Bournemouth University

Official Websites

• https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk
• http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk

Brand Guidelines

2018

Brand Summary

Mission

• To be recognised world-wide as a leading university for inspiring learning, advancing knowledge and enriching society through the fusion of education, research and practice [^1].

Core Values

• Excellence
• Inclusivity
• Creativity
• Responsibility [^2]

Target Audience

• Prospective and current students, staff, external partners, and the wider community, with communications tailored to different audiences [^3].

Personality Traits

• Bold
• Confident
• Professional
• Warm
• Vibrant
• Individual
• Spirited
• Engaging
• Positive
• Friendly
• Upbeat
• Conversational
• Natural [^4]

Visual Identity Overview

• The visual identity features a bold, confident logo with a unique ‘U’ in orange and pink, a flexible color palette, clear and simple typography, and a focus on reportage-style photography that captures authentic, engaged people and places. The brand emphasizes clarity, professionalism, and vibrancy across all materials [^5][^4].

Categories

Brand Voice

• Using questions or different sentence structures to create Interest or Intrigue, where appropriate
• Using headlines to really grab attention or get the message across
• Be short, punchy and to the point.
• Be audience-friendly and keep body copy as engaging and succinct as possible
• Use benefit-led messaging
• Write in the first person to reflect our inclusive and supportive culture.
• Use quotes to bring ideas to life by making them more personal and real
• Talk to people as people and avoiding Jargon (but without dumbing down or being patronising).
• Our language reflects our personality.
• The way we use language expresses our brand as much as the way we look and the way we behave. It’s also a way to help us stand out. Our tone of voice reflects our values and is audience-focused
• When writing about Bournemouth University, we would ask that you use language that is spirited, engaging, positive, friendly, upbeat, conversational and natural
• Sometimes we feel it’s appropriate to be more conversational, at other times to be more direct and to-the-point.
• Five basic writing rules: 1) Write in the first person. This means saying ‘you,‘we’ and ‘us’ Instead of saying ‘Bournemouth University can offer potential students excellent employment prospects’, say ‘We can offer you excellent employment prospects’ 2) Keep your words and sentences short. 3) Avoid cliches and unnecessary jargon. Sometimes jargon is okay, when talking to an expert audience. Usually though, it’s inappropriate. 4) Use active sentences. Put the subject (usually the person or organisation) at the front of your sentences. “John Vinney gave a speech”, not “a speech was given by John Vinney”. 5) Be positive about our achievements and products. If we don’t sound enthusiastic about what we are saying, why should anyone listen? Use verbs to describe the things you are talking about, but be careful not to over­use them. Avoid overusing phrases like ‘innovative’ and ‘unique’ when the things you are describing are not really either of those things. Instead, find positive ways to describe things that actually bring out their existing strong points.
• Use simple, short words and avoid long sentences. Courses ‘start’; they don’t commence, for example.

Brand Imagery

• Our primary image style is reportage-style people photography. Unposed, natural shots, often using close crops, that capture glimpses of people interacting and doing real things to create an impression of ‘a window on the world of BU’. People should look positive and engaged but not overly staged. However, we also use other styles of images to suit the medium or the audience but with the same principle of creating ‘a window on the world of BU’. These principles work for all our audiences.
• Photos can be colour, black and white, or black and white halftones on colours from our palette. Our vibrant palette can be reflected through the use of brightly coloured props or clothing.
• Photographs need to be: • Clear and focused • High resolution (600dpi) for print and 72dpi for digital • Have all relevant permissions.
• How to depict Bournemouth University through imagery.
• When photographing the location, facilities and our campuses, we are looking for images that capture a sense of place. Images should be crisp, bright and authentic. Light, composition and depth of field are important factors in ensuring a strong image.
• Please note: all photographs must have the necessary permissions before they can be used for promotional purposes.

Color Palette

• Our colour palette is made up of three ranges of colours -chilled, vivid or rich. The range of colours provides flexibility while still ensuring a consistent look across our materials. Black and white are also permitted. Only use the colour breakdown shown. The choice is yours.
• As a rule of thumb it’s best to use three colours that sit alongside each other on the colour wheel in the same colour range as shown.
• Alternatively, you can use all three colours from a colour range for example Yellow 1, Yellow 2, Yellow 3.
• Contrasting colours work best when they are separated by a third of the colour wheel but are still within the same colour range.
• While our colour palette mainly consists of solid flat colours, limited use of highlights and shadows is permitted with the addition of white or black to the colour. This is particularly relevant to online work where a certain amount of ‘depth’ is often required.

