BRAND GUIDELINES LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 1 BRAND GUIDELINES INTRODUCTION Leinster Rugby are one of four provincial clubs in Ireland currently playing in the Rabo Direct Pro 12 and Heineken Cup. Leinster Rugby’s main brand objectives are to: • Build greater awareness of Leinster Rugby both domestically and internationally • Drive commercial revenues and attendances • Deliver a brand that is all encompassing and visible • Deliver a brand that sponsors, supporters and partners can easily identify and want to align with These guidelines are designed to help anybody who will be promoting and implementing the brand. If used correctly Leinster Rugby, as a corporate body as well as a club, will start to build equity as a brand that is admired for being world-class in rugby as well as in the general sports arena. LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 2 BRAND GUIDELINES CONTENTS Within this document there are instructions on logo usage and placement, typography, colour reference, brand components, their construction, use and implementation, image selection and implementation and everything else needed to successfully reproduce the new Leinster Brand. Throughout the document examples of best and worst practice, templates, how to configure software to produce the required effects and calculations for formatting documents are shown. It is vital for the survival of the brand values and consistency of appearance across the board that this document is used in full, failure to do so will result in dilution of the brand and subsequent loss of the values aiming to be achieved. LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 3 BRAND GUIDELINES COLOURS The colour palette has been chosen to show the Primary colours pride in the heritage of Leinster Rugby. The blue selected was based on the colour of the distinctive Leinster shirt from the 1950s and PMS 286 is used almost exclusively to reinforce the brand across the board cloaking large areas in the C 100 R 000 C 000 R 255 colour. M 066 G 093 M 000 G 255 White is key in the brand and it is used for all Y 000 B 170 Y 000 B 255 text placed on blue as it stands out and helps to K 002 K 000 identify the brand assets. A secondary colour palette has been created for use in powerpoint slides and some #005daa #ffffff corporate communication channels. Secondary colours PMS 2758 PMS 124 PMS 423 C 100 R 001 C 000 R 238 C 000 R 159 M 080 G 058 M 028 G 177 M 000 G 161 Y 000 B 129 Y 100 B 017 Y 000 B 164 K 026 K 006 K 044 #013a81 #eeb111 #9fa1a4 LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 4 BRAND GUIDELINES LOGO The Leinster Rugby logo is only to be used with Logo Safe Area Logo Don’ts a clear area around the logo allowing the mark to stand out. The clear space around the logo is the space into which no other object may intrude. This includes type, graphics and imagery. This rule allows the logo the breathing space it should have for it to achieve the stand out and Do not crop logo Do not use text on its own legibility necessary to maximise the brand. Opposite is also a list of ‘don’ts’ when using the logo. Do not squash logo Do not squash logo vertically horizontally Do not use Standard Positive Do not use Standard Negative logo on dark backgrounds logo on light backgrounds Do not use Standard logo on Do not use logo on images backgrounds that clash where the colours blend LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 5 BRAND GUIDELINES LOGO VARIATIONS There are three main variations of the Leinster Logo Variations logo, standard, full colour and mono. In most instances the default logo choice is ‘standard’ with the mono being used for black and white assets and the full colour version being used occasional on matters of heritage. There are also the negative versions which are to be used on dark, non-clashing colours. As well as the Leinster Rugby main logo there are also a selection of Leinster derivative logos which are for use for the many different STANDARD POSITIVE MONO POSITIVE FULL COLOUR elements within the club. Further logos can be created by official consent but must only be made up and approved by an official source. STANDARD NEGATIVE MONO NEGATIVE Logo Variations LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 6 BRAND GUIDELINES FONT USE The fonts of Leinster Rugby are Franklin Gothic Typeface Hierarchy Condensed and Futura which reflect the direction the club is going in. Franklin Gothic Condensed is used for all headlines as it is bold, dramatic, legible at a distance whilst having a narrow demeanour meaning you can say more in a smaller space. CORPORATE It should only be used in capitals with leading set to under 100% and tight tracking as per the example. Futura is the body copy font and it is a classic HEADLINE example of modernist typography and is geometric, ordered and balances the space between type and white space well. Book is OPPORTUNITY OR EVENT FONT the default but italic and bold can used for the Body Copy purpose of quotes, attention and titles. These are Leinster Rugby’s primary fonts and should be used wherever possible. Primary Typeface Secondary Typefaces FRANKLIN GOTHIC CONDENSED FUTURA BOLD ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789£&@?!