A2z brand manual

A2Z Computing Brand Positioning & Identity Guidelines

Smooth, stressfree IT No Problem.

A2Z Computing Brand Positioning & Identity Guidelines

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Contents About our brand

Introduction Protecting our brand / our vision Our brand promise Our brand values Our brand personality Bringing it all together

10 11 12 13 14-15 16 17 18 19 20 21-22 23-24 25 26

Our design tool kit

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Contact & queries

Introduction A2Z logotypes Crop Area & Size A2Z Logotype with Strapline Using or recreating the strapline A2Z Product Brands Product Brands: Crop Area & Size Product Brands: Logotype with strapline A2Z logotype with Product Brands Positioning of Logotype Secondary branding marks Typography Colour Palette Email Signatures

A2Z Computing Brand Positioning & Identity Guidelines

Introduction: Creating a compelling brand for A2Z Computing Consistency drives strong, memorable brands. This document exists to help us share and communicate a consistent impression of A2Z Computing (A2Z)

• Of what we promise (our brand promise) • Of what we stand for (Our values) • Of what we look like and talk like (our personality) The principles in these guidelines are the thread that will run through all of our marketing activities. They will help us manage the unique impression of A2Z, in the hearts and minds of our team and audience.

These guidelines give us a shared context for that thinking. By researching our market and talking to our stakeholders we have carefully considered our brand.

Take time to understand the thinking behind the brand. Use the guidelines as inspiration and as a yardstick for judging how successfully individual pieces of communication get across what A2Z is all about.

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A2Z Computing Brand Positioning & Identity Guidelines

Protecting and promoting our brand: No matter how strong a brand is, it’s surprisingly easy to damage it. A single lapse in quality of service, for example, may change a customer’s view of a brand forever. And, over a period of time, a lack of consistency in the way a brand is presented can gradually dilute its strength.

For this reason, it’s essential that everyone who stands to benefit from the strength of our brand: • Understands what it stands for • Communicates what it stands for effectively • Protects it from misuse • Actively promotes it at every opportunity To sum up: the more we all put into our brand, the greater the competitive advantage it will give us.

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The A2Z Strategy...

We will build on our brand values: (1) Flexible & Efficient, (2) Reliable, (3) Honest & Open, (4) Good Communication, (5) Professional & Quality, (6) Knowledgeable, (7) Customer / business focused We will protect our brand from internal and external threats and manage appropriately the business and other risks as we progress. We will develop our people and ensure that they are aware of the brand vision.

A2Z Computing Brand Positioning & Identity Guidelines

Our brand encapsulates the qualities that make us different Through building of a solid reputation our brand has the potential to be a recognizable UK brand with an offering that bears real benefits for our users. But it will only remain so if we all communicate what it stands for clearly and consistently in everything we do, and at every opportunity.

To enable you to play your part in this, we’d like to explain briefly the key elements, which make up the newly defined A2Z...

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Our brand promise: Peace of mind. Our brand promise is the simplest, most condensed

expression of what A2Z stands for. It’s not a strapline or a slogan, and it would probably never appear in any of our communications; but it’s the central thought that underpins everything to do at A2Z. Why, Peace of mind? – because it encapsulates the qualities that makes us

different. We’re commitmented to work with our customers and deliver the right solution in an honest and open way and to give them what they want – efficient IT that keeps their businesses running.

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Our brand promise (continued)

Peace of mind

Peace of mind because…

… our customers will have reliable IT systems and solutions that will keep their business running … we will be honest and open in proposing the right solution … their data is safe with us … we’ll fix their problem … we will communicate any technical problems in a clear and simple way … their business interests are important to us This simple brand promise can be elaborated on to form a strapline or slogan such as:

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Our brand values Like our brand promise, our seven brand values may rarely be explicitly stated, but these are what drive behavior at A2Z.

Flexible & Efficient

Reliable

Honest & Open

Good Communication

Professional & Quality

Knowledgeable

Customer & Business Focused

Flexible & Efficient

Whatever service or equipment we provide it will always be orientated to the needs of the client – we will not provide things they do not need. Our response will be efficient to ensure their IT issue does not infringe greatly on their business time.

Reliable

Our customers can depend on us to take control, look after their IT and ensure it runs smoothly. Everything we supply and deliver will be up to the highest standard all the time.

Honest & Open

We don’t mis-sell or bamboozle clients into purchasing things they do not need, lock businesses into long-term contracts or over charge. Instead we identify what they require and where their business is heading and present the most ideal options available to them.

