Royal Mail
postal address with post code
23
24
Annexe
Use an e on the end of the word when talking
about a building.
Apostrophes
Dont worry if you are confused by apostrophes.
You are not alone; they are one of the most wrongly
used pieces of punctuation in the English language.
Abreviation
The abbreviated form of it is includes an apostrophe
to indicate the missing second i.
There are other words where an apostrophe is used
to indicate missing letters, such as isnt (is not) or
cant (cannot). Usually these words should be avoided
and the full versions used.
Use the apostrophe to show the plural of single
letters - mind your ps and qs.
However, apostrophes are not needed in
abbreviations such as MPs, unless indicating
possession, as in MPs surgery, or MPs surgeries.
Decades and centuries, such as 1960s, 1800s do not
need apostrophes.
Bank holiday
Only use capital letters when the full name of the
bank holiday is used, for example May Bank Holiday.
If talking about the bank holiday please dont use
capital letters.
Banned words
Banned
access
acquire
additional
adjacent
alleviate
as a means to
assist
at the present time /
at this moment in time
by no later than
carriageway / highway
comprehensible
consisted of
evidenced by
enabling
facilitate
facility / amenity
fayre
in order to
in order that
in receipt of
meet up with / meet with
ongoing
persons
pre-book
prior to
purchase
re/regarding
so as to
unit
utilise
undertake
upcoming
with regard to
will be required to
25
26
Brackets
Brackets should be used sparingly as a signal to a
reader in a hurry that the words are of secondary
importance. When the end of the bracketed passage
coincides with the end of a sentence follow these
rules: If the whole sentence or sequence of sentences
has been enclosed in brackets the full stop goes
before the last bracket (That is all.) If only part of the
sentence is in brackets the full stops goes after the
bracket. That is all (at least for the time being).
Please do not put brackets around telephone
numbers or area codea. It makes it harder for people
to read.
Bullet points
Bullet points or lists are a simple way of getting
messages across. They usually follow a heading or an
introductory phrase ending in a colon.
When the words following the bullet point form a
sentence only when read with the introduction:
end each bullet point with a semicolon;
start the bullet points with a lower-case letter;
finish the final bullet point with a full stop.
If each bullet point is followed by a complete
sentence, then each sentence needs a full stop. And
each sentence should start with a capital letter.
In display material such as posters, information
leaflets, charts and display boards you can keep
things simple and do it like this:
leave out the punctuation at the end of each line
fewer marks make for less clutter
this gives greater impact and ensures the words
stand out.
Capital letters
In local government there is a tendency to use
capitals for any word we consider important. Why do
we do this?
Too many capitals can confuse the eye and make a
document difficult to read.
These are examples of correct use:
Medway Council, but the council;
Medway Councils Cabinet, but the councils cabinet;
Mayor of Medway Cllr XX, but the mayor.
Use capitals for:
full committee titles - the Regeneration and
Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee,
but the committee;
full names of government departments the
Department for Communities and Local
Government;
department names Childrens Services,
Regeneration and Development;
job titles Chief Executive, Transport Manager
when the title is followed by a persons name. Use
lower case when talking generally, for example the
chief executive led the way at the conference;
team/department titles Regeneration and
Development; Childrens Services (avoid the use of
directorate); Communications Team;
recognised skills qualifications NVQ Level 3, Key
Stage 2.
Use lower case for:
the government;
the south-east;
seasons - spring, summer, autumn and winter;
housing benefit, council tax benefit and income
support;
internet
Chair/chairman
The councils style is to use chair when referring to
the chair of a committee.
Commas
Use commas to create a pause in a sentence or long
clauses. In a sequence of items do not put a comma
before and unless leaving it would lead to ambiguity.
For example the Bishops of London, Bath and Wells,
and Manchester. But the Bishops of London,
Winchester and Exeter.