Typography

• PT Sans Pro is our primary font
• The following weights can be used: PT Sans Pro Bold
• PT Sans Pro is to be used for headings and body text and was chosen due to its clean and legible appearance. PT Sans Pro is available to all staff.
• Bitter is used predominately for headings. Its style is more traditional.
• Bitter is our secondary font.
• The following weights can be used: Bitter Bold Bitter Regular
• It should be predominantly used where a sense of gravitas or tradition is required.
• Typography should be clear and simple: • For accessibility we recommend the minimum font size for PT Sans is 9pt for Bitter it is 8pt. • All body copy should be ranged left • Weights can be mixed; ensure there is enough differentiation between the weights selected.

Logo Usage

• The logo should always remain proportionally fairly large on the design to convey a bold, confident impression.
• The logo combines professionalism and gravitas through the solid black letter forms and warmth, vibrancy and individuality through the “U”.
• The ‘U’ is a unique letterform, made up of orange and pink, to create high impact on communications and help communicate the spirit of BU.
• A dedicated clearspace area.
• The logo clearspace is defined by the width of the stroke of the U as shown by the black box in the images above.
• No other elements should be placed within this defined minimum clearspace.
• The right size for our logo on typical sized Literature.
• On A3 size literature the logo is 45mm wide and the gutters are 15mm. On A4 the logo is 35mm with a gutter of 12.5mm.
• On AS the logo is 30mm wide with gutters of 10mm. On A6 it is 25mm with 5mm gutter.
• The logo should not be reproduced smaller than 10mm wide for the portrait version and 37mm wide for the landscape version.
• Do not horizontally scale.
• Do not alter the colour of the elements.
• Do not vertically scale.
• Do not rotate.
• Do not alter the elements.
• Do not make transparent.
• Do not use the colour logo when printing in black & white, use the black logo.
• Do not create a reversed colour logo, use the white logo instead.
• Do not use on unsuitable backgrounds.
• Our logo should predominantly appear in full colour, on a white background. If this is not possible black or white versions are available.
• Special inks such as foil blocking are also allowed.
• As our logo is full colour it cannot be reproduced using spot colours (Pantone) but can only be printed with four colour process inks (CMYK) or screen colours (RGB).
• The BU logo is usually positioned top left on all collateral however, when working in partnership with other organisations the relationship dictates where the logo is positioned.
• When BU is the leading partner The BU logo is positioned top left.
• When the partnership is equal BU logo is the same size as the partner logo and does not have to appear top left unless the activity is taking place at BU.
• When BU is a minority partner Position of the logo is determined by the lead partner but generally the logo would appear at the bottom of the page with a relationship identifier agreed with the leading organisation.

Tone And Messaging

• Using questions or different sentence structures to create Interest or Intrigue, where appropriate
• Using headlines to really grab attention or get the message across
• Be short, punchy and to the point.
• Be audience-friendly and keep body copy as engaging and succinct as possible
• Use benefit-led messaging
• Write in the first person to reflect our inclusive and supportive culture.
• Use quotes to bring ideas to life by making them more personal and real
• Talk to people as people and avoiding Jargon (but without dumbing down or being patronising).
• Our language reflects our personality.
• The way we use language expresses our brand as much as the way we look and the way we behave. It’s also a way to help us stand out. Our tone of voice reflects our values and is audience-focused
• When writing about Bournemouth University, we would ask that you use language that is spirited, engaging, positive, friendly, upbeat, conversational and natural
• just like the visual elements of our brand, we tailor our language to suit the communication. Sometimes we feel it’s appropriate to be more conversational, at other times to be more direct and to-the-point.
• Write in the first person. This means saying ‘you,‘we’ and ‘us’ Instead of saying ‘Bournemouth University can offer potential students excellent employment prospects’, say ‘We can offer you excellent employment prospects’
• Keep your words and sentences short.
• Avoid cliches and unnecessary jargon. Sometimes jargon is okay, when talking to an expert audience. Usually though, it’s inappropriate.
• Use active sentences.
• Put the subject (usually the person or organisation) at the front of your sentences. “John Vinney gave a speech”, not “a speech was given by John Vinney”.
• Be positive about our achievements and products. If we don’t sound enthusiastic about what we are saying, why should anyone listen? Use verbs to describe the things you are talking about, but be careful not to over­use them. Avoid overusing phrases like ‘innovative’ and ‘unique’ when the things you are describing are not really either of those things. Instead, find positive ways to describe things that actually bring out their existing strong points.
• Use simple, short words and avoid long sentences. Courses ‘start’; they don’t commence, for example.