Good Communication

We will always regularly keep in touch with our customer; past, present and future. We will let support clients what is happening 0 to reassure them of their problems. Even if we haven’t seen a client for sometime we will keep in touch via newsletters or phone-calls in order to keep building deeper customer relations.

Professional & Quality

Everything we will do and say will be conducted in a professional manner for example when we are on-site to answering our phones. We will display our quality by not using substandard parts, equipment or cut corners to reach a solution. Our professionalism and quality will also be shown through all points of our marketing communication.

Knowledgeable

We are aware and in the know of what technology is out there and coming in and how this will improve our customers businesses. We will continually build on our knowledge of both technology and business.

Customer & Business Focused

We will strive to build great relationships with our customers by being focused on what we can do to improve and keep their businesses running.

Effectively our aim is to become a trusted partner to our customers – getting to know their business and working with them to provide solutions that will grow their businesses further.

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Our brand personality: A brand’s personality influences the way it expresses itself, both visually and verbally. We believe that A2Z needs to express what it is:

Clear & Simple - We are interested and have expertise in

technology and innovation. In an industry that is full of jargon we will explain things in plain English so that technical issues are easy to understand.

Tip: Think of the brand as being a person. How would it talk and look?

Getting across our brand personality is key to building a strong brand.

ial & Reliable t r pa Im

We’ve summed up this distinctive personality in two statements: Clear & Simple / Professional & Approachable / Impartial & Reliable

achable pro Ap

Impartial & Reliable - Clients need to be confident that we will solve their problems in the most quick and effective way possible.

When proposing solutions to them we will be impartial in presenting the options back to them, explaining the pros and cons and the impact it would have on their business.

fessional Pro &

Professional & Approachable - We will always be approachable but remain professional at all times. We are here to serve clients and keep businesses running efficiently but not to be their best friend.

ar & Simpl Cle e

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The A2Z Brand Be on target

If you’re responsible for communicating any aspect of the A2Z brand, use this simple brand wheel to see if your work is delivering the strategy.

Reliable

Im

Knowledgeable

l & Reliab le rtia pa

ar & Simpl Cle e

Professional & Quality

Peace of mind

fessional Pro &

‘Flexible and efficient’, being ‘Reliable’ and being ‘Customer / Business Focused’ and displaying ‘Good Communication’ describe the desired behaviors of everyone involved with promoting the brand of A2Z through all points of customer contact.

Customer & Business Focused

achable pro Ap

Each communication about A2Z should deliver reassurance that we give piece of mind to our clients and keep their businesses running. Our tone of voice should be clear and simple but show professionalism and approachability and also demonstrate our impartiality and reliability because these are central to our brand.

Flexible & Efficient

Honest & Open

Good Communication

A2Z Computing Brand Positioning & Identity Guidelines

Our Design Tool Kit Having defined a clear brand promise, our core brand values and our desired brand personality, it’s important that all this is reflected in the look and feel of our communications.

This section introduces the elements that make up our brand identity: • Our logotypes • Our typefaces • Our colour palette The way these elements are applied and their relationship to each other are critical to building the A2Z brand.

Only by carefully following these guidelines can we ensure that our communications are instantly recognisable, consistent and memorable.

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A2Z Computing Brand Positioning & Identity Guidelines

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A2Z Logotypes The logos are a representation of the A2Z brand. It identifies us to the world, displaying an image that is both professional and unique.

Full Colour Version (1)

This is the most desirable application of our logotype. It should be used in all cases when colour is available.

One Colour Version (2)

Black and white versions are available however, they should only be used in special circumstances only – for example in third-party cases of sponsorship or newspaper ads when a mono version is required.

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Artwork

Artwork is available in all approved formats, in vector and/ or postscript formats, including illustrator eps, pdf and jpeg formats for both Mac and PC.

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A2Z Computing Brand Positioning & Identity Guidelines

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Crop Area & Size For maximum impact and instant recognition, the logos should not be crowded by other visual elements. Adequate white space should be left around the logo so that its prominence is not compromised. The illustrations on the left give a visual guide for providing the necessary white space.

A2Z logotype

A space relative to the size of the ‘o’ found in the ‘Computing’ type element of the logotype should be applied to the top-most, bottom-most, furthest-left and furthestright points of the logotype creating a clear gap between the identity and any other elements surrounding it.

Minimum Application

To ensure legibility of typography and clarity of the mark it is important that the A2Z logotype should never be reproduced at less than 5cm width.

This is an absolute minimum, not a preferred size, and should only be used when limited space dictates.

