King County Metro Transit Department

Official Websites

• https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/metro
• https://metro.kingcounty.gov
• https://kingcounty.gov/tripplanner
• http://www.kingcounty.gov

Brand Guidelines

2019

Categories

Brand Voice

• Talking points should include reliability and accessibility in the system. It should feel universal, yet leave room for local pride.
• Reliable, accessible, and universal. Local and public.
• Organized and well-run.

Brand Imagery

• Our use of imagery is a celebration of King County that everyone can relate to, including both the urban and natural environments unique to the county.
• Images allow us to use aspects and strengths of the county as pattern. Images may not have a clear focal point, but are singular in content that remains generally consistent in density across the whole image.
• Images are always used full bleed, and each image should be the only one in its context. Strong graphic elements can disrupt the image (see posters and timetable brochures), but the content of the image should remain clear.

Color Palette

• To preserve a strong consistency across all applications, the color palette is limited and specific. The combination of our primary colors is the most crucial language of our branding.
• Navy Pantone: 2767C CMYK: 100 82 43 47 RGB: 22 41 68 HEX: 162944
• Orange Pantone: 1505C CMYK: 0 72 100 0 RGB: 235 89 9 HEX: EB6209
• Light gray Pantone: 7443C CMYK: 12 8 9 0 RGB: 230 229 229 HEX: E6E5E5
• White Pantone: Bright white CMYK: 0 0 0 0 RGB: 255 255 255 HEX: FFFFFF
• The logo in any form is only set in either orange, navy, (see color section for more details) or white in order to create familiarity with the logo among the King County population.
• Like the logos, icons are only used filled with solid color in either navy, orange, or white.
• Limiting color to the two cores and white allows Metro wayfinding to be spotted quickly.
• The defining characteristic of the exterior is the focus on the limited palette of navy and orange, with a highlight of orange on the top for visibility.

Typography

• Lato Regular Lato Bold Lato Bold
• AaBbCc AaBbCc AaBbCc
• 0123 0123 0123
• Lato, a humanist sans serif, captures the human-centered services we provide while maintaining readability and a sense of reliability. Keeping type limited to a single typeface reinforces our brand language in every usage.
• Lato Regular
• AaBbCc 0123
• abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
• ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
• 0123456789
• Lato Bold
• AaBbCc
• 0123
• abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
• Lato Black
• The logo type, set in Lato Regular, is flexible in its layout. Preferably listed in three lines, it can also be displayed all on one line. When on three lines, the logo is placed with a close edge to its left. The logotype is never used without the logomark in an application, but can be featured separately from it.

Logo Usage

• The logo type, set in Lato Regular, is flexible in its layout. Preferably listed in three lines, it can also be displayed all on one line. When on three lines, the logo is placed with a close edge to its left. The logotype is never used without the logomark in an application, but can be featured separately from it.
• The logo in any form is only set in either orange, navy, (see color section for more details) or white in order to create familiarity with the logo among the King County population. In some cases, the logomark can cropped and used in experimental ways (see posters). In these settings, the logomark in full and in one of the three colors specified is also featured.
• The space between the logomark and logotype is measured with the width of the metro ‘M’ between the ‘band’ of the crown and the rightmost side of ‘Metro’.
• For the lockup, logomark, and logotype, the clear-space (minimum space allowance around the element) is based on an element within an element in the mark. For the lockup and logomark, double the height of the logomark’s ‘band’ of the crown. For the logotype, (since there is no crown band), the ‘M’is used.
• To ensure legibility, smallest size the lockup should ever be is a 0.5" / 36px in height.

Tone And Messaging

• Talking points should include reliability and accessibility in the system. It should feel universal, yet leave room for local pride.
• Reliable, accessible, and universal. Local and public.
• Organized and well-run.

Brand Values

• Talking points should include reliability and accessibility in the system. It should feel universal, yet leave room for local pride.
• Reliable, accessible, and universal. Local and public.
• Organized and well-run.

