City of Hutto

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Brand Guidelines

2018

Brand Summary

Mission

Hutto, Texas is a family-friendly community that provides superior public safety, outstanding fiscal responsibility, diversified economy, and an exceptional quality of life [^1].

Core Values

responsible
safe
authentic
progressive
inspiring
innovative
relatable
truthful
confident [^2]

Target Audience

Residents, visitors, employees, and the broader public, with a focus on families and community members seeking a welcoming, safe, and progressive environment [^3].

Personality Traits

welcoming
assured
friendly
approachable
serious
mature
modern
progressive [^4]

Visual Identity Overview

The brand visual identity is built on a strategically crafted palette of visual expressions, including a bold logo, Texas-inspired color palettes, modern typography (ENZO family), clean iconography, and photography that is candid, warm, and authentic. Consistency and integrity across all mediums are emphasized, with clear rules for logo usage, color, typography, and visual style [^5].

Categories

Brand Imagery

All images and photographs selected to represent our brand must also have a consistent look and feel.
A set of complementary values for the creative direction of photography or image selection has been developed to help clearly define the visual expectations for photography and to give photographers a set of guidelines to follow.
Inspiring Innovative Relatable Authentic Truthful Confident
An iconic image can serve as a great source of inspiration. The images we use should be able to inspire on their own without the use of supporting type. This can be achieved by trying to capture photos “in the moment” and not staged.
Introduce a photo journalistic style of photography to help further differentiate ourselves visually. Photography should also look modern and progressive and have a premium quality feel to it. Shots should be composed using unique angles to give fresh, new perspectives. Wherever possible, locations should have a clear focus on the City of Hutto.
Our photography should be able to resonate with everyone. Images should look candid, honest, welcoming and warm in tone. Lighting should always look and feel natural even if it is artifcially sourced.
The photography showcased must be an honest representation of our brand and the experience we promise to deliver. Images should capture real-life interactions between people and the technologies being used in the learning environment. Never use visuals that look unconvincing, obviously staged, contrived, cliché or overly photo-shopped and retouched.
Our brand and the experience we promise to deliver is truthful. This unique quality should be reflected in the way we visually tell our story. Our photography should never look generic or mimic industry trends. A photo journalistic style of photography that is modern, progressive and looks warm and natural, will help to differentiate City of Hutto visually from other cities and solidify our brand’s unique value.
Images should reflect a high level of confidence in our featured subjects. Subjects should always be portrayed as welcoming and assured.
The direction for our photography is to capture natural, candid, real-life moments of people or individuals looking engaged in their activities and learning environments. Their expressions and interactions should be positive, warm and welcoming. They should interact with the camera but never intentionally be looking into it.
Images should have a single concept and be focused on one subject. Details should be kept to a minimum and backgrounds should be free of clutter to provide for ample clean (negative) space.
Our photo journalistic style of photography should look modern and progressive and have a premium quality to it. Shots should be composed using unique angles to give fresh, new perspectives. Color treatments altering the dynamic range will provide a warm, relatable and authentic feel.
People or Individuals representing the City of Hutto must always look well-groomed, professional and dressed in appropriate attire. Clothing should be presentable, pressed and appropriately fitting. Garments must not display slogans or graphics that are offensive or controversial. Hair should not be overly styled and makeup, if necessary, should look natural.
Lighting should be warm and always look natural even if it is artificially sourced. Natural lighting effects will make our photography more relatable and authentic.
Photos may appear in gray-scale unless design dictates otherwise. Portraits of people or individuals must not look overly posed and should display positive, warm expressions.
A transparency set to 40% is used to make the text and information pop out more. A white fade is also applied.
A second background on the top can be added to add dimension with a transparency of 20%
Images may appear in gray-scale unless design dictates otherwise. Portraits of people or individuals must not look overly posed and should display positive, warm expressions. Design should always consider how best to showing iconic images to our City or include citizens.
The direction for our photography is to illustrate business, professional elements such as property developments. When using people, the piece needs to capture natural, candid, real-life moments looking engaged in their activities and environments. Expressions and interactions should be positive, warm and welcoming. They should interact with the camera but never intentionally be looking into it.
Portraits of people or individuals must not look overly posed and should display positive, warm expressions. Photos of objects should be simple and easily recognizable.
A white fade is applied to make the text pop out and blurr the edges of the photo used in the background.
We usually use an image of the event or other relevant image. A black and white filter is applied and transparency set to 40 percent is also applied.