Minimum width of logo: 5cm

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A2Z Logotype with strapline As well as the standard versions of the A2Z logotype there are alternative files which include the strapline.

Centred Version (1 & 2)

Centred underneath the logotype for cases when space may not be at a premium.

Horizontal Version (3 & 4)

Smooth, stressfree IT No Problem.

1

2

Aligned to the right-hand side of the logotype for cases when space is available.

Smooth, stressfree IT No Problem.

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Smooth, stressfree IT No Problem.

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Using or recreating the strapline The strapline has been supplied in files as part of the logotype to ensure consistency and for manual reproduction to be kept to a minimum.

However there may be cases where the strapline may need to be created manually. When these situations arise, use the strapline found in the A2Z Logo files and use one of the three options.

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Centred Version (1 )

Position at the centre-point underneath the logotype.

11/2 ‘o’ size is recommended for the ‘x’ height of the ‘No Problem’ wording. Use 1/2 ‘o’ spacing for the space between the logotype and strapline.

Horizontal Version (2)

Use the height of the ‘A2Z Computing’ text as a guide to position the strapline at the right-hand side of the logotype.

Use 1 ‘o’ width as space between each other. 2 ‘o’ size spacing is recommended for the ‘x’ height of the ‘No Problem’ wording.

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Using or recreating the strapline (cont) Sign off Version

If the centred / horizontal opti on is unavailable due to space or the strapline is required but not the logo - use the strapline at the footer of a document.

In these cases, it should always be positi oned at the base of the artwork and the ‘S’ of ‘Smooth’ aligned to the left hand side of the immediate object above it.

• IT Support • IT Consultancy & Solutions • Repair & Recovery • Online Services • Hardware & Software Sales

The back of the A2Z business card is a perfect example of this applicati on.

Smooth, stressfree IT 1R 3UREOHP 1

À +6 5WRRQTV À +6 %QPUWNVCPE[ 5QNWVKQPU À 4GRCKT 4GEQXGT[ À 1PNKPG 5GTXKEGU À *CTFYCTG 5QHVYCTG 5CNGU

5OQQVJ UVTGUUHTGG +6 No Problem.

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A2Z Product Brands As we have a number of in-house products, sub-brands have been created in order for us to make full use of our range through sales and marketing.

Eagleye is currently our only in-house branded product however it is expected that this will grow over time. Logos will be created in a similar name and visual style to keep on brand. Design tools and guidance will need to be developed overtime to reflect this.

Eagleye Full Colour Version (1)

This is the most desirable application of our logotype. It should be used in all cases when colour is available.

1

Eagleye One Colour Version (2)

Black and white versions are available however, they should only be used in special circumstances only – for example in third-party cases of sponsorship or newspaper ads when a mono version is required.

Artwork

Artwork is available in all approved formats, in vector and/ or postscript formats, including illustrator eps, pdf and jpeg formats for both Mac and PC.

2

A2Z Computing Brand Positioning & Identity Guidelines

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Product Brands: Crop Area & Size For maximum impact and instant recognition, the logos should not be crowded by other visual elements. Adequate white space should be left around the logo so that its prominence is not compromised. The illustrations on the left give a visual guide for providing the necessary white space.

Eagleye logotype

A space relative to the size of the ‘o’ found in the ‘Computing’ type element of the A2Z logotype should be applied to the top-most, bottom-most, furthest-left and furthest-right points of the logotype creating a clear gap between the identity and any other elements surrounding it.

Minimum Application

To ensure legibility of typography and clarity of the mark it is important that the Eagleye logotype should never be reproduced at less than 5cm width.

This is an absolute minimum, not a preferred size, and should only be used when limited space dictates.

Minimum width of logo: 5cm

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Product Brands: Logotype with strapline As well as the standard versions of the Eagleye logotype there are alternative files which include the strapline.

The strapline has been supplied in files as part of the logotype to ensure consistency and for manual reproduction to be kept to a minimum.

Centred Version (1)

There is only one application and that is centred underneath the ‘Eagleye’ part of the logotype.

1

Recreating the strapline (2)

There may be cases where the strapline may need to be created manually. When these situations arise, keep to the following rules: • Size the text at the full width of the ‘Eagleye’ font • Position underneath the logotype using the baseline of the ‘e’ from ‘Eagleye’. Ensure there is some white space between the strapline and ‘g’ and ‘y’ • Colour: A2Z Red • Use Exo Light as the font

24/7 ICT Support 2

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A2Z logotype with Product Brands The A2Z logotype should always be the lead identity when creating corporate communications. Product brands only lead on their own material.