Compliment/complement
Often confused in council documents, as in: the
workshop compliments other courses during the
week. A compliment is an expression of regard or
praise, so in the sentence above, the workshop, in
the complimenting the courses, is actually saying nice
things about them. The word needed is complements,
meaning to fill up or make whole.
Comprised
Comprised - not comprised of. Comprise is a selfcontained word meaning contain. Comprise is used
when describing how a larger body is broken down
into parts, not how the components make up a larger
body. Look at: The management team comprises the
chief executive and six directors and the chief
executive and six directors comprise the management
team. The first one is correct. If in doubt use made
or make up of, or form.
Contacts
When giving contact details for an organisation or
individual please write out phone, email or fax. Please
dont use t: e: f: Please use phone, not telephone or
tel. Symbols are acceptable, for example 01634...
Dashes
Dashes are useful for inserting important information
into a sentence, as long as the flow of the sentence is
not interrupted. For example, Medway Council,
Medway Primary Care Trust and Medway NHS Trust
but not Kent Police are taking part in the action plan.
Avoid: Medway Council, Medway Primary Care Trust
and Medway NHS Trust Kent Police are not taking
part are creating an action plan.
27
28
Dates
Keep it simple - 1 April, or 1 April, 2006 or
Monday, 1 April or Monday, 1 April 2006 (note
order: day, month, year). Please do not use th at
the end of date. For example, 26th January should
be 26 January.
Double spaces between words and sentences
Lets be consistent in the way we supply documents
to our customers, both internally and externally.
Avoid double spacing between words and sentences.
Fewer/less
Fewer refers to numbers. For example fewer books,
fewer children.
Less refers to quantity. For example less than 100,
less than a quarter.
Focused/targeted
Not focussed or targetted
Equality issues
Its best to avoid words that are sex-specific. It is too
easy to make sweeping - and potentially offensive assumptions that stereotype people by gender.
Headteacher
One word, not two
Helpline
One word, not two
Enquire/enquiry
You can use enquire/enquiry or inquire/inquiry
Height
Use figures with abbreviations - 5ft, 2in and put the
metric equivalent in brackets afterwards.
High Street
Please use capital letters for the start of High and
Street when referring to the names of actual streets,
but lower case for high street shops.
Historic/historical
Historic means famous in history, historical means
belonging to history.
Hyphens
No two sets of rules agree on the use of hyphens.
Our advice is to keep hyphens to a minimum and use
them only when absolutely necessary.
Although a compound noun such as build-up may be
hyphenated, do not hyphenate the verb to build up
or many others like it. Similarly, up-to-date figures
should include hyphens but the figures are up to
date should not.
Adverbs linked to verbs should not be hyphenated
unless there is a risk of ambiguity. So a closely
guarded secret does not need a hyphen. You do need
to be aware that the adverb could be mistaken for an
adjective. A little used car is not the same as a littleused car, nor is a hard working man the same as a
hard-working man.
Only on rare occasions should a second hyphen be
included, such as 12-year-olds. Often now the
hyphen can be left out of words that start with re or
pre, except where another e follows. For example reentry and pre-empt but reopen and preconceive. The
same is true for co except where another o
follows: Co-ordination but coaxial.
These examples of hyphenated words may help you:
Well-being
24-hour
World-class
First-class
Anti-social
One-hour, two-hour etc
Nine to 12-year-olds
Term-time
29
30
Misspelled words
Here is a list of some of the most misunderstood,
misued, abused and misspelled words in the
language. Please just use plain English:
Adverse/Averse. In the sense I am not averse
to a glass of wine but adverse in the sense of
adverse weather.
Ambidextrous. Not terous.
Beleaguered. Note the u.
Benefitting. Should be spelt with double t.
Borne. Means carried, born comes later.
Canvas. Painters paint on one.
Canvass. Politicians seek peoples views when they
do this.
Discreet. Means using discretion.
Discrete. Means separate, distinct.
Empower. Theres no n. N-Power is something to
do with electricity.
Exorbitant. Theres no h.
