Ogilvy Typography

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Public relations Marketing advertising Consulting

Region

Guideline Year

Language

Tags

Official Websites

https://www.ogilvy.com

Brand Guidelines

2018

Brand Summary

Mission

Founded on words, Ogilvy is naturally a heavily typographic brand. It is crucial that Ogilvy speaks in a visually distinct voice, emphasizing clarity, legibility, and typographic excellence in all brand communications [^1].

Core Values

clarity
legibility
consistency
visual distinction

Target Audience

Internal staff, vendors, and external audiences who interact with Ogilvy’s brand communications, including clients and partners requiring marketing or production services [^2].

Personality Traits

typographic
distinctive
professional
modern
structured

Visual Identity Overview

Ogilvy’s visual identity is built around custom typefaces (Ogilvy Sans and Ogilvy Serif) designed to be interchangeable and consistent across applications. The brand emphasizes proportional, structural, and stylistic similarities, with detailed guidance on weights, styles, numerals, ligatures, and layout. Typography is the core of the visual style, supported by strict rules for font usage, spacing, and layout grids [^3].

Categories

Typography

There are two Ogilvy type families: Ogilvy Sans and Ogilvy Serif. They were designed with proportional, structural and stylistic similarities to work as a matching set. Consequently they occupy roughly the same amount of space and can be used interchangeably without harming a layout design.
The typefaces are found in the Identity Library on the Intranet. They should be made available to all staff and vendors (when necessary). These fonts supersede any pre-existing Ogilvy brand fonts and should be used for all internal and external brand applications.
These fonts are not to be freely distributed or shared outside the company except with vendors who need them for Ogilvy-specific marketing or production services. Consult the legal documentation for full distribution and licensing information.
The capitals in the serif version are wider compared to the sans serif due mainly to the accumulating horizontal space occupied by the serifs. This will only be an issue when switching between different styles of all-cap settings.
The lowercase is identical in width. Fortunately most typography is in lowercase, so last-minute stylistic decisions will not present the designer with major typesetting obstacles.
The numerals are different, however, and there are three sets of serif numerals used in different circumstances, explained later in this section. The default settings for serif numerals are slightly narrower. They are even narrower in the preferred setting (proportional oldstyle).
Width differences in numerals and strings of caps can be compensated for by adjusting the letterspacing. Do not adjust the letterspacing on strings of caps.
True italics, therefore, are not the slanted version of a roman typeface ( which would be called a sloped roman). They are an entirely different style of alphabet mimicking 15th and 16th century handwriting. By this definition Ogilvy Serif has a true italic companion, while Ogilvy Sans has a sloped roman companion. However the type styles are both referred to as italic.
The most important thing to remember about italics is that they are not defined by their slantedness (called slope). In fact, there are numerous examples of italics that have no slope at all, sometimes called upright italics. The slope can vary greatly, from 0˚ (upright) to more than 20˚ (a distinct and obvious lean). The slope is thus the degree to which the upright letters are tilt in italics.
Ogilvy Serif has a slope of 22˚, Ogilvy Sans has a slope of 17˚. This will come in handy if at some point something must be angled to match the italics.
There are six different ampersands: & Default serif ampersand & Default serif italic ampersand & Alternate ampersand (1) & Alternate ampersand (2) & Default sans ampersand & Default sans italic ampersand
The ampersand is a matter of personal choice. The alternates are preferred when possible, though not always necessary. They simply look better.
The weight, body size, extenders, and sidebearings are so close in design that the two typefaces can be exchanged almost letter for letter in text without harming legibility or the gray value of the page.
Ogilvy Sans is available in three weights: Light, Regular, and Bold; each has a companion italic.
Light can be used for large text.
Regular is for all general text applications.
Bold is for headers and subheaders.
Ogilvy Sans has two sets of numerals.
Proportional Lining: These are the default numerals. They are proportioned to the capitals and are intended to be used with them, or on their own, e.g. for page numbers or in text. They also have proportional spacing.
Tabular Lining: These are the same numerals as the Proportional Lining figures but are set to be monospaced. They should be used only for setting numbers in tables and columns.
When setting headlines in Ogilvy Sans Light, use the following settings for consistency. Differences between Light and Regular headline settings are highlighted below in Ogilvy Red: Typeface Ogilvy Sans Light Type Size Same value as leading Leading Same value as type size Tracking –10 Word spacing 90% Kerning Optical
When setting headlines in Ogilvy Sans Regular, use the following settings for consistency. Differences between Light and Regular headline settings are highlighted below in Ogilvy Red: Typeface Ogilvy Sans Regular Type Size Same value as leading Leading Same value as type size Tracking –15 Word spacing 85% Kerning Optical
Ogilvy Serif is available in three weights: Light, Regular, and Bold; and each has a companion italic.
Ogilvy Serif has three sets of numerals.
Proportional Oldstyle: Also called text figures. These numerals match the lowercase, with matching extenders and x-height. They have proportional spacing and are the preferred numerals for text.