Equal display (1)

Should the occasion arise that both logos need equal display, use the illustration on the right as guidance.

Use the height of the ‘A2Z Computing’ text as a guide to position the Eagleye logo at the right-hand side of the logotype. Size the Eagleye logo equal to the height of the ‘A2Z Computing’ text. Use 2 ‘o’ width as space between each other.

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Positioning of Logotype For maximum impact and instant recognition, the logotype should always be placed in the top left corner or bottom left of a document.

It should not be crowded by other visual elements.

Adequate white space (see ‘Crop Area) should be left around the logo so that its prominence is not compromised.

(% *$ (".%* %/%&-/$ 1/%%1 %3.-/1

+--1( 01/%00&/%% No Problem.

0"*%0 " 5 #-+.21),' #-+ " 5#-+.21),' " 5 #-+.21),' " 5#-+.21),'

! -+.21),' 1$ -+.",4 ,- %' -

The letterhead and insert on the right give a visual guide.

Please note: In some cases such as email footers it may be better to use the ‘Boiler Plate’ footer (flat files are supplied).

IT Consultancy & Solutions At A2Z Computing we oer a full consultancy and planning service tailored to meet your speciďŹ c needs.

The consultancy session covers all aspects of your computer system including: • Network and Cabling • Computers including recommended Operating System and Software Our aim is to ensure that you receive honest, impartial advice that suits the companies needs.

We help you plan the future of your company by ensuring that any items you purchase will allow you to develop further and expand.

Microsoft have recently released an antipiracy leaet which features a blacklist for companies within the UK that use and distribute pirated software. We currently oer a free audit service where we will come to your oďŹƒces and check all your software is legitimate and contains the correct licences. This will avoid you being ďŹ ned by the software distributor and ensure that you are using a stable release of the software. Pirated software can cause damage to machines and even corrupt data on your machine as it has an invalid licence and may be missing important ďŹ les which the software relies upon.

“A short testimonial outlining how good this service offering can go here. Much more indepth testimonials can be saved for case studies. Max word length is 28 words�

John Smith Director. JS&CO Ltd

No Problem.

A2Z Computing Brand Positioning & Identity Guidelines

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Secondary branding marks: A number of supplementary graphics have been designed to ensure that the A2Z brand has a consistent look and feel across all materials.

These graphics are inspired by our logotype & brand values and will be used to add vitality and enjoyment to promotional materials.

Boiler Plate Footer

A ‘boiler plate’ footer has been created for email signatures and on the rare occasion printable items have no bleed.

It should be used in cases where vital contact information needs to be displayed. It is suitable to use on items such as email footer and car or product stickers.

Contact / Social Media Icons

Bespoke contact icons have been created to bring together the A2Z brand identity and social media avatars.

They have been supplied in files in situ of their application to ensure consistency. Manual reproduction should be kept to a minimum.

Specific colour have been chosen to compliment each other and the A2Z palette. Use these colours only for the icons and nothing else.

Smooth, stressfree IT No Problem.

+44 (0)1633 676543 sales@a2z-computing.com @a2zcomputing a2z-computing a2zcomputing www.a2z-computing.com

A2Z Computing Brand Positioning & Identity Guidelines

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Secondary branding marks (continued) Wave Motif

Taking the ‘wave’ graphic from the A2Z logo as inspirati on, a range of .eps support graphics that form a small library has been developed.

This gives users more choice and creati vity since they can be used multi ple ti mes, overlapped, adjusted for footer and framing use. They can also be used to frame photography.

As the ‘wave’ is technically diffi cult to apply it should be used sparingly and by a person with experti se in design and layout. The graphic is suitable for uses such as Business Cards, Promoti onal Brochure, Poster etc.

The A2Z service insert is an example of the wave in use.

Rules for using the secondary graphics

• Do not distort or change colour of the Boiler Plate, icons and wave moti fs in any way • Ensure the applicati on of the secondary graphic is not complicated or take away from the core elements on display.

IT Consultancy & Solutions At A2Z Computing we oer a full consultancy and planning service tailored to meet your speciďŹ c needs.

The consultancy session covers all aspects of your computer system including: • Network and Cabling • Computers including recommended Operating System and Software Our aim is to ensure that you receive honest, impartial advice that suits the companies needs.

We help you plan the future of your company by ensuring that any items you purchase will allow you to develop further and expand.

