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Corporate Identity and Branding Guidelines A guide to how the Council presents itself

Corporate identity and branding guidelines for: Reports, documents and publications Partnership projects Signage Vehicle livery Corporate clothing

Version 1.3, November 2011

“Allerdale – a great place to live, work and visit” Allerdale Borough Council’s corporate identity and branding guidelines

Contents

1. Introduction 2. The law 3. Customer care 4. Plain English 5. Corporate style 6. Partnership branding 7. Accessibility 8. Signage 9. Vehicle livery 10.Corporate clothing

1. Introduction

The way the Council presents itself has a role in how it is viewed: user-friendly and professional; or disorganised, amateurish and difficult to understand.

These guidelines are intended to set clear and consistent standards across the Council. The standards are not negotiable. Managers must ensure that employees are made aware of, and follow, these guidelines, especially the sections most relevant to their work.

2. The law

The Council has a duty to inform and communicate effectively with people.

When considering all forms of communication with our audiences, the Council will conform to the Government’s Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity (made under the Local Government Act 2000, revised in 2011). This code covers the rules around content and style of publicity, dissemination, advertising, promotion of individual councillors and restrictions during the election period.

Local authorities face more legal restrictions than private bodies when it comes to external publicity. Most importantly councils cannot publish material which appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party. Publicity describing the Council’s policies, aims and activities should be as objective as possible, concentrating on facts or explanation or both. Any comment should be objective, balanced, informative and accurate. 2 Corporate identity and branding guidelines The Government has also issued statutory guidance under the Local Government Act 2000 which the council should follow. The guidance emphasises that the role of publicity is informative and should be well balanced and objective. It notes that local authorities should not ‘mount publicity campaigns whose primary purpose is to persuade the public to hold a particular view on a question of policy.’

The Council should take care not to promote any of the following:  Adult services, sexually orientated products or services  Alcoholic drinks  Gambling  Loans and speculative financial products  Tobacco and related products  Weapons, violence or anti-social behaviour of any description.

In addition, council officers should ensure publicity the Council produces or endorses does not:  Conflict with the values or policies of the Council in any way  Appear to compete directly with a Council service/income stream and/or the local economy of the area  Associate us with organisations in financial or legal conflict with the Council  Discriminate on the grounds of ‘protected characteristics’. The Council’s new Equality Scheme is to be taken to Executive shortly. The scheme is influenced by the Equality Act 2010 and includes what are now called ‘protected characteristics’; these are age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, rurality, sex and sexual orientation. All council advertising and promotion must comply with the rules and guidelines laid down by the Advertising Standards Authority and the British Codes of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing.

For more information about the Council’s legal obligations regarding accessibility, see section 7.

3. Customer care

Improving customer access is important for the Council: to deliver high-quality services that are accessible and meet customers’ needs.

The Council has established standards for the way in which its employees deal with customers. The aim is to guarantee a ‘right first time’ experience for everyone who contacts the Council. The Customer Service Charter, which is available on the Council’s intranet, ensures high levels of customer service and a fast, efficient and helpful response.

To help all employees to get it right first time a set of guidelines that is available in the Corporate Customer Service Employees Handbook, available on the intranet.

3 Corporate identity and branding guidelines Templates for letters, email signatures, faxes and presentations are also available on the intranet.

4 Corporate identity and branding guidelines 4. Plain English

Plain English means that a reader can understand what you want to say in one reading. It only uses as many words as are necessary. Plain English pitches the language at a level of sophistication that suits the readers. It also takes into account layout that helps readers to navigate through the document.

Using clear and informative language is good customer service. Using confusing and long-winded language may deter the reader from using a service or claiming a benefit that they are entitled to.

The following ‘rules’ should help to keep writing user-friendly:

Keep words and sentences short

Most people are put off by line after line of long words, long sentences or both.

 Never use a long word if a short one will do eg use about not approximately, after not following, take part not participate, set up not establish  If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out eg it’s easy not it’s really easy, now not at this moment in time, soon not in the near future  Over the whole document, make average sentence length 15 to 25 words. Break up sentences using full stops. Short sentences make clearer reading and reduce misunderstanding.

Use words readers are likely to understand

 Avoid jargon. Most people outside of the Council will not understand it. For example, we might talk about members, but the public thinks of them as councillors.  Do not use abbreviations. Abbreviations are shortened forms of a word or phrase. Use January not Jan, Chartered Institute of Marketing not CIM, number not no

Consider different ways of setting out your information

The reader may find it easier to understand the information if it is presented as a list, table, chart, diagram or photograph.