Visual Style

• The logo in any form is only set in either orange, navy, (see color section for more details) or white in order to create familiarity with the logo among the King County population.
• In some cases, the logomark can cropped and used in experimental ways (see posters). In these settings, the logomark in full and in one of the three colors specified is also featured.
• The space between the logomark and logotype is measured with the width of the metro ‘M’ between the ‘band’ of the crown and the rightmost side of ‘Metro’.
• For the lockup, logomark, and logotype, the clear-space (minimum space allowance around the element) is based on an element within an element in the mark. For the lockup and logomark, double the height of the logomark’s ‘band’ of the crown. For the logotype, (since there is no crown band), the ‘M’is used.
• To ensure legibility, smallest size the lockup should ever be is a 0.5" / 36px in height.
• To preserve a strong consistency across all applications, the color palette is limited and specific. The combination of our primary colors is the most crucial language of our branding.
• Navy Pantone 2767C CMYK 100 82 43 47 RGB 22 41 68 HEX 162944
• Orange Pantone 1505C CMYK 0 72 100 0 RGB 235 89 9 HEX EB6209
• Light gray Pantone 7443C CMYK 12 8 9 0 RGB 230 229 229 HEX E6E5E5
• White Pantone Bright white CMYK 0 0 0 0 RGB 255 255 255 HEX FFFFFF
• Lato, a humanist sans serif, captures the human-centered services we provide while maintaining readability and a sense of reliability. Keeping type limited to a single typeface reinforces our brand language in every usage.
• Consistent and clear iconography is key to any successful to any brand that relies on wayfmding. Given that King County Metro’s largest transportation services are in the form of buses and the Link Lightrail, these have been created side­by-side to not only be consistent with each other but with the logo itself.
• Like the logos, icons are only used filled with solid color in either navy, orange, or white.
• Images allow us to use aspects and strengths of the county as pattern. Images may not have a clear focal point, but are singular in content that remains generally consistent in density across the whole image.
• Images are always used full bleed, and each image should be the only one in its context. Strong graphic elements can disrupt the image (see posters and timetable brochures), but the content of the image should remain clear.
• Limiting color to the two cores and white allows Metro wayfinding to be spotted quickly. Clear hierarchy is key in a successful bus stop. Here, the icons showing the mode of transport stay high in the hierarchy. Be choosy with what to show, with any details not immediately necessary (e.g. bus stop number) reduced in size and type weight.
• The defining characteristic of the exterior is the focus on the limited palette of navy and orange, with a highlight of orange on the top for visibility.

Iconography

• Consistent and clear iconography is key to any successful to any brand that relies on wayfmding. Given that King County Metro’s largest transportation services are in the form of buses and the Link Lightrail, these have been created side­by-side to not only be consistent with each other but with the logo itself.
• Like the logos, icons are only used filled with solid color in either navy, orange, or white.

Layout And Composition

• The logo type, set in Lato Regular, is flexible in its layout. Preferably listed in three lines, it can also be displayed all on one line. When on three lines, the logo is placed with a close edge to its left. The logotype is never used without the logomark in an application, but can be featured separately from it.
• The space between the logomark and logotype is measured with the width of the metro ‘M’ between the ‘band’ of the crown and the rightmost side of ‘Metro’.
• For the lockup, logomark, and logotype, the clear-space (minimum space allowance around the element) is based on an element within an element in the mark. For the lockup and logomark, double the height of the logomark’s ‘band’ of the crown. For the logotype, (since there is no crown band), the ‘M’is used.
• To ensure legibility, smallest size the lockup should ever be is a 0.5" / 36px in height.

Stationery Design

• A minimalist application that showcases the essentials of our brand language.

Posters Guidelines

• The poster series encourage King County residents to feel a sense of pride not only of their bus system, but of their county. The posters suggest outings in public spaces, so act as a CTA to use the metro system.

Wayfinding Guidelines

• Consistent and clear iconography is key to any successful to any brand that relies on wayfmding. Given that King County Metro’s largest transportation services are in the form of buses and the Link Lightrail, these have been created side­by-side to not only be consistent with each other but with the logo itself.
• Like the logos, icons are only used filled with solid color in either navy, orange, or white.
• Limiting color to the two cores and white allows Metro wayfinding to be spotted quickly. Clear hierarchy is key in a successful bus stop. Here, the icons showing the mode of transport stay high in the hierarchy. Be choosy with what to show, with any details not immediately necessary (e.g. bus stop number) reduced in size and type weight.

Bus Exterior Guidelines

• The defining characteristic of the exterior is the focus on the limited palette of navy and orange, with a highlight of orange on the top for visibility.

Timetable Design

• Printed pamphlets that makes timetable information accessible, and also celebrates the uniqueness of each route.
• The photographic background (following imagery style on page 9) of each pamphlet features a sight along that route. The imagery acts to differentiate each route conceptually, and each timetable pamphlet.
• Commonly, many timetables are shown all together in spaces from grocery stores, information centers, and in the buses themselves.

Website Guidelines

• Images allow us to use aspects and strengths of the county as pattern. Images may not have a clear focal point, but are singular in content that remains generally consistent in density across the whole image.
• Images are always used full bleed, and each image should be the only one in its context. Strong graphic elements can disrupt the image (see posters and timetable brochures), but the content of the image should remain clear.

Id Badge Guidelines

• A large and personal image of the employee is not only easier for identification, but also makes the item more personal to the individual.

Additional Properties