Faze. If you are fazed by something, it might baffle
you. It could be a phase youre going through.
Flak. As in the jacket and theres no c in it.
Fluorescent. Note the u.
Forego. Means to go before, not to be confused with:
Forgo. Means to go without.
Haemorrhage. Is a frequently mistyped word.
Handiwork. not handywork.
Harass. Has one r and two ss.
Hear, hear! Is the exclamation, not here, here!
Hindrance. Not hinderance.
Hot-desking. Please note the hyphen.
Led. Is the past tense of the verb to lead. He led the
charge.
Licence. The noun has a c. Its a driving licence but
License is the verb so hes licensed to drive.
Mischievous. Not mischievious.
Naught. Is what our fruitless efforts come to. Nought
is the figure.
Peddle. Is what peddlers do. Pedal. Is what cyclists do.
Money
Avoid clutter. If it is a round figure, leave out the
zero. So 2, but 2.05;
Sums of money should be written only following
the general numbers guide, for example three pence,
10pence (no space). The only exception to this should
be on posters or material where a list is needed.
Ongoing
Please avoid.
Numbers
Generally in written text, it should be one to nine in
words, 10 upwards as figures. For example, nine to
12-year-olds.
There are some exceptions to this, most notably Key
Stage 1, 2, 3 and 4. The reason? This is a nationally
recognised standard/brand and the same is true for
other brands that use figures in numbers.
Year groups at school should be written as numbers,
for example Year 1, Year 2 etc.
First, second, third etc should be written out until
ninth, 10th and above should be in figures keeping
our style consistent with general number use.
Fractions are hyphenated when written out: Twothirds. Its not advisable to mix fractions with decimals.
Try to avoid starting a sentence with a figure. If you
have to do so write the number in words, but if
possible rephrase the sentence to avoid this.
Million should be written out in full in all references,
unless it is in a table or chart when m can be used.
On to
On to, not onto
Per cent
Per cent should be written out (two words). The %
sign should not be used unless it is in a table and per
cent would not fit or look foolish.
Phone numbers
No brackets around telephone numbers as mentioned
before and no rogue spacing between digits of a
phone number so 306000, not 30 60 00.
Mobile phone numbers have five-figure codes, plus a
six-figure customer number. So it should be 07766
465775, not 07766465775. Most people find it
difficult to read a number more than six digits long.
Practice/practise
There is sometimes confusion between practice, the
noun, and practise (verb), which is what you do at a
practice. An easy way of checking the correct form is
to substitute advice (noun) and advise (verb), where
the difference in pronunciation makes it clearer.
31
32
Principle/principal
A principle is a concept, truth, rule or ideal on which
actions and behaviour are based. We have agreed it
in principle. They refused to gamble, because it
was against their principles. Principal means chief or
most important. It can be used to describe something
- our principal source of income and also refers to
the highest post - the principal of the college.
Queen
In the first instance please use Her Majesty, the Queen
or Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. In all subsequent
references please use the Queen.
Quotation marks
Our house style is to use double quotes to indicate
reported speech, for example words that someone
actually said. The exception is in headings or headlines,
when single quotes are preferable. If possible avoid
quotation marks in headings. Single quotation marks
should be used for quotes within quotes.
A popular, but misguided, convention is to put quotes
around a word or phrase to show there is something
about it the writer is not comfortable with. Often
single quotes are put round these words or phrases,
to distinguish them from proper quotations. Its just
not necessary and can make it really hard for the
reader to understand. It can also suggest laziness by
the writer, giving the writing an amateurish appearance.
Avoid buzzwords and phrases and if you are not
happy about the word you are using, find another.
If youre writing and use the name of a book, TV
programme or film for example, these should be
written in italics.
Ranks
When talking about ranks in the police, fire service or
army, for example, please use the rank in full the first
time it is referred to and then abbreviated after that.
