School Branding

[Stuart_C]

A little while ago we revamped our website, updated our school logo and had a document produced detailing the school branding guidelines. Detailed enough to give the college a consistant look and feel but with enough slack to allow dept's to show their individuality.

 

So I was intregued at the last parents evening for out 5th form to make them think about their A-level choices to notice how many people totally ignored them.

 

So I was wondering does your school have branding guildeines for all "public" documents and are the followed/enforced and events (like parents evening and presentations)?

[webman]

We have branding, and most official things are done in that style - leaflets, letterhead, prospectus, that sort of thing.

 

Some departments will slap the school logo on their own stuff and maybe use the closest colours they can find in the Word colour selector, but that's about it. Other departments will just not think, and use garish blue and red colours (or lime green) with Comic Sans text in conjunction with a badly-stretched logo.

[AngryTechnician]

In my last school, branding changes were mandatory, but routinely ignored. This was simply because people were too lazy to implement them. Much easier to just take the letter you wrote last time and replace the text.

 

It's like necromancy for Word documents. Even in my current school, where a branded school letterhead Word template sits in the root of the Staff shared drive, I've seen documents supposedly written in the last 2 weeks that on investigation actually started out life more than 15 years ago as Word 6.0 files.

 

Unless SMT are willing to enforce it by disciplining staff who fail to follow simple instructions, there will always be people who can't be bothered.

[localzuk]

We don't have branding guidelines, no matter how much I try to get the bosses to implement them. So, we have letters going out in Comic Sans, Times New Roman, Verdana, Arial and a bunch of other fonts.

 

Our headed paper uses our old logo, and our website uses our new logo etc... No consistency.

[LosOjos]

The easiest way to get staff to follow branding guidelines would be to create Word templates for a variety of uses; but they'd probably not use them anyway. I can never understand people who put out such rubbish as described here, badly contrasting colour schemes, malformed logos and images due to disproportionate resizing, comic sans! I just don't understand why these people don't take a little pride in their work; or do they genuinely not realise it looks crap?

[Stuart_C]

So not just us then

 

Cheers for the info. Good to know

[TechMonkey]

I'd love to do this but fear I would be onto a loser!

[bladedanny]

We have a branding that I hate. All documents sent out by the school use 'the font that must not be named'

[AngryTechnician]

I'd love to do this but fear I would be onto a loser!

 

I made that mistake. It turned into a LOT of work from SMT and no real benefit to the school or satisfaction on my part because the rest of the staff didn't give a monkey's.

[pete]

*cough*file permissions on Comic Sans font*cough*

 

(let the kids load it, disallow the teachers)

[bladedanny]

*cough*file permissions on Comic Sans font*cough*

 

(let the kids load it, disallow the teachers)

 

I'd be lynched if I did that.

[skell]

Anyone know if we can actually delete comic sans?

[TechMonkey]

Well, we are managing it in a way surreptitiously. We have a headed notepaper set as a template in Word, all letters have to be approved by an member of SMT & go to the office for dispersal. The office usually make sure any letter is put on the proper paper and font.

 

Beyond that I would love to go the full hog and do a rebranding exercise, as our logo is bad, with no decent copies of it, and everyone has their own idea of good design so flyers and posters come out in all sorts of weird and wacky designs!

[creese]

Anyone know if we can actually delete comic sans?

 

From life, the universe and everything.

 

I'll chip a couple of hundred quid if someone could do that.

 

Just imagine all those school documents and websites going blank.

[bladedanny]

Anyone know if we can actually delete comic sans?

 

Just remove it from the fonts folder before imaging. The only reason I dont is I'd have to go round and install it after when everyone starts shouting at me. I'm trying to get them to use Sasson Primary or TW cen MT as they both have the little a that seems to be the reason most people in primary schools like to use the dreaded comic sans.

[skell]

Just remove it from the fonts folder before imaging. The only reason I dont is I'd have to go round and install it after when everyone starts shouting at me. I'm trying to get them to use Sasson Primary or TW cen MT as they both have the little a that seems to be the reason most people in primary schools like to use the dreaded comic sans.

 

They shout at you? Each time I see that font I die a little inside.

 

Of course I've seen it so many times I'm actually on my 4th life...

[K.C.Leblanc]

All letters have to go through our main office here. Edited November 19, 2010 by K.C.Leblanc

[bladedanny]

They shout at you? Each time I see that font I die a little inside.

 

Of course I've seen it so many times I'm actually on my 4th life...

 

I'm sure I'd be shouted/asked to re add comic sans should I remove it.

[gibbo_ap]

yeahh, they use comic sans, papryus and 18 different borders....... i cry

[dirtydog]

we are trying to rebrand/get consistency at the moment but I think too many people will do as they like anyway.

 

Your teacher should use this flowchart for when to use ComicSans Ryan Catbird's Tumblr