/+(.,:;) 0123456789£&@?!/+(.,:;) FUTURA BOOK ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789£&@?!/+(.,:;) LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 7 BRAND GUIDELINES TYPE TEXTURE The type texture is used to add more drama Texture and impact to the club’s messaging. The texture is a subtle mix of grass, mud, trophies, stars and the motif (see later pages) which have all been treated and degraded. The method of applying the texture is explained in the figures opposite. It should only be applied to headlines using Franklin Gothic Condensed in caps. Once the type is set it should be converted to curves and then the texture imported and placed over the text in the position that best suits (remember the text needs to be readable). The texture foreground and background should be coloured to match the font colour and background object (usually blue hero area). OPPORTUNITY OR EVENT FONT Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 8 BRAND GUIDELINES TAG LINE The tag line embraces the previous direction Tag line of the club in the ‘Believe in Magic’ guise but evolves the theme, promoting the all round entertainment, both on and off the field, of a matchday encouraging people to attend games by stating that a Leinster matchday has to be seen to be believed. The tag line can be used on it’s own, with the logo or motif or both and in positive, negative and coloured (blue) variations. Logo & Tag line LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 9 BRAND GUIDELINES MOTIF The club motif is made up of the four strings of Application of Motif the harp to signify Leinster but as the pattern gets closer you can see that it’s made up of 12 parts signifying the 12 counties of the province which means that together they project strength. The motif (an EPS file) should only be used within the blue hero area (see later pages) and 1 LEINSTER CLUB should be aligned to the end of the area below or beside the Leinster Rugby logo. 4 HARP STRINGS 12 PROVINCE COUNTIES LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 10 BRAND GUIDELINES MOTIF When positioning the motif within the hero Application of Motif area it should always be anchored to the left, right and bottom sides. There should never be any open paths on show and a minimum of two strings of the main set of lines should be visable from the bottom. The motif should always be constrained when X resizing (not stretched). X X X LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 11 BRAND GUIDELINES MOTIF Adjacent is a guide to using the motif and logo Application of Motif together and the safe areas needed to separate them. HEINEKEN CUP CHAMPIONS 2 012 LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 12 BRAND GUIDELINES MOTIF An example application of the motif. Application of Motif LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 13 BRAND GUIDELINES HERO AREA The Hero Area is the vehicle for which all Leinster Hero Area Structure message content appears along with the logo and motif. • Section 1 Within the Hero Area content should be arranged as shown (depending on event / Message text offering). • Section 2 The message should lead which should be punchy and grab people’s attention. The sub Sub Heading text heading follows and this should explain the event / offering further. • Section 3 The event / fixture detail is next and should be Fixture information bold and easily readable as shown. • Section 4 Finally the call to action / contact details follows. This should be easy to read and to Call to action / contact details the point. Any further calls to action / contact • Section 5 details such as social media to be included in SEE LEINSTER DEFEND THEIR HEINEKEN CUP CROWN this area. Motif area LEINSTER vs MONTPELLIER SATURDAY 21 JANUARY KO 1.30PM RDS STADIUM HEINEKEN CUP ROUND 5 CALL 0888 999999 OR VISIT WWW.LEINSTERRUGBY.IE LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 14 BRAND GUIDELINES IMAGERY The imagery to be used should represent the club in the best possible light and should reflect one or all of the following words; dramatic, atmosphere, integrity, passion, professionalism, fun, inclusive and heritage. The images should always be used in mono format. A guide to how to implement a consistent appearance is shown overleaf. LEINSTER RUGBY PAGE 15 BRAND GUIDELINES IMAGERY HOW TO To create the Leinster mono images open the desired image, convert to grayscale and then dodge and burn areas to add atmosphere and accentuate muscle, highlights etc.