Use accurate punctuation

Good use of punctuation helps you to be understood at first reading.  Full stop: shows where a sentence ends. Do not use full stops after headings. Do not use full stops after abbreviations, unless it is at the end of a sentence.  Comma: act as separators between parts of a sentence eg Although suitable protective equipment was available, most of the employees were not wearing it. Do not use a comma where there should be a full stop.

5 Corporate identity and branding guidelines  Apostrophe: Shows the possessive, such as the Council’s vans (the van belongs to the Council), to show a letter has been missed out, like don’t, and for plurals ending in ‘s’, such as in six months’ time. Do not use an apostrophe for plurals of groups of letters and numbers eg PCs not PC’s, 1990s not 1990’s.  Speech marks: Direct speech needs quotation marks (not apostrophes). Use a colon before the opening quotation mark and a full stop before the closing quotation mark, and then start a new sentence eg Councillor Jones said: “It’s good that young people are taking an interest in local democracy.”  Hyphens and dashes: A hyphen (-) is half the length of a dash (─). A hyphen is used within a word; a dictionary will let you know if a word needs a hyphen or not. A dash can be used to show a pause in a sentence and should be used sparingly.

5. Corporate style

The way documents are presented has a role in how the Council is viewed: user- friendly and professional or disorganised, amateurish and difficult to understand. The following ‘rules’ should be used:

Typeface

 Use a minimum of Arial 12 point for ordinary text (known as body text)  For large print publications, use 16 point type  Use bold to highlight words  Italics should only be used for referring to titles of books (The Da Vinci Code), newspapers and magazines (The Guardian) and TV programmes or films (Shrek)  Never distort text by giving it shadows, never use block capitals and avoid underlining as these all make the text harder to read.

Layout

Use a left hand margin not a fully justified margin. The uneven spacing of a fully justified paragraph makes it difficult to read.

Colour

Use black text on a white background. If you must have a coloured background, make sure there is a good colour contrast between the text and the background. Some people, such as those with colour blindness, may have difficulties seeing the difference between the colours.

The corporate ‘colour’ is: Pantone: 287 blue RGB: Red = 0, green = 82, blue = 155 CMYK: Cyan = 100%, magenta = 69%, yellow = 0%, black = 11%

6 Corporate identity and branding guidelines Spacing

Use one space after full stops and commas. Leave one line space between paragraphs.

The Council is one council with one identity. The Council’s logo (below) must be used on the front of all publications, signage, etc. There are no separate logos for directorates or services.

 The logo must not be distorted or stretched or altered in any way.  The logo must not be recreated in any other colours (except black and white for use in black and white documents. There is a black and white version available).  The logo should not be placed over brightly coloured or patterned backgrounds nor have text or images too close to it.  The minimum size of logo which should ever be used is 15mm. It can however be reproduced to much larger sizes. As a guide the minimum logo size which should be used on different sized documents is: A3 40mm Compliments slips 35mm A4 30mm Business cards 30mm A5 20mm ID badges etc 15mm  The accepted areas of clearance around the logo are shown below for normal A4 use, however, with different types of publications you may need to adopt a percentage of the logo size as the protection zone. This should be a minimum of 20% of the height and width of the logo size you are using.

6mm 6mm

Capitals

Too many capitals can be difficult to read. Use capital letters:  to start sentences and quotes 7 Corporate identity and branding guidelines  for days (Monday), months (May), religious holidays (Easter). Do not use for seasons (spring)  for proper nouns, that is the names of people, companies and events (John, Workington, Allerdale Borough Council, Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Policy and Communications team, First World War)  for specific titles (the Chief Executive, the Government), but not if the title does not directly relate to a particular person or organisation (This country has a democratic government, is there a planning officer here?). Use Councillor if you are talking about a specific person (I spoke to Councillor Alan Smith) but councillor if it is about the role (Are you interested in becoming a councillor?).

Never use block capitals; they are difficult to read. If in doubt use lower case unless it looks absurd.

Numbers

 Never start a sentence with a figure; always spell it out  Numbers one to nine should be in words. Numbers 10 to 999,999 should be written as figures. For example: “One in ten people agreed.”  Large figures should be in words (one million not 1,000,000), unless in a table, when it uses decimal points or percentages or when it is large amounts of money (4.56%, £1.2 million)  Numbers above 999 need a comma (1,256)  Dates should be written 2 April 2007. Don’t put ‘the’ before it and cut out th/nd/rd/st next to the numbers  Times are written without a space between the figure and am or pm. For example: 8.30am or 4pm  Telephone numbers do not need brackets for the area code. Put 01900 702702 not (1900) 702702.