Proportional Lining: These are the default numerals. They are proportioned to the capitals and are intended to be used with them, or on their own, e.g. for page numbers. They also have proportional spacing.
When setting headlines in Ogilvy Serif Light, use the following settings for consistency. Differences between Light and Regular headline settings are highlighted below in Ogilvy Red: Typeface Ogilvy Serif Regular Type Size Same value as leading Leading Same value as type size Tracking –15 Word spacing 65% Kerning Optical
When setting headlines in Ogilvy Serif Regular, use the following settings for consistency. Differences between Light and Regular headline settings are highlighted below in Ogilvy Red: Typeface Ogilvy Serif Regular Type Size Same value as leading Leading Same value as type size Tracking –10 Word spacing 75% Kerning Optical
Leading in Ogilvy Serif and Sans is the same. The default leading of 20% – standard on all design programs – is perfectly suited to the Ogilvy brand typefaces.
The leading for both Sans and Serif in text should usually be the default setting of 20%. Therefore 10pt type will have 12pt leading, 20pt type will have 24pt leading, and 30pt type will have 36pt leading.
When used for signage, headlines, stationery, and digital applications the leading can be adjusted as needed. Larger type needs tighter leading (up to the same value as the type size), whereas a mobile app will need looser leading for better legibility while scrolling. Text must be legible above all; adjust accordingly.
Wordspacing is often overlooked, though it is equal in importance to leading. As leading holds the lines of a paragraph together vertically, so wordspacing holds words together horizontally. The space between words should always be visibly smaller than the space between lines so as to hold the paragraph together as bricks hold together a wall.
Therefore, default wordspacing should always be set to: Minimum 65 Desired 85 Maximum 100
The exception is with larger sizes, where wordspacing should be tightened as needed. Wordspacing is found under the Options tab of the Paragraph panel, under Justification…
Strings of capital letters should be letterspaced at the designer’s discretion. Kerning should not be attempted except for display or headline text, and even then only by an experienced designer.
Paragraphs should always be set ragged left. Paragraphs should not be force-justified, as this is a method of typesetting which requires special handling. They should likewise neither be set right-justified (except for page numbers or page headers on facing pages) nor center-justified, except as described on the next page. Setting extended text any way other than ragged left is strongly discouraged as it makes text much harder to read.
A typical paragraph has between 50 and 75 characters per line. The average length of a word in English is six letters. Therefore a paragraph typically has between 6 and 12 words per line. A measure for extended reading, such as in a book, has an ideal character count of 66 characters per line.
Typefaces and styles can be mixed and matched for greater variety.
Margins – the spaces between the edge of the page and the live area – are not defined by a precise system. Rather, they are eyeballed. Simply put, very large and very small margins are to be avoided. Instead, take the Goldilocks Approach: not enough, too much, just right.
Grids are always even numbered. The number of columns is always 2, 4, 6, or 12. Not all columns need to be used. Two and four column grids are basic grids used for simple applications, like posters and documents. Six and twelve column grids are for advanced applications, used for complex typography, such as publications and presentations.
Times, which is a system font available universally on all computers, is a good substitute for Ogilvy Serif – the proportions are similar, but Times takes up less space.
Arial is another universal system font that can be used when Ogilvy Sans is unavailable. Arial takes up almost exactly the same amount of space.
Font substitution is for general internal use in a pinch by employees for emails, internal newsletters, internal presentations, digital applications and other routine concerns. For example, substitute fonts should be used when sending a live PowerPoint or Keynote file to a client. Another option is to save the document as a PDF which will preserve the Ogilvy fonts. The substitute fonts are close enough when needed.
The substitute fonts are never, ever to be used for any official marketing, investor relations, press releases, or for anything else that anyone outside the company might see. In other words: neither for anything of importance to the outside world, nor for anything professionally printed.
Ogilvy Serif and Sans provide for comprehensive coverage of most languages using the Roman alphabet. Most European languages are well-represented.
When a language is not supported by the Ogilvy typefaces, use Arial Unicode for Ogilvy Sans and Times New Roman OS for Ogilvy Serif. These are the two largest and most common fonts in existence, and are very likely installed by default on every device on the planet.
For alphabets using Chinese, Japanese, Korean or other writing systems using logographic alphabets, please use the most visually similar serif or sans-serif font available in the language used. We recommend Google Noto fonts, which come in both serif and sans-serif.
Never do any of the things shown on this page to type. 1. Don’t squish or compress type 2. Don’t center paragraphs 3. Don’t force justify paragraphs 4. Don’t set bold paragraphs 5. Don’t stack type 6. Don’t use the wrong serif typeface 7. Don’t use the wrong sans typeface 8. Don’t use the really wrong typeface 9. Don’t misuse exclamation marks 10. Do not set type in unreadable colors