Color Palette

Consistent use of our brand colors is one of the most fundamental and essential ways to build brand recognition, and a cohesive look across all visual applications that incorporates our identity.
Our branding colors have been formulated into two palettes -Primary and Secondary.
Primary The Primary Palette consists of the colors red (Pantone 7621C) and blue (Pantone 7546 C). In almost every instance the colors from this Primary Palette should be the dominant colors featured in any visual application of our branding colors. Please see sidebar for RGB, CKMY, and HEX color information.
Consistent use of our Texas-inspired primary colors helps build a stronger brand and also assists in gaining greater brand recognition.
Secondary The Secondary Palette consists of four colors which serve predominantly as accent colors to enhance the Primary Palette. Each color has its own unique function but is limited in its scope and use.
Never use secondary colors on their own or as the dominant color scheme of a communication piece.
Tints Primary and secondary colors can be expanded by creating screens or reduced percentages of a color commonly known as tints.
The use of this extended range of colors is limited and can only be applied to info-graphics or any other graphic representation of numerical data or statistics.
Each brand color includes three tints, made up of color values set at increments of 40 percent, 60 percent and 80 percent.
Do not alter or create additional tints of any primary or secondary colors.
The Primary Palette consists of the colors red (Pantone 7621C) and blue (Pantone 7546 C). PMS 7621 C C21-M99- Y95-K12 R178-G35-B41 #b22329 TINTS - 40%, 60%, 80% PMS 7546 C C86-M69- Y50-K46 R37-G55-B70 #253746 TINTS - 40%, 60%, 80%
The Secondary Palette consists of four colors: PMS 7579 C C7-M79- Y97-K1 R224-G89-B43 #e0592b TINTS - 40%, 60%, 80% PMS 123 C C0-M23- Y91-K0 R255-G199-B42 #ffc72a TINTS - 40%, 60%, 80% PMS Black C C67-M64- Y67-K67 R45-G42-B38 #2d2a26 TINTS - 40%, 60%, 80%
Sub-brand/Departments may require individual color palettes to ensure their materials are easily identifiable.
Downtown Hutto’s color palette consists primarily of Pantone 1955 C, with the secondary colors on the facing page.
Parks & Recreation’s color palette consists primarily of Pantone 5763 C, with the secondary colors on the facing page.
The Hutto Public Library color palette consists of Pantone 310 C and Pantone 631 C as primary colors, with the secondary colors on the facing page.
The Hutto Police Department palette consists of Pantone 7694 C and Pantone 7692 C as primary colors, with the secondary colors on the facing page.

Typography

ENZO is the primary typeface to be used on all visual communications. Its consistent use across all applications will create a uniformed look and feel and build stronger brand recognition with our viewers.
ENZO is the primary typeface to be used on all online communications. However, when the font can’t be used because is not available or compatible Helvetica must be used.
Helvetica is also the typeface used for the body on our official website.
Enzo is the primary typeface to be used on all posters and flyers. For a more legible and simplified look, the typeface’s use must be limited to only three different type sizes.
Headlines must appear in title case and can run over multiple lines, but not exceed a width of three columns unless design dictates otherwise. The headline must appear in a color chosen from the primary color palette.The typeface used for headlines is Enzo Black.
Sub-headlines must appear below the main title. The sub-headline must appear in a color chosen from the primary color palette. The typeface used for sub-headlines is Enzo bold.
The font used for the subtitles is Enzo Medium
Only colors from the primary color palette can be used.The font used for the body is Helvetica Regular.
For dates, time, and location Enzo Medium should be used too.
Enzo is the primary typeface to be used on all banners. For a more legible and simplified look, the typeface’s use must be limited to only three different type sizes.
Headlines must appear in title case and can run over multiple lines, but not exceed a width of two columns unless design dictates otherwise. The headline should appear in a color chosen from the primary color palette. Exceptions only with permission of the Executive Directors of Communications & Marketing.
Enzo is the primary typeface to be used on all social media graphics. For a more legible and simplified look, the typeface’s use must be limited to only 3 different type sizes. However, this does not include any disclaimers.
When displaying the address for the City of Hutto website, do not use the world wide web (www) prefix. Only display huttotx.gov in the primary typeface Enzo Meduim.
When displaying links to specific web pages on the City website other than the home page, only display links in the primary typeface, Enzo Light.
Using Enzo Light for the links will create contrast between the link and the home page addresses. This contrast will also reinforce huttotx.gov as the primary address.
Do not display links in an alternate color to the main huttotx.gov address.
The typeface included with the formal slide deck is to be used on all formal presentations.
The typeface included in the informal slide deck should be used, and all paragraphs should be in downstyle. Large blocks of all caps text are difficult to read and are visually muddy.