Bullet points

Use a dot symbol (●) or numbers for bullet points. Avoid using roman numerals (i, iv, xii).

The bullet points form a list following a colon (:), not a colon and a dash, and each bullet point should have either: a semi-colon at the end of each line with a full stop at the end of the last bullet point; or a full stop at the end of the last bullet point. The important point is that whichever way you choose, you apply it consistently.

If the bullet points are long and form separate sentences, each one should start with a capital letter and end with a full stop.

Images

 Use good-quality photographs and illustrations to break up text.  Do not use cartoon-like clip art. It looks unprofessional.

8 Corporate identity and branding guidelines  Make sure the resolution is appropriate. For photographs to appear in corporate publications, the photograph should always be a high resolution (300 dots per inch). Photographs for use solely on the web can be a lower resolution, normally 72 dots per inch at the size they are going to be viewed.  Never distort an image by stretching it. This often just leads to strange looking images or one that is ‘pixelated’ and blurry.  Check the copyright. It is against the law to use images that are copyrighted to someone else. It is often wrongly assumed that images on websites are freely- available to be used ─ almost everything on the internet will still be within copyright. If you want to use a picture that is not owned by the Council, please get permission in writing to use it.  The courts have determined that photographs and images of people are capable of being personal data and as such come under the Data Protection Act. The Council is required to have permission from individuals if we are to publish their personal information, including their image. The Council therefore needs a signed consent form to print photographs of people. This applies to adults as well as children. A standard consent form is available on the intranet. Ensure that everyone who is photographed completes a form before the Council publishes the photograph.

And finally…

 Use spellchecker and grammar checker and a dictionary.  Use the templates for letters, faxes and presentations, available on the intranet.  Don’t use ampersands (&) unless it is in the name of a company.  The Council’s name is ‘Allerdale Borough Council’. Never abbreviate our name to ABC or Allerdale BC. It could cause confusion. After the first reference to Allerdale Borough Council, you can use ‘the Council’.  Customers can be confused if we use ‘Allerdale’ or ‘the borough’ when we actually mean the Council. Therefore, use Allerdale Borough Council to refer to the Council and use Allerdale to refer to the place, the borough of Allerdale.  Nouns denoting a single group of people use a singular verb eg Allerdale Borough Council is not Allerdale Borough Council are.

To assist officers in complying with the branding guidelines and corporate identity, standard templates are available in the standard templates section of the intranet’s document store.

Should members of employees be using a professional designer who wishes to deviate from these branding guidelines in any way, please contact the Communications Officer for discussions.

6. Partnership branding

If the Council is the lead partner, its logo should be on the front page of any publications and prominent on any signage, etc. If there are a number of equal partners, put all the logos on the front or back page and ensure they are all the same size or include all the names as text, rather than logos.

9 Corporate identity and branding guidelines A chart showing the use of Council’s branding in partnership arrangements is below:

10 Corporate identity and branding guidelines 11 Corporate identity and branding guidelines Grant-aided organisations

If the Council provides financial and other support to an organisation, this must be acknowledged on the organisation’s publicity material.

Contractors

If the Council has a contract with local or national businesses lasting a number of years, the contractor must use our logo alongside their own. The words ‘Working with Allerdale Borough Council’ must be used on stationery, promotional material, vehicle livery, employees uniforms and signs wherever possible. The Communications and Marketing Officer should approve all relevant designs.

7. Accessibility

The Council is committed to open and accessible service. Council employees must ensure that all customers can get the information they need, when they need it and in the format that suits them. People with physical, sensory and learning disabilities and those whose first language is not English, for example, have a right to be informed and involved in a way that best suits their needs.

All Council work will be supported by the three principles of social inclusion, sustainability and fairness and diversity. The Council will therefore provide printed information in all formats on request, tailored to the customers’ needs.

All material for a mass audience will be written in plain language, so it is easy to translate and more accessible for our customers. All documents will be produced in the Council’s standard font of 12 point Arial; aligned to the left margin and not justified (which means spread evenly between the left and right margins; justified text creates ribbons of white space which makes it harder to read). This is in line with good practice under the Disability Discrimination Act.

All printed material for the public should carry the following wording in a 16pt minimum font: Please phone 01900 702XXX if you would like a copy of this document in a different format.

Many people with visual disabilities use audio rather than Braille. Allerdale Disability Association can advise on how to go about getting any document onto tape or CD, but services will need to cover the cost.