Visual Style

There are two Ogilvy type families: Ogilvy Sans and Ogilvy Serif. They were designed with proportional, structural and stylistic similarities to work as a matching set. Consequently they occupy roughly the same amount of space and can be used interchangeably without harming a layout design.
These fonts supersede any pre-existing Ogilvy brand fonts and should be used for all internal and external brand applications.
These fonts are not to be freely distributed or shared outside the company except with vendors who need them for Ogilvy-specific marketing or production services.
The two typefaces occupy slightly different amounts of horizontal space, though the vertical space is identical.
The capitals in the serif version are wider compared to the sans serif due mainly to the accumulating horizontal space occupied by the serifs. This will only be an issue when switching between different styles of all-cap settings.
The lowercase is identical in width. Fortunately most typography is in lowercase, so last-minute stylistic decisions will not present the designer with major typesetting obstacles.
The numerals are different, however, and there are three sets of serif numerals used in different circumstances, explained later in this section. The default settings for serif numerals are slightly narrower. They are even narrower in the preferred setting (proportional oldstyle).
Width differences in numerals and strings of caps can be compensated for by adjusting the letterspacing. Do not adjust the letterspacing on strings of caps.
Ogilvy Serif has a slope of 22˚, Ogilvy Sans has a slope of 17˚. This will come in handy if at some point something must be angled to match the italics.
There are six different ampersands: & Default serif ampersand & Default serif italic ampersand & Alternate ampersand (1) & Alternate ampersand (2) & Default sans ampersand & Default sans italic ampersand
The alternates are preferred when possible, though not always necessary. They simply look better.
The weight, body size, extenders, and sidebearings are so close in design that the two typefaces can be exchanged almost letter for letter in text without harming legibility or the gray value of the page.
Ogilvy Sans is available in three weights: Light, Regular, and Bold; each has a companion italic.
Light can be used for large text.
Regular is for all general text applications.
Bold is for headers and subheaders.
Ogilvy Sans has two sets of numerals.
Proportional Lining: These are the default numerals. They are proportioned to the capitals and are intended to be used with them, or on their own, e.g. for page numbers or in text. They also have proportional spacing.
Tabular Lining: These are the same numerals as the Proportional Lining figures but are set to be monospaced. They should be used only for setting numbers in tables and columns.
The numeral 1 has two variations: one with a wide foot and one with no foot. The wide foot allows the 1 to occupy the same width as the other numbers so when arranged in columns the numbers are lined up vertically.
When setting headlines in Ogilvy Sans Light, use the following settings for consistency. Differences between Light and Regular headline settings are highlighted below in Ogilvy Red: Typeface Ogilvy Sans Light Type Size Same value as leading Leading Same value as type size Tracking –10 Word spacing 90% Kerning Optical
When setting headlines in Ogilvy Sans Regular, use the following settings for consistency. Differences between Light and Regular headline settings are highlighted below in Ogilvy Red: Typeface Ogilvy Sans Regular Type Size Same value as leading Leading Same value as type size Tracking –15 Word spacing 85% Kerning Optical
Ogilvy Serif is available in three weights: Light, Regular, and Bold; and each has a companion italic.
Ogilvy Serif has three sets of numerals.
Proportional Oldstyle: Also called text figures. These numerals match the lowercase, with matching extenders and x-height. They have proportional spacing and are the preferred numerals for text.
Proportional Lining: These are the default numerals. They are proportioned to the capitals and are intended to be used with them, or on their own, e.g. for page numbers. They also have proportional spacing.