Logo Usage

The two-color positive combination mark is the preferred logo to be used in all City of Hutto communications wherever possible. This logo is the most recognizable visual element and is the foundation of our brand’s identity.
To ensure that its integrity is not compromised, no alterations should be made to any part of the logo’s form or structure.
Never redraw the logo or add visual effects/treatments/embellishments such as drop shadows. Never distort, stretch or reverse the logo or add additional text or graphic elements. The logo should always appear with a trademark symbol.
Only use approved scalable vector (.eps) digital files, which can be downloaded from P:\PIO\Branding. The City of Hutto will not recognize any reproductions of the City of Hutto logo that don’t comply with the visual standards specified in these guidelines.
When space is limited or if the design dictates, a secondary two-color minimark can be used.
Departments and other administrative units may not build their own companion logos. Request a companion logo huttocomm@huttotx.gov.
Clear Space: To ensure the logo is legible and clearly visible in all applications, the logo must be surrounded by a minimum-recommended amount of clear space. This breathing room prevents the logo from being visually cluttered and having to fight for attention with other graphic elements and typography.
The recommended minimum amount of clear space to always surround the logo is equivalent to the top part of the “T” in the City of Hutto word mark. (See Diagram).
Do not place any graphic elements inside this boundary. If possible and layout permitting, allow even more clear space for greater legibility.
Minimum Size: When reproducing the primary two-color positive City of Hutto logo and scaling it down to appear at a small size, a minimum size has been defined to avoid legibility issues and to maintain the logo’s integrity.
For print, the primary logo should not appear smaller than 1.25 inches (0.25mm) wide. For screen/pixels the primary logo must not appear smaller than 90 pixels wide.
The secondary logo must not appear smaller than 1.25 inches wide in print and 90 pixels on screen.

Tone And Messaging

Our visual identity is the most recognizable aspect of our brand. It is imperative that we maintain its integrity and deliver a consistent look and message across all visual communications.
The standards in this guide have been developed to ensure that a meaningful, proper, accurate and consistent use of our visual identity’s design elements are implemented across all mediums to preserve and protect the City of Hutto’s brand.
As we continue to grow, the ability to recognize a City of Hutto branded product immediately lends legitimacy and authority to our message, allowing us to better serve our residents by communicating quickly, clearly, and consistently.
All images and photographs selected to represent our brand must also have a consistent look and feel.
The City of Hutto Values – responsible, safe, authentic and progressive – describe how we expect all people to act while carrying out the work of the organization. A set of complementary values for the creative direction of photography or image selection has been developed to help clearly define the visual expectations for photography and to give photographers a set of guidelines to follow.
Inspiring Innovative Relatable Authentic Truthful Confident
Our photography should be able to resonate with everyone. Images should look candid, honest, welcoming and warm in tone. Lighting should always look and feel natural even if it is artifcially sourced.
The photography showcased must be an honest representation of our brand and the experience we promise to deliver. Images should capture real-life interactions between people and the technologies being used in the learning environment. Never use visuals that look unconvincing, obviously staged, contrived, cliché or overly photo-shopped and retouched.
Our brand and the experience we promise to deliver is truthful. This unique quality should be reflected in the way we visually tell our story. Our photography should never look generic or mimic industry trends. A photo journalistic style of photography that is modern, progressive and looks warm and natural, will help to differentiate City of Hutto visually from other cities and solidify our brand’s unique value.
Images should reflect a high level of confidence in our featured subjects. Subjects should always be portrayed as welcoming and assured.
The direction for our photography is to capture natural, candid, real-life moments of people or individuals looking engaged in their activities and learning environments. Their expressions and interactions should be positive, warm and welcoming. They should interact with the camera but never intentionally be looking into it.
All copy should adhere to the brand standard.