Brand Values

• Our values • Excellence • lnclusivity • Creativity • Responsibility.
• The BU brand is special; it represents who we are and what we stand for, translating our vision and values in all our communications so it is important to understand and follow these guidelines.

Visual Style

• The logo should always remain proportionally fairly large on the design to convey a bold, confident impression.
• The logo combines professionalism and gravitas through the solid black letter forms and warmth, vibrancy and individuality through the “U”.
• The ‘U’ is a unique letterform, made up of orange and pink, to create high impact on communications and help communicate the spirit of BU.
• The logo clearspace is defined by the width of the stroke of the U as shown by the black box in the images above.
• No other elements should be placed within this defined minimum clearspace.
• On A3 size literature the logo is 45mm wide and the gutters are 15mm. On A4 the logo is 35mm with a gutter of 12.5mm. On AS the logo is 30mm wide with gutters of 10mm. On A6 it is 25mm with 5mm gutter.
• The logo should not be reproduced smaller than 10mm wide for the portrait version and 37mm wide for the landscape version.
• Do not horizontally scale.
• Do not alter the colour of the elements.
• Do not vertically scale.
• Do not rotate.
• Do not alter the elements.
• Do not make transparent.
• Do not use the colour logo when printing in black & white, use the black logo.
• Do not create a reversed colour logo, use the white logo instead.
• Do not use on unsuitable backgrounds.
• Our logo should predominantly appear in full colour, on a white background. If this is not possible black or white versions are available.
• Special inks such as foil blocking are also allowed.
• As our logo is full colour it cannot be reproduced using spot colours (Pantone) but can only be printed with four colour process inks (CMYK) or screen colours (RGB).
• PT Sans Pro is our primary font. The following weights can be used: PT Sans Pro Bold, PT Sans Pro Regular.
• Bitter is our secondary font. The following weights can be used: Bitter Bold, Bitter Regular.
• Typography should be clear and simple: • For accessibility we recommend the minimum font size for PT Sans is 9pt for Bitter it is 8pt. • All body copy should be ranged left • Weights can be mixed; ensure there is enough differentiation between the weights selected.
• Our colour palette is made up of three ranges of colours -chilled, vivid or rich. The range of colours provides flexibility while still ensuring a consistent look across our materials. Black and white are also permitted.
• Only use the colour breakdown shown.
• As a rule of thumb it’s best to use three colours that sit alongside each other on the colour wheel in the same colour range as shown.
• Alternatively, you can use all three colours from a colour range for example Yellow 1, Yellow 2, Yellow 3.
• Contrasting colours work best when they are separated by a third of the colour wheel but are still within the same colour range.
• While our colour palette mainly consists of solid flat colours, limited use of highlights and shadows is permitted with the addition of white or black to the colour. This is particularly relevant to online work where a certain amount of ‘depth’ is often required.
• Our primary image style is reportage-style people photography. Unposed, natural shots, often using close crops, that capture glimpses of people interacting and doing real things to create an impression of ‘a window on the world of BU’. People should look positive and engaged but not overly staged.
• Photos can be colour, black and white, or black and white halftones on colours from our palette. Our vibrant palette can be reflected through the use of brightly coloured props or clothing.
• Photographs need to be: • Clear and focused • High resolution (600dpi) for print and 72dpi for digital • Have all relevant permissions.
• When photographing the location, facilities and our campuses, we are looking for images that capture a sense of place. Images should be crisp, bright and authentic. Light, composition and depth of field are important factors in ensuring a strong image.
• Please note: all photographs must have the necessary permissions before they can be used for promotional purposes.

