Maintaining Consistency With Graphic Policy
Having a graphic use policy, also referred to as a graphic policy or graphic terms of use policy, is important in order to maintain consistent messaging throughout your company. As you may have guessed, this is a policy used by the marketing department, and it outlines approved usages of any signatures, logos, or images that can be used online, electronically, or in print form. Abiding by these guidelines helps protect the company’s visual identity and also aids in branding to better grow the business’s reputation.
Creating brand messages is essential for not only establishing a reputation, but also as a means of standing apart from competitors. Proper branding can help communicate your organization’s principles, values, characteristics, and overall message without having to constantly resort to emphasizing the company’s selling points. Not only can you create a reputation people instantly recognize, but branding also promotes loyalty in customers who have had a good experience with your products or services. Having a graphic use policy in place strengthens the organization’s brand, instantly communicating ideas.
One way to spread this core message is to include the company or organization’s name and logo on all electronic and printed materials. Websites, letterhead, business cards, and even emails give you the chance to spread the company’s brand, but make sure the graphics are consistent and of high-resolution quality.
A graphic use policy should include marketing expectations. It should specify the logo size that should be used in all communications, such as the logo never being less than 1-inch in size, for example. The policy should outline how written communications should look, such as the visual unity of letterhead and consistency of employees’ business cards. It should even specify the type and size of paper and envelopes used across the company or organization, as well as clearly state when implementing the company’s official colors are in order.
The marketing department needs to consider the company’s website when writing the graphic use policy. It’s a good idea to have a web template that can be used for all of the company’s website pages, which brings that consistency to every corner of the website. This also controls formatting and graphics displays, since anyone but the marketing team would be unauthorized to make changes to those details.
As with any policy, exemptions may exist, so be sure to note these in your official graphic policy. The best way to do this is to request that any changes to the logo size, letterhead, or other detail must be submitted in writing to the Marketing Director for approval.