Brand Values

Our visual identity is not just a logo, it’s much more. It is a strategically crafted palette of visual expressions, photography, typography, iconography and colors that are blended together to reflect the City of Hutto’s personality, history, and values.
The City of Hutto Values – responsible, safe, authentic and progressive – describe how we expect all people to act while carrying out the work of the organization. A set of complementary values for the creative direction of photography or image selection has been developed to help clearly define the visual expectations for photography and to give photographers a set of guidelines to follow.
Inspiring Innovative Relatable Authentic Truthful Confident
Inspiring An iconic image can serve as a great source of inspiration. The images we use should be able to inspire on their own without the use of supporting type. This can be achieved by trying to capture photos “in the moment” and not staged.
Innovative Introduce a photo journalistic style of photography to help further differentiate ourselves visually. Photography should also look modern and progressive and have a premium quality feel to it. Shots should be composed using unique angles to give fresh, new perspectives. Wherever possible, locations should have a clear focus on the City of Hutto.
Relatable Our photography should be able to resonate with everyone. Images should look candid, honest, welcoming and warm in tone. Lighting should always look and feel natural even if it is artifcially sourced.
Authentic The photography showcased must be an honest representation of our brand and the experience we promise to deliver. Images should capture real-life interactions between people and the technologies being used in the learning environment. Never use visuals that look unconvincing, obviously staged, contrived, cliché or overly photo-shopped and retouched.
Truthful Our brand and the experience we promise to deliver is truthful. This unique quality should be reflected in the way we visually tell our story. Our photography should never look generic or mimic industry trends. A photo journalistic style of photography that is modern, progressive and looks warm and natural, will help to differentiate City of Hutto visually from other cities and solidify our brand’s unique value.
Confident Images should reflect a high level of confidence in our featured subjects. Subjects should always be portrayed as welcoming and assured.