Layout And Composition

• The logo should always remain proportionally fairly large on the design to convey a bold, confident impression.
• A dedicated clearspace area.
• The logo clearspace is defined by the width of the stroke of the U as shown by the black box in the images above.
• No other elements should be placed within this defined minimum clearspace.
• On A3 size literature the logo is 45mm wide and the gutters are 15mm. On A4 the logo is 35mm with a gutter of 12.5mm.
• On AS the logo is 30mm wide with gutters of 10mm. On A6 it is 25mm with 5mm gutter.
• The logo should not be reproduced smaller than 10mm wide for the portrait version and 37mm wide for the landscape version.
• Do not horizontally scale.
• Do not alter the colour of the elements.
• Do not vertically scale.
• Do not rotate.
• Do not alter the elements.
• Do not make transparent.
• Do not use the colour logo when printing in black & white, use the black logo.
• Do not create a reversed colour logo, use the white logo instead.
• Do not use on unsuitable backgrounds.
• Our logo should predominantly appear in full colour, on a white background. If this is not possible black or white versions are available.
• Special inks such as foil blocking are also allowed.
• As our logo is full colour it cannot be reproduced using spot colours (Pantone) but can only be printed with four colour process inks (CMYK) or screen colours (RGB).
• The BU logo is usually positioned top left on all collateral however, when working in partnership with other organisations the relationship dictates where the logo is positioned.
• When BU is the leading partner The BU logo is positioned top left.
• When the partnership is equal BU logo is the same size as the partner logo and does not have to appear top left unless the activity is taking place at BU.
• When BU is a minority partner Position of the logo is determined by the lead partner but generally the logo would appear at the bottom of the page with a relationship identifier agreed with the leading organisation.

Brand Architecture

• Our brand architecture strengthens the core BU brand and provides the flexibility to communicate clearly and consistently to different audiences.
• Bournemouth University (BU) is always the primary brand driver, or co-brand driver. Internally, functional services should be named rather than branded, so for example CareersBU can be named Careers internally where appropriate.

