Visual Identity

The Power of Color

Color increases brand recognition by up to 80%.

Color can improve readership by 40%, learning from 55 to 78%, and comprehension by 73%.

Research has reinforced that 60% of the time people will decide if they are attracted or not to a message – based on color alone!

Brands and color are inextricably linked because color offers an instantaneous method for conveying meaning and message without words. Color is the visual component people remember most about a brand followed closely by shapes/symbols.

Primary Colors

Secondary Colors

Usage

A Consistent, Unified Voice

Plenty of attention is given to web design, development and content management, but the content itself is often overlooked. It is important to maintain consistency as we communicate with our various audiences. A consistent message is critical because it presents the College as a focused institution with a clear vision of the future.

Thomas College must speak with a unified voice across all touchpoints including its publications, websites, e-newsletters to advertising. This voice is the embodiment the college’s unique personality and identity.

Your tone may vary as you communicate to different audiences via different media. Social media content might call for a more informal tone, for example, while information intended for a graduate student might allow for longer, more complex sentences.

If you were to imagine the college as a person, the tone would refer to the different moods and vocabularies that would shade their speech and interactions with different people throughout the day. Regardless of the situation, the same person would always be speaking. That consistency is our voice.

Thomas College’s voice is driven by its personality, an element of its overall brand identity.

• Adventurous and engaging: eager to pose and answer questions
• Open and affirming: welcoming people and perspectives from all walks of life
• Smart and purposeful: charting a way toward our goals and aspirations
• Transformational and authentic: driven by a genuine commitment to serve the public good
• Uses strong, vivid, purposeful language, including active verbs. Look for verbs tied to physical action, for example: lift, build, spearhead, capture, drive, hone. Look for verbs and adjectives that include some emotional connotation or evoke a strong mental image.
• Is clear and straightforward, without jargon or wordiness. The most concise method of stating something is often the most powerful. Instead of “we are accomplishing improvement outcomes,” use “we are improving.”
• Prefers active voice to passive. “We provide students,” instead of “students are provided with.”
• Avoids cliche and vagueness, instead of finding fresh language and metaphors. For example, the phrase “Our cutting-edge program is pushing the envelope and thinking outside the box,” is built on phrases that have been overused to the point where they are flat and meaningless. There are two ways to revive a cliche or an overused adjective
• Uses first- and second-person language (“we” and “you”) and contractions when appropriate
• Engages the audience in conversation, questioning, and cooperation. Feel comfortable asking your audience questions. And always welcome questions and feedback from them.

Thomas College Logo

The Thomas College logo is essential to our brand. It acts as the primary graphic identifier for Thomas and is the preferred logo for general use. The logo should always be a consistent component in our communications.

Usage

Primary Logo (as shown above) – Intended for use on white copy on darker backgrounds in order to maintain legibility.

We also have a White Logo available.

Requirements

The Thomas College logo should never be recreated or typeset. Only the official logo files should be used in communications.

Department Logos

Each department has a logo that follows the same style.

Typography

Inspired by and used in tandem with our voice and tone, our typography serves as a further extension of our brand.

The fonts on the left are included by default in Office 365 software, eliminating the need for additional downloads and installations. Please refer to page 13 of the VIT for additional information. Resources Grandview Font (zip) Georgia Pro Font (zip) Thomas College Letterhead Thomas College PowerPoint Template

• Download Email Signature Word Document for Templates
• Instructions available for:
  • Outlook.com
  • Outlook Desktop (Windows)
  • Outlook for Mac

Thomas College Signature

Athletics Signature

General Thomas College Business Cards:

You can join class and meetings on Microsoft Teams with customized backgrounds of various Thomas College scenes. Click the images below to download them to your computer. Then, for a step-by-step guide on how to change your background and upload these images to Teams, click here.

Teams backgrounds are in the works! Stay tuned…