Visual Style

Our visual identity is not just a logo, it’s much more. It is a strategically crafted palette of visual expressions, photography, typography, iconography and colors that are blended together to reflect the City of Hutto’s personality, history, and values.
Our visual identity is the most recognizable aspect of our brand. It is imperative that we maintain its integrity and deliver a consistent look and message across all visual communications.
The standards in this guide have been developed to ensure that a meaningful, proper, accurate and consistent use of our visual identity’s design elements are implemented across all mediums to preserve and protect the City of Hutto’s brand.
The two-color positive combination mark is the preferred logo to be used in all City of Hutto communications wherever possible. This logo is the most recognizable visual element and is the foundation of our brand’s identity.
To ensure that its integrity is not compromised, no alterations should be made to any part of the logo’s form or structure.
Never redraw the logo or add visual effects/treatments/embellishments such as drop shadows. Never distort, stretch or reverse the logo or add additional text or graphic elements. The logo should always appear with a trademark symbol.
Only use approved scalable vector (.eps) digital files, which can be downloaded from P:\PIO\Branding. The City of Hutto will not recognize any reproductions of the City of Hutto logo that don’t comply with the visual standards specified in these guidelines.
When space is limited or if the design dictates, a secondary two-color minimark can be used.
To ensure the logo is legible and clearly visible in all applications, the logo must be surrounded by a minimum-recommended amount of clear space. This breathing room prevents the logo from being visually cluttered and having to fight for attention with other graphic elements and typography.
The recommended minimum amount of clear space to always surround the logo is equivalent to the top part of the “T” in the City of Hutto word mark. (See Diagram).
Do not place any graphic elements inside this boundary. If possible and layout permitting, allow even more clear space for greater legibility.
When reproducing the primary two-color positive City of Hutto logo and scaling it down to appear at a small size, a minimum size has been defined to avoid legibility issues and to maintain the logo’s integrity.
For print, the primary logo should not appear smaller than 1.25 inches (0.25mm) wide. For screen/pixels the primary logo must not appear smaller than 90 pixels wide.
The secondary logo must not appear smaller than 1.25 inches wide in print and 90 pixels on screen.
Grey striped area indicates Safe Zone. Other graphical and visual elements can be safely positioned up to the adjoining Blue area.
Preferred Colors: Unless the design dictates otherwise or due to printing limitations or budget requirements, the primary logo should always be reproduced in its purest form, the two-color positive combination mark, preferably placed on a white background to ensure the highest amount of contrast.
Single Colors: If the design dictates or due to printing limitations, specifications or budget requirements; a single-color logo option is available. Color options are limited to the colors available in the approved primary and secondary color palettes according to usage guidelines.
Monochromatic: If the design dictates or due to printing limitations, specifications or budget requirements; a gray-scale 100-percent black option is available.
It is preferred that any variant of the City of Hutto logo be placed on a solid white background to ensure the maximum amount of contrast, visibility and legibility.
If the logo is to be placed on a solid colored background, the background color options are limited to the colors available in the approved primary and secondary color palettes with the logo reversed in white.
Only use colors from the approved palettes that produce a high level of contrast with the reversed logo.
Any variations from the standard must be pre-approved by the Executive Director of Marketing & Communications.
Refrain from using any variant of the logo mark on photographic or illustrated backgrounds.
If design absolutely dictates, logo variants can only appear on a section or portion of a photographic image or illustration providing that the logo is clearly visible, legible, free of visual clutter, interference and is not lost in the background image.
For optimal results, use the reversed logo on darker colored images and a high contrasting single-color positive version on lighter colored images. Place logo over an area that is clean, open and free of detail.
Consistent use of our brand colors is one of the most fundamental and essential ways to build brand recognition, and a cohesive look across all visual applications that incorporates our identity.
Our branding colors have been formulated into two palettes -Primary and Secondary.
The Primary Palette consists of the colors red (Pantone 7621C) and blue (Pantone 7546 C). In almost every instance the colors from this Primary Palette should be the dominant colors featured in any visual application of our branding colors. Please see sidebar for RGB, CKMY, and HEX color information.
The Secondary Palette consists of four colors which serve predominantly as accent colors to enhance the Primary Palette. Each color has its own unique function but is limited in its scope and use.
Never use secondary colors on their own or as the dominant color scheme of a communication piece.
Primary and secondary colors can be expanded by creating screens or reduced percentages of a color commonly known as tints.
The use of this extended range of colors is limited and can only be applied to info-graphics or any other graphic representation of numerical data or statistics.
Each brand color includes three tints, made up of color values set at increments of 40 percent, 60 percent and 80 percent.
Do not alter or create additional tints of any primary or secondary colors.

Iconography

Icons or pictograms are a simplistic, memorable and playful form of visual communication. They are easy to recognize and understand. Icons appear on almost every electronic consumer device, most notably as graphic user interfaces on smart phones and computers. Icons play a subtle part in our daily lives and are a valuable communication tool. In some instances, icons have become a visual extension of our vocabulary.
The City of Hutto’s visual identity features a unique set of icons that are clean, modern and simple using a flat design aesthetic and can be reproduced legibly at small sizes. From time to time, Marketing & Communications will add icons to our graphic elements.
It is preferred that the icon(s) be placed and appear positively on a solid white background to ensure the maximum amount of contrast, visibility and legibility. If the icon(s) is to be placed on a solid colored background, the background color options are limited to the colors available in the approved Primary and Secondary Palettes or with the icon(s) reversed in white. Only use colors from the approved palettes that produce an elevated level of contrast with the reversed icon(s).
Icons should never be altered or redrawn or feature embellishments such as drop shadows, embossing or any other visual effects or treatments. Only use one format of icons, solid or hollow in a communication piece. Refrain from mixing solid icons with hollow icons or vice-versa unless design dictates otherwise.
Our most recognizable set of icons are for the Magnificent 7, Website elements, and the minimark. Other icons must adhere to brand standards.
Iconography can also be used as an alternative design option. Use icons from the icons sets to achieve a minimalistic illustrative aesthetic.