When setting headlines in Ogilvy Serif Light, use the following settings for consistency. Differences between Light and Regular headline settings are highlighted below in Ogilvy Red: Typeface Ogilvy Serif Regular Type Size Same value as leading Leading Same value as type size Tracking –15 Word spacing 65% Kerning Optical
When setting headlines in Ogilvy Serif Regular, use the following settings for consistency. Differences between Light and Regular headline settings are highlighted below in Ogilvy Red: Typeface Ogilvy Serif Regular Type Size Same value as leading Leading Same value as type size Tracking –10 Word spacing 75% Kerning Optical
Leading in Ogilvy Serif and Sans is the same. The default leading of 20% – standard on all design programs – is perfectly suited to the Ogilvy brand typefaces.
The leading for both Sans and Serif in text should usually be the default setting of 20%. Therefore 10pt type will have 12pt leading, 20pt type will have 24pt leading, and 30pt type will have 36pt leading.
When used for signage, headlines, stationery, and digital applications the leading can be adjusted as needed. Larger type needs tighter leading (up to the same value as the type size), whereas a mobile app will need looser leading for better legibility while scrolling. Text must be legible above all; adjust accordingly.
Wordspacing is often overlooked, though it is equal in importance to leading. As leading holds the lines of a paragraph together vertically, so wordspacing holds words together horizontally. The space between words should always be visibly smaller than the space between lines so as to hold the paragraph together as bricks hold together a wall.
Therefore, default wordspacing should always be set to: Minimum 65 Desired 85 Maximum 100
Strings of capital letters should be letterspaced at the designer’s discretion. Kerning should not be attempted except for display or headline text, and even then only by an experienced designer.
Paragraphs should always be set ragged left. Paragraphs should not be force-justified, as this is a method of typesetting which requires special handling. They should likewise neither be set right-justified (except for page numbers or page headers on facing pages) nor center-justified, except as described on the next page. Setting extended text any way other than ragged left is strongly discouraged as it makes text much harder to read.
A typical paragraph has between 50 and 75 characters per line. The average length of a word in English is six letters. Therefore a paragraph typically has between 6 and 12 words per line. A measure for extended reading, such as in a book, has an ideal character count of 66 characters per line.
Grids are always even numbered. The number of columns is always 2, 4, 6, or 12. Not all columns need to be used. Two and four column grids are basic grids used for simple applications, like posters and documents. Six and twelve column grids are for advanced applications, used for complex typography, such as publications and presentations.
Times, which is a system font available universally on all computers, is a good substitute for Ogilvy Serif – the proportions are similar, but Times takes up less space.
Arial is another universal system font that can be used when Ogilvy Sans is unavailable. Arial takes up almost exactly the same amount of space.
Font substitution is for general internal use in a pinch by employees for emails, internal newsletters, internal presentations, digital applications and other routine concerns. For example, substitute fonts should be used when sending a live PowerPoint or Keynote file to a client. Another option is to save the document as a PDF which will preserve the Ogilvy fonts. The substitute fonts are close enough when needed.
The substitute fonts are never, ever to be used for any official marketing, investor relations, press releases, or for anything else that anyone outside the company might see. In other words: neither for anything of importance to the outside world, nor for anything professionally printed.
Never do any of the things shown on this page to type. 1. Don’t squish or compress type 2. Don’t center paragraphs 3. Don’t force justify paragraphs 4. Don’t set bold paragraphs 5. Don’t stack type 6. Don’t use the wrong serif typeface 7. Don’t use the wrong sans typeface 8. Don’t use the really wrong typeface 9. Don’t misuse exclamation marks 10. Do not set type in unreadable colors