Writing Guidelines

• Using questions or different sentence structures to create Interest or Intrigue, where appropriate
• Using headlines to really grab attention or get the message across
• Be short, punchy and to the point.
• Be audience-friendly and keep body copy as engaging and succinct as possible
• Use benefit-led messaging
• Write in the first person to reflect our inclusive and supportive culture.
• Use quotes to bring ideas to life by making them more personal and real
• Talk to people as people and avoiding Jargon (but without dumbing down or being patronising).
• Our language reflects our personality.
• The way we use language expresses our brand as much as the way we look and the way we behave. It’s also a way to help us stand out. Our tone of voice reflects our values and is audience-focused
• When writing about Bournemouth University, we would ask that you use language that is spirited, engaging, positive, friendly, upbeat, conversational and natural
• Sometimes we feel it’s appropriate to be more conversational, at other times to be more direct and to-the-point.
• Five basic writing rules: 1) Write in the first person. This means saying ‘you,‘we’ and ‘us’ Instead of saying ‘Bournemouth University can offer potential students excellent employment prospects’, say ‘We can offer you excellent employment prospects’ 2) Keep your words and sentences short. 3) Avoid cliches and unnecessary jargon. Sometimes jargon is okay, when talking to an expert audience. Usually though, it’s inappropriate. 4) Use active sentences. Put the subject (usually the person or organisation) at the front of your sentences. “John Vinney gave a speech”, not “a speech was given by John Vinney”. 5) Be positive about our achievements and products. If we don’t sound enthusiastic about what we are saying, why should anyone listen? Use verbs to describe the things you are talking about, but be careful not to over­use them. Avoid overusing phrases like ‘innovative’ and ‘unique’ when the things you are describing are not really either of those things. Instead, find positive ways to describe things that actually bring out their existing strong points.
• Use simple, short words and avoid long sentences. Courses ‘start’; they don’t commence, for example.
• We need to communicate effectively to all our audiences, ensuring that they are able to receive and understand the messages.
• To do this we must provide materials in forms that will make this happen and if necessary, modify our approach to include everyone.
• Printed media Much of what we already do is good. We: • Left align • Use bullet points and numbered lists • Have clear fonts • Seldom use block capitals, italics or underline • Use emboldened letters sparingly • Use distinct columns within text • Don’t use colour as the only way to differentiate items.
• Other things that can help There are many other things we can do to aid accessibility, but think pragmatically about your approach and how much impact it will have. • Use a minimum of 12 point Arial and 9 point PT Sans in body of text (RNIB prefers 14 point Arial or PT Sans 11 point) • Use thick paper stock to prevent show through • Don’t use text over pictures • Ensure that there is a good contrast between the text colour and the background colour e.g. light colours against black, dark colours against white • Avoid similar colours together e.g. red and green, red and orange, green and blue-green
• Any information conveyed in colour or through images should also be described.
• We produce alternative formats of printed publications on request. We ask those who require an alternative format of a publication to email formats@ bournemouth.ac.uk, so that we can tailor what we provide to their specific needs.
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines from W3C requires the visual presentation of text to have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, except for the following: • Large Text: Large-scale text and images of large-scale text have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 • Logotypes: Text that is part of a logo or brand name has no minimum contrast requirement.
• A colour contrast check tool is available to see whether text meets these standards.
• We develop our website templates in accordance with the W3C/WAI standards and the requirements of the Special Educational Needs & Disability Act and the Disability Discrimination Act. We aim to meet or exceed the provisions of the W3C/ WAI Level ‘AA’ checklist where possible.
• There are many words and phrases in the English language that commonly trip people up. Many have a definitive right or wrong way to do it while others can be subjective and in usage can therefore be inconsistent. This page shows how BU does it, which will ensure more consistency across our communications.
• A-level, AS-level, A2-level – not ‘A’ level, or A-Level or any other version.
• Allsebrook Lecture Theatre – not Allesbrook.
• Bournemouth & Poole College – use an ampersand.
• Cardio-vascular – hyphenated, not one word.
• Co-ordinate – hyphenated. Not coordinate. Same for co-ordinator and co-operate.
• Course – what we offer, when we are talking to external audiences, rather than a programme.
• Cranborne House – note that there is no ‘u’.
• Dean/Executive Dean – head of faculty’s official title, always capitalised.
• Deputy Vice-Chancellor – no hyphen after deputy.
• Dr – no full stop afterwards.
• email – no hyphen. Use a lower case e unless it is at the start of a sentence.
• faculty –use a lower case f for faculty when refering to a BU faculty.
• Focused – one ‘s’, not two.
• Foundation degree – capital ‘F’ for Foundation, lower case ‘d’ for degree.
• Full-time – always hyphenate.
• government - does not have a capital g unless it is at the start of a sentence.
• Healthcare – all one word.
• Honours degree – capital ‘H’ for Honours, lower case d for degree.
• international student – not overseas, and no need for a capital I unless it starts a sentence.
• internet – no capital ‘i’ unless it starts a sentence.
• Interprofessional – no hyphen.
• Intramural sports – no hyphen.
• Lansdowne Campus – capital C.
• Master’s degree – capital ‘M’ for Master’s lower case ‘d’ for degree.
• Nerve* – the name of the Students’ Union magazine includes the asterisk.
• The Old Fire Station – not Firestation
• Online – one word, not on-line.
• Open Day – capital ‘D’. Open Afternoon – capital ‘A’.
• university – always use a lower case ‘u’ unless at the beginning of a sentence. Try to avoid referring to BU as ‘the university’ though – say ‘BU’ or Bournemouth University’ instead.
• undergraduate – one word, lower case.
• units – not modules.
• Part-time – always hyphenate.
• Partner Colleges – capital ‘C’, and never refer to them as ‘institutions’.
• Postcode – one word.
• postgraduate – one word, no capital p.
• Professor – always write it in full, do not abbreviate to Prof.
• Programme – word used internally to refer to a degree course, or programme of study. Also applies to radio or television programmes.
• Program – name for a computer program.
• Pro-Vice-Chancellor – two hyphens.
• Research Centres – capital ‘R’ and ‘C’.
• Research & Development – a single entity, case w. so use an ampersand – so Consultancy and Research & Development, rather than Consultancy, Research and Development.
• The Sir Michael Cobham Library –‘The’ is part of the name and should always be capitalised.
• Talbot Campus – capital ‘T’ and ‘C’.
• Vice-Chancellor – hyphenated (see also Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor).
• Web addresses – if they start with www then there is no need to include ‘http://’ first. Often you do not need ‘html’ at the end either, though you should always check this. webpage, website – one word, not ‘web page’. No capital w unless at the start of a sentence.
• The web – people seldom refer to the World Wide Web now, so common usage means we just say the web with a lower
• Wellbeing – one word, not well being or well-being.
• Whilst – try to avoid using it. It’s a clumsy word. Use ‘while’ instead.
• Wi-Fi – capital ‘W’ and ‘F’, hyphenated.

Additional Properties