Layout And Composition

To ensure that its integrity is not compromised, no alterations should be made to any part of the logo’s form or structure.
Never redraw the logo or add visual effects/treatments/embellishments such as drop shadows. Never distort, stretch or reverse the logo or add additional text or graphic elements. The logo should always appear with a trademark symbol.
Only use approved scalable vector (.eps) digital files, which can be downloaded from P:\PIO\Branding. The City of Hutto will not recognize any reproductions of the City of Hutto logo that don’t comply with the visual standards specified in these guidelines.
When space is limited or if the design dictates, a secondary two-color minimark can be used.
To ensure the logo is legible and clearly visible in all applications, the logo must be surrounded by a minimum-recommended amount of clear space. This breathing room prevents the logo from being visually cluttered and having to fight for attention with other graphic elements and typography.
The recommended minimum amount of clear space to always surround the logo is equivalent to the top part of the “T” in the City of Hutto word mark. (See Diagram).
Do not place any graphic elements inside this boundary. If possible and layout permitting, allow even more clear space for greater legibility.
When reproducing the primary two-color positive City of Hutto logo and scaling it down to appear at a small size, a minimum size has been defined to avoid legibility issues and to maintain the logo’s integrity.
For print, the primary logo should not appear smaller than 1.25 inches (0.25mm) wide. For screen/pixels the primary logo must not appear smaller than 90 pixels wide.
The secondary logo must not appear smaller than 1.25 inches wide in print and 90 pixels on screen.
Grey striped area indicates Safe Zone. Other graphical and visual elements can be safely positioned up to the adjoining Blue area.

Seal

The City of Hutto Seal is the official mark of the City which adds prestige and authenticity to official City communications.
The use of the seal is restricted and should only be used for formal City of Hutto business communications and ceremonial materials. It may not be used in any other instance without the written permission from the Executive Director of Communications & Marketing or City Manager’s Office.
The Seal must stand out from the background it is placed upon. The best general use is a black seal on a white background, but other colors may be used if the design dictates. If a color other than black is used, the City Seal must appear in one of the primary colors from the approved primary color palettes. Embossing or gold foil stamping are the only embellishments that can be used on the seal.
Clear space guidelines must be followed as with the primary logo of the City.

Videography

When planning digital content for City of Hutto’s website or social media, please contact Marketing and Communications for guidance and approval.
The following pages include technical specification information. If there are any questions regarding the requirements, specifications, or terms, please see the Marketing and Communications Staff. Intro and outro video files may be found on the Public drive, as follows: Public/PIO/Videos.
High-quality video products are important to relaying our message, and we have standardized the settings to ensure all video products look consistent across our brand.
The following file requirements and branding and content guidelines apply to all digital content production within City of Hutto.
Codec: H.264
Format: .mp4, .mov
Broadcast standard: NTSC
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Sizes: 1080p (1920x1080) or 720p (1280x720) 720 is great for most projects.
Frame rates should match source material. For example:
Content shot in 24fps should be encoded and uploaded at 24fps.
Content shot in 720p60, should be uploaded at 720p60
Content at 1080i 60, should be deinterlaced, going from 60 interlaced fields per second to 30 progressive frames per second before uploading.
Progressive scan (no interlacing)
Variable bitrate, multi-pass encoding
Titles should be no more than 25 characters, all lowercase, and should include the event, and version of the product. For example - jrs_groundbreaking_1
All videos should be encoded for streaming.
Use the City of Hutto name logo animation at the beginning and end of the video. Each animation contains sound effects and must be included on all video products.
The current intro and outro uses the former City of Hutto Logo and will be revised to reflect the brand guide.
Lower thirds should be in ENZO with the name of the person on top and the position in smaller font at the bottom. Text should be aligned to the right so there is space for the dept. logo or the city logo on the left. Bar and font colors should be selected from the City of Hutto color palette and complement the tone of the video.
In video and film, transition effects have meaning. As such, transition effects should be used sparingly.
When changing topics, a white fade is used to transition from one topic to another.
When making cuts that do not change topics, a simple dissolve transition should be used with no sound effect.
Motion graphics used on City-owned social media pages do not have to include the City’s intro but must have the minimark ghosted on the bottom corner of the video. The minimark may be placed on the left or right side, depending on the content of the graphic. Place the minimark where it can be clearly seen and is not obscured by movement or visual clutter in the graphic.
A transparency of 18% should be used with the minimark.
A motion graphic does not have to incorporate music, and must be less than 59 seconds in length. A motion graphic lasting longer than 59 seconds is considered a video, and video guidelines apply.
The minimum dimension for a Facebook cover video is 820x312. The video must be between 20 and 90 seconds. If the video does not fit these times, you will not be able to upload the cover video.
Cover videos should not include any kind of music or sound effect.
Every video must have music. It needs to be no more than 12% volume if someone is speaking. The track used can not be louder than the subject. When using a track a fade in and fade out must be used. There should never be a noticeable track cut between shots.
All music must be copyright free and we must own the right to use it. Use www.digitaljuice.com to find usable music for City projects. The tracks used need to be upbeat, energetic, and fun. If the video will be shared on Facebook only, music from the Facebook music library can be used.
All videos must include the City animation and an intro of a logo if possible. The music used in the video must not overlay the city’s introduction sound effects.
Sounds effects may be used with transitions between shots, and with the City of Hutto intro and outro.
When in doubt, less is more.