For people born deaf, check with the individual how they would prefer to converse, for example in public meetings a variety of communication aids can be used, such as a loop system, sign language, email, fax and text messaging, textphones or minicom systems.

A high proportion of people with learning disabilities also have sensory impairments so the guidelines given above for deaf, deafened and hard of hearing and access for blind and visually impaired people apply. Many people with learning disabilities can 12 Corporate identity and branding guidelines read and prefer to get written information. Others may find reading difficult and may prefer information on audio tape. By complying with the Council’s corporate identity guidelines, employees can ensure that the written information they produce is easier to understand an can be reassured that they are following best practice guidelines issues, for example by the RNIB.

Two and a half million people in the UK have a speech or language difficulty. The first step is to find out how the person prefers to communicate and then:  Do not pretend that you understand if you do not  Do not appear impatient or try to hurry the person  If the person is accompanied by a helper, address the individual, not the helper.

The Council uses Language Line for translation services. This is a service for those who cannot speak English. The Council has a contract with Language Line which enables council employees to be connected to a qualified interpreter. Details are available on the intranet.

8. Signage

The Council’s corporate identity should appear on all buildings and enclosed areas owned by the Council including offices, halls, leisure venues, parks and car parks. Consistent signage is essential in helping to promote the Council's activities and show council tax-payers how their money is spent.

Whenever possible, signage must be white with black text and include the full colour version of the Council’s logo in the top right hand corner. Font size should be appropriate to the size of the sign. Wording should be in an Arial font and use as few capital letters as possible to comply with house style.

Internal signage, within the Council’s buildings, does not need to include the logo.

There are occasions when individual signs are required. Please contact the Communications Officer for advice.

Signage in partnership

There are two formats for signage depending on the nature of the partnership.

Where the partner is the lead organisation or offers a service on behalf of or in connection with the Council to the public, the partner's signage design shall take precedence but the Council's corporate identity shall be present on the sign.

Where the Council is the main provider of the service but there are additional partners involved, the corporate design shall be used and the partner's logo, when specified, shall also be present.

13 Corporate identity and branding guidelines Consider the positioning of signage to assist in meeting the Council’s requirements for equal opportunities and the Disability Discrimination Act. It is recommended that signage should be just inside the boundary, on a wall or fence or adjacent to the entrance to the building. Eye level is recommended whenever possible.

9. Vehicle livery

Council vehicles should reflect the corporate colours and corporate identity to ensure that the authority is more easily recognised by residents of the borough.

Whenever possible vehicles should be white. Research shows that lighter-coloured vehicles are less likely to be involved in collisions resulting in serious injury.

On transit-type and small vans, the colour version of the Council’s logo should be placed on the flat side panels of vehicles. The logo must also appear (once) on the back of the vehicle.

On cars, the logo must appear on the front doors. There is no requirement for the logo to appear on the back of the vehicle.

The size of the logo must be proportionate to the vehicle’s panel.

Where the service is required to be identified, the service name will be printed underneath the Council logo in blue in an Arial font.

Environmental Warden

In this way, prominence is given to the Allerdale Borough Council brand.

10. Corporate clothing

Uniforms worn by Council employees should reflect the corporate colours and corporate identity to ensure that authority employees are more easily recognised by residents of the borough.

The colour version of the Council logo should always be on the left breast of the uniform.

14 Corporate identity and branding guidelines In circumstances when the logo cannot be reproduced on the item of clothing, the words Allerdale Borough Council, in the equivalent to a 14 point Arial font, should be embroidered on to the left breast of the uniform:

Allerdale Borough Council

Where possible, use of the corporate colours for items of clothing is recommended. For exceptions please contact the Communications Officer to discuss. The colour options for clothing are dark blue and white. The alternative corporate identity has two formats depending on the colour of the clothing being worn. On dark blue clothing, the words ‘Allerdale Borough Council’ should be embroidered in white. On white clothing, the words ‘Allerdale Borough Council’ should be embroidered in dark blue.

Where the service is required to be identified, the service name will be printed or embroidered underneath the Council logo or alternative corporate identity. The name of the service, in colours as above, will be in the equivalent to a 12 point Arial font:

Environmental Warden

Allerdale Borough Council Environmental Warden

Services that are wishing to purchase clothing for particular events or to use as ‘freebies’ should contact the Communications Officer to discuss how the corporate identity should be applied before placing an order.

For queries about the Council’s branding and corporate style please contact the Communications Officer on 01900 702526.

15 Corporate identity and branding guidelines