College Brand Checklist for Designers

Design checklist

• Accessibility
  • Is the design accessible for people with disabilities?
    • Before beginning a design project, begin with accessibility in mind. It is easier and faster to create a project with accessibility in mind from the ground up than it is to go back and remediate for accessibility after a project is completed.
    • See the web accessibility cheat sheet and the social media accessibility cheat sheet.
• Branding
  • Does the design convey that we are a U.S. News & World Report National Tier 1 and a Carnegie R1 "very high research activity" University?
  • Does the design show a unified brand between the University; our College; and all of our Units, Departments, Programs, Labs, etc.?
  • Does the design adhere to the hallmarks of the brand, and the brand position, promise and pillars (see the University road map)?
• Content
  • Does the content in the design adhere to the College writer's guide and the University writer's style guide?
    • No Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station, NAES, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, Cooperative Extension, UNCE
    • County name comes after Extension, not before it
  • If applicable, does the piece adhere to the Ask the Professor guidelines or NSights guidelines?
• Design
  • Are the colors used in the design from the University color guide?
    • Primary blue 
      • HEX #003366
      • RGB 0, 51, 102
    • Secondary blue
      • HEX #2E6CA2
      • RGB 46, 108, 162
    • Light blue
      • HEX #BCDEF5
      • RGB 188, 222, 245
    • Dark gray
      • HEX #373E45
      • RGB 55, 62, 69
    • Silver
      • HEX #EFEFEF
      • RGB 239, 239, 239
  • Is the text dark gray or primary blue?
  • Are the color cominations accessible?
    • White on primary blue
    • White on secondary blue
    • White on dark gray
    • Dark gray on silver
    • Primary blue on white
    • Secondary blue on white
    • Dark gray on white 
  • Are the fonts used in the design from the University typography guide?
    • Myriad Pro
    • Minion Pro
    • Last resort: Arial
• Logo
  
  • Is the logo used OK to use? The Athletics and Nevada Alumni Association logos and the presidential seal may only be used with permission. (See logos.)
  • Is the logo used appropriately?
    • The University signature is a federally registered trademark and should never be altered in any way— not stretched, condensed, distorted, made transparent, rearranged, beveled, skewed, tilted, drop-shadowed or color-changed. Common mistakes include:
      • outlining the logo
      • using low-resolution logos
      • changing the logo's colors
      • adding other colors to the logo
      • reversing the color scheme of the logo
      • shrinking the size of the box around the logo
      • using the N outside of its box (except Alumni Relations)
      • rearranging or moving the elements of the logo
      • making the logo part of a word or headline
      • placing words or images over the logo
      • positioning the logo vertically
      • tilting the logo
  • Is a secondary logo used? Secondary logos conflict with and dilute the University brand, and creating new illustrative logos runs counter to the guidelines in the University Administrative Manual. Contact the communications team to request an identifier. (See logos.)
  • Is there clear space all of the way around the logo? (See logos.)
  • Is the logo big enough?
    • Stand alone Block N:The Block N should be no smaller than 0.25 inches tall.
    • Signature or identifier (Block N with logotype): The Block N should be no smaller than 0.75 inches tall.
• Photography & iconography
  • Does the design feature professional, rich, vibrant and highly-saturated photography that incorporates tilt-shift or selective focus techniques? (See the photography guide.)
  • Does the design feature photography of a diversity of real faculty, staff, volunteers, students and program participants "caught in the act" of teaching, supporting, serving and learning? (See the photography guide.)
  • If stock photography is used, is it OK to use and appropriate to use? (See the photography guide.)
  • If iconography is used, is it OK to use and appropriate to use? (See the photography  guide.)
  • Does the design use photos that are the appropriate size? Is there any pixelation? What's in focus? Do things look blurry? See the camera how-tos guide.
  • Do you have signed photo releases on file for everyone in the photos? (See the visuals resources, including photo release guidelines, photo releases and photo consent signs.)
  • Do you have a release from the photographer to use the photos how you're using them?
  • Do you give photo credit for the photographs you use? Example: Photo by Claudene Wharton, Extension.
  • Remember: NO STEALING IMAGES AND NO CLIP ART.
• Social Media
  • Does the design adhere to the University and College accessibility policy?
  • Does the design follow University social media guidelines?
  • Is the design accessible? See the social media accessibility cheatsheet.
  • Does the design meet College and University social media goals & strategies?
  • Does the design follow the  University social media tips?
  • Does the video have captions.
• Spending Money
  • Are you spending money on this design? If so, have you submitted a print release request or paid ads authorization request?
• Swag
  • Does the design follow logo usage and color branding rules? (See logos and swag.)
• Website
  
  • Is the design accessible? See the web accessibility cheat sheet.
  • Does the design follow website best practices? See the University web.
  • Does the design use University website components?