Business Cards

Business cards may be small, light and seem insignificant but they carry a lot of weight. A business card is sometimes a client or customer’s first interaction with our visual identity. Its design, print quality, finishing and paper stock conveys a lot about who we are and what we stand for. It’s a reflection of the City’s personality and values and It should make an impression!
To help build stronger brand recognition and to ensure a consistent look and feel across all visual communication pieces, one business card design with a back side graphic that shows where our City is in relation to the Texas growth triangle is designed.

Letterhead

As a municipal body, the City of Hutto letterhead contains elements not traditionally found on business letterhead. The letterhead must contain the current sitting City Council members, along with the City logo. The letterhead must not be altered or elements removed.
If appropriate to the situation, the letterhead should contain all the elements of a proper business letter.
The letterhead template uses standard 1" margins.
Alternate letterheads are available with sub-brand and department logos.

Posters And Flyers

Posters and flyers are a common, highly visible messaging tool for internal and external communications.
It is important that we deliver and maintain a consistent look and feel across all posters and flyers representing our brand.
Brand standards will be adhered to when developing flyers and posters to ensure a consistent look and feel for every flyer and poster generated. Communications is happy to help City departments develop a poster or flyer for events. Schedule time with the Communications department, at least six weeks prior to your event allowing time for design and the posters to reach their desired audience.
Second Background Image Depending on the event and design, a second background can be added with a transparency set to 20 percent.
Safe Area No text or photos go here
Photos may appear in gray-scale unless design dictates otherwise. Portraits of people or individuals must not look overly posed and should display positive, warm expressions.
A transparency set to 40% is used to make the text and information pop out more. A white fade is also applied.
A second background on the top can be added to add dimension with a transparency of 20%
Enzo is the primary typeface to be used on all posters and flyers. For a more legible and simplified look, the typeface’s use must be limited to only three different type sizes.
Headlines must appear in title case and can run over multiple lines, but not exceed a width of three columns unless design dictates otherwise. The headline must appear in a color chosen from the primary color palette.The typeface used for headlines is Enzo Black.
Sub-headlines must appear below the main title. The sub-headline must appear in a color chosen from the primary color palette. The typeface used for sub-headlines is Enzo bold.
The font used for the subtitles is Enzo Medium
Only colors from the primary color palette can be used.The font used for the body is Helvetica Regular.
For dates, time, and location Enzo Medium should be used too.
Poster and flyer content may vary from project to project, but less content makes for a more visually appealing design.
Templates are available for download on the City’s Canva account.
Depending on the event and the department, color can be added to the background images.
Sometimes the Library and Downtown have events that target children. In these cases an illustration and a more “playful” vibe can be used to get a message across.