Microsoft have recently released an antipiracy leaet which features a blacklist for companies within the UK that use and distribute pirated software. We currently oer a free audit service where we will come to your oďŹƒces and check all your software is legitimate and contains the correct licences. This will avoid you being ďŹ ned by the software distributor and ensure that you are using a stable release of the software. Pirated software can cause damage to machines and even corrupt data on your machine as it has an invalid licence and may be missing important ďŹ les which the software relies upon.

“A short testimonial outlining how good this service offering can go here. Much more indepth testimonials can be saved for case studies. Max word length is 28 words�

John Smith Director. JS&CO Ltd

No Problem.

A2Z Computing Brand Positioning & Identity Guidelines

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Typography Typography is one of the most important design elements.

It is used to differentiate sections of information such as headlines, text or captions.

From the thousands of type fonts available, Exo was used in the logo and also as a supporting font to ensure ease of consistency and effectiveness throughout all communication material.

Exo is a free font and can be downloaded here: http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/exo Calibri has also been chosen as secondary supporting font in order to provide variety and clarity in presenting information.

Exo

Aa Bb Cc ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Thin Thin Italic Extra Light Extra Light Italic Regular Regular Italic Medium Medium Italic Demi Bold Demi Bold Italic Bold Bold Italic Extra Bold Extra Bold Italic Black Black Italic

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Typography (continued) Our basic rules for print material:

• For headlines use Exo Bold ensuring it is at least 3pt size higher than the body copy (Colours: use the A2Z Red Pantone 186 • For subheadings use Exo light ensuring it is at least 1pt size higher than the body copy size.

• For quotes / testimonials use Exo Light • For body copy only use Calibri at a minimum 9pt size (this does not apply to business cards where the absolute minimum weight is 6pt) • All body copy (other than headlines, subheadings or testimonials) should appear Black on white.

• When appearing over images or block colour, white is preferred

Our basic rules for web related activity:

• For headlines use Exo Bold • For subheadings use Exo Light ensuring it is at least 1pt size higher than the body copy size • For quotes / testimonials use Exo Light • For body copy only use Calibri at a minimum 9pt size Due to the complexities of managing fonts online some rules may not be achievable, therefore keep all web type as close to the brand guidelines as possible.

Calibri

Aa Bb Cc ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Regular Italic Bold Bold Italic

A2Z Computing Brand Positioning & Identity Guidelines

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Colour Palette Primary Palette

Our primary palette is based on the colours employed by our logotype.

Primary Palette:

Use CMYK values when pantone numbers cannot be specified. RGB values are to be used for broadcast applications; web values are for websites and new media use.

However, the application of colours across different media is not an exact science. Colours should always be matched visually to ensure it can be as correct as possible.

Secondary Palette

A secondary palette that may be used sparingly on all types of marketing material has been created to supplement our primary palette. Use these colours to compliment material – but don’t over do it.

A2Z Red

Pantone® 186 C 2 M 100 Y 82 K 6 R 218 G 26 B 53 (web) #DA1A35

Pantone® 115 C 0 M 6 Y 87 K 0 R 255 G 230 B 56 (web) #FFE638

Secondary Palette:

A2Z Grey

Bespoke Grey C 20 M 16 Y 17 K 0 R 203 G 202 B 200 (web) #CBCAC8 PANTONE® is a registered trademark of Pantone Inc.

A2Z Yellow

A2Z Grey Gradient

100% Bespoke Grey - white

Black

Pantone® Black C 0 M 0 Y 0 K 100 R0G0B0

White

C0M0Y0K0 R 255 G 255 B 255

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Email Signatures: To maintain a consistent look across all A2Z internal and external communications our email signatures need to be on brand.

Standard Email Signature

The representative example to the right correctly display the standard A2Z email signature.

Kind regards, Az Az Ashraf Mob: 07834 520180 Tel: 01633 676543 - Head Office

Note: Boiler Plates for signature use have been supplied in a png format and can be found in the supporting files.

Rules

• Use Calibri Regular • Use black signature font colour • Use the Boiler Plate for image and link to the A2Z website

Smooth, stressfree IT 1R 3UREOHP

A2Z Computing Ltd The Old Chapel Hereford Street Newport NP19 8DT

+44 (0)1633 676543 sales@a2z-computing.com @a2zcomputing a2z-computing a2zcomputing www.a2z-computing.com

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Contact Details For further help and advice on implementing the brand please contact us: The brand guardian is: Az or Sian?

Tel: Mob: e-mail: A2Z Computing Ltd The Old Chapel Hereford Street Newport NP19 8DT

Alternatively please contact Russell Britton for technical information or for details on our monthly brand management packages Russell Britton: Branding & Identity Creation Tel