Layout And Composition

Consequently they occupy roughly the same amount of space and can be used interchangeably without harming a layout design.
Width differences in numerals and strings of caps can be compensated for by adjusting the letterspacing. Do not adjust the letterspacing on strings of caps.
When setting headlines in Ogilvy Sans Light, use the following settings for consistency. Differences between Light and Regular headline settings are highlighted below in Ogilvy Red: Typeface Ogilvy Sans Light Type Size Same value as leading Leading Same value as type size Tracking –10 Word spacing 90% Kerning Optical
When setting headlines in Ogilvy Sans Regular, use the following settings for consistency. Differences between Light and Regular headline settings are highlighted below in Ogilvy Red: Typeface Ogilvy Sans Regular Type Size Same value as leading Leading Same value as type size Tracking –15 Word spacing 85% Kerning Optical
When setting headlines in Ogilvy Serif Light, use the following settings for consistency. Differences between Light and Regular headline settings are highlighted below in Ogilvy Red: Typeface Ogilvy Serif Regular Type Size Same value as leading Leading Same value as type size Tracking –15 Word spacing 65% Kerning Optical
When setting headlines in Ogilvy Serif Regular, use the following settings for consistency. Differences between Light and Regular headline settings are highlighted below in Ogilvy Red: Typeface Ogilvy Serif Regular Type Size Same value as leading Leading Same value as type size Tracking –10 Word spacing 75% Kerning Optical
Leading in Ogilvy Serif and Sans is the same. The default leading of 20% – standard on all design programs – is perfectly suited to the Ogilvy brand typefaces.
The leading for both Sans and Serif in text should usually be the default setting of 20%. Therefore 10pt type will have 12pt leading, 20pt type will have 24pt leading, and 30pt type will have 36pt leading.
When used for signage, headlines, stationery, and digital applications the leading can be adjusted as needed. Larger type needs tighter leading (up to the same value as the type size), whereas a mobile app will need looser leading for better legibility while scrolling. Text must be legible above all; adjust accordingly.
Wordspacing is often overlooked, though it is equal in importance to leading. As leading holds the lines of a paragraph together vertically, so wordspacing holds words together horizontally. The space between words should always be visibly smaller than the space between lines so as to hold the paragraph together as bricks hold together a wall.
Therefore, default wordspacing should always be set to: Minimum 65 Desired 85 Maximum 100
Strings of capital letters should be letterspaced at the designer’s discretion. Kerning should not be attempted except for display or headline text, and even then only by an experienced designer.
Paragraphs should always be set ragged left. Paragraphs should not be force-justified, as this is a method of typesetting which requires special handling. They should likewise neither be set right-justified (except for page numbers or page headers on facing pages) nor center-justified, except as described on the next page. Setting extended text any way other than ragged left is strongly discouraged as it makes text much harder to read.
A typical paragraph has between 50 and 75 characters per line. The average length of a word in English is six letters. Therefore a paragraph typically has between 6 and 12 words per line. A measure for extended reading, such as in a book, has an ideal character count of 66 characters per line. A very narrow measure in a margin note or a narrow magazine column can have as few as 15 or 20 characters per line.
Stick to the 50–75 rule, avoid silly words, don’t fill entire pages with single columns, and you’ll be golden.
Margins – the spaces between the edge of the page and the live area – are not defined by a precise system. Rather, they are eyeballed. Simply put, very large and very small margins are to be avoided. Instead, take the Goldilocks Approach: not enough, too much, just right.
Grids are always even numbered. The number of columns is always 2, 4, 6, or 12. Not all columns need to be used. Two and four column grids are basic grids used for simple applications, like posters and documents. Six and twelve column grids are for advanced applications, used for complex typography, such as publications and presentations.
Never do any of the things shown on this page to type. 1. Don’t squish or compress type 2. Don’t center paragraphs 3. Don’t force justify paragraphs 4. Don’t set bold paragraphs 5. Don’t stack type 6. Don’t use the wrong serif typeface 7. Don’t use the wrong sans typeface 8. Don’t use the really wrong typeface 9. Don’t misuse exclamation marks 10. Do not set type in unreadable colors