Brochures And Rack Cards

Brochure Photography The direction for our photography is to illustrate business, professional elements such as property developments. When using people, the piece needs to capture natural, candid, real-life moments looking engaged in their activities and environments. Expressions and interactions should be positive, warm and welcoming. They should interact with the camera but never intentionally be looking into it.
Images should have a single concept and be focused on one subject. Details should be kept to a minimum and backgrounds should be free of clutter to provide for ample clean (negative) space.
Our photo journalistic style of photography should look modern and progressive and have a premium quality to it. Shots should be composed using unique angles to give fresh, new perspectives. Color treatments altering the dynamic range will provide a warm, relatable and authentic feel.
All brochures and rack cards will adhere to brand standards.

Presentation Slides

The City of Hutto has two approved presentation slide templates.
Presentations to City Council should use the formal PowerPoint presentation slide deck. This deck features the City Seal and a subdued color palette. The typeface included with the formal slide deck is to be used on all formal presentations.
Presentations on the City’s behalf, such as for Hutto Citizen’s University or in the lobby of City buildings, should use the informal PowerPoint slide deck. From time to time, the marketing and communications team will make new, brand-compliant versions of the City informal PowerPoint slide deck.
The typeface included in the informal slide deck should be used, and all paragraphs should be in downstyle. Large blocks of all caps text are difficult to read and are visually muddy.
Departments may use elements of design in their secondary approved color palettes but the primary colors should be recognizable across all departments.
To keep your presentation on-brand and consistent with our visual identity, use approved images from our photography library and icons from our icon sets.
All PowerPoint slides should adhere to the brand standard.

Identity Badges

Logo on Name Tag The primary logo must be used on the name tag.
Clear Space The logo must be surrounded by a minimum recommended amount of clear space.
Minimum Size The logo must not appear smaller than 1.25 inches (0.25mm) wide.
Name I.D. Badge Templates for Name I.D. badges can only be accessed and used by authorized staff.
All badges, name tags, and name plates will adhere to brand standards.

Signage

Unless the design dictates otherwise or due to printing limitations, directional signs should always be produced using the two colors from the primary color palette.
Signage should always be placed on a white background to ensure the highest amount of contrast and visibility when viewed from the road.
Directional signs for formal City events, such as a grand opening, may feature an additional color from the approved secondary color palette.
Only directional signs for singularly important City of Hutto events may feature the name of the event on the sign. In all other instances, event names will not be featured on the directional signage to be fiscally responsible.
Signs placed by the City of Hutto to direct visitors to local businesses should feature the City logo at the top.
Accent colors should be drawn from the primary palette. Business logos should be simplified for easy readability and should not detract from the overall sign design.
All signs placed in public rights of way should adhere to brand guide standards.
Vehicle decals and permanent signage will use the Primary Logo in the preferred colors Pantone 7621 C & Pantone 7546 C.
All vehicle logos and decals will conform to brand guide standards over time.

Electronic Invitations

The electronic invitation takes design cues from the posters and flyers discussed previously in this style guide, but if the concept or design dictates, corporate style portraits can be used. Portraits must meet our visual guidelines for photographic portraits.
Typography must be clearly visible, legible, free of visual clutter, interference and not get lost in the background image. A prominent level of contrast must be present. For optimal results, use reversed type on darker colored images and a high contrasting darker colored type on lighter colored images.
Iconography can also be used as an alternative design option. Use icons from the icons sets to achieve a minimalistic illustrative aesthetic.
All invitations shall adhere to brand guidelines.

Vehicle Decals

The City of Hutto’s visual identity also extends to City of Hutto vehicles, which should be considered rolling billboards. Using the City’s logo on City vehicles immediately identifies those vehicles as official City property.
Presenting the logo in a consistent style across all media affords the City of Hutto the opportunity to unify its image among a variety of audiences-residents, visitors, our own employees and the world at large. Vehicle decals and permanent signage will use the Primary Logo in the preferred colors Pantone 7621 C & Pantone 7546 C.
All vehicle logos and decals will conform to brand guide standards over time.