So, Superintendent John Smith would become Supt
John Smith. PC is unusual in that it is referred to as
PC in the first instance, but Sergeant becomes Sgt
after the first mention. If in doubt please ask the
Communications Team.
School holidays
In 2005 Medway Council agreed that it would be
using the six-term year. That means there are no
longer half-term school holidays. Instead when
referring to school holidays the following terms
should be used:
Was
Christmas holiday
February half-term
Easter holiday
May half-term
Summer holiday
October half-term
Now
Christmas break
February break
Spring break
May break
Summer break
Autumn break
Semicolons (;)
This is useful if you have a series of clauses running
one after the other and want to give more emphasis
than by using commas. It is also helpful when using a
long list of items in a sentence or paragraph, breaking
the text for the reader to be able to appreciate its a
list. They are not interchangeable with colons.
Temperatures
At Medway we use Celsius and not Fahrenheit. So in
written terms text would look like this: 24C
Time
Use 12-hour time only. Please avoid use of the 24hour clock as the reader has to then sit there and
work it out. Avoid unnecessary zeroes. Do not put
9.00am, just use 9am, 11am, but do use 11.15pm,
12noon, 3.30pm, midnight. Please do not use
12midday or 12midnight.
Traffic wardens
In Medway we have parking attendants and not
traffic wardens. Make sure you define which kind of
warden they are. Medway also has community safety
wardens be sure which one you are talking about.
Weights and measures
This is a tricky one because the UK is not consistent
in its use of metric or imperial terms. For the
Medway Council style guide we have adopted the
following approach:
When measuring distance please use miles with the
kilometre equivalent in brackets afterwards.
When measuring area please use hectares or metres
squared with the acres equivalent afterwards.
Please use grams and kilograms, not the imperial way
of pounds and ounces. The abbreviations g and kg
can be used, such as 15g or 2kg. Use a space between
a number and a spelled-out unit, such as 12 grams or
19 kilogramns.
Petrol is now sold in litres so please use this term for
petrol and diesel and where possible for other liquid
measurements. There are some notable exceptions
to this (there always is) and that is for items like pints
of beer.
Use metres and centimetres for measurements (height
is the only exception to this please see previous entry).
Widows
In a paragraph of text please dont leave a single
word overhanging in a line of its own.
Workplace
One word, not two
Years
Please use 2005/06, not 2005/2006 or 05/06.
33
34
ples
At the beginning of this guide we talked about
long sentences. The sentence below is just way
too long.
It did say:
Funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), the project
aims to raise employment rates, increase the number
of older peoples access to learning, prevent
premature unemployment and promote better age
management strategy in recruitment, retraining and
retention of employees by matching the skills of older
workers with employers needs, providing training and
support to raise skill levels, and to investigate, in
order to overcome, the barriers associated with the
employment of older workers.
It could have said:
The project is funded by the European Social Fund
(ESF). It aims to raise employment rates, increase
older peoples access to learning and prevent
premature unemployment. It also retrains and retains
employees. It matches the skills of older workers with
employers needs, providing training and support to
raise skill levels. The scheme investigates the barriers
associated with the employment of older workers in a
bid to overcome them.
(You may notice that the words promote better age
management strategy are missing. That is because
no one would know what they meant. If youre ever
writing and unsure what a phrase means, go back to
the person who supplied the words and ask them to
explain. If they cant explain it in terms people would
understand leave it out)
And finally
The English language can be a confusing beast and
as mentioned at the start of this revised style guide,
organisations all have their own variations on the
English language through their style guides.
So, while you may not agree with everything that you
see on these pages this is the style guide that the
council has adopted and which we all need to work
within. Happy writing.
35
Who to contact
Communications Team: 01634 332776
Communications, Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent ME4 4TR
Email: communications@medway.gov.uk
Website: www.medway.gov.uk/communications
Intranet: http://connections.medway.gov.uk/communications
This information can be made available in other formats from 01634 332776
If you have any questions about this leaflet and you want to speak to someone in your own language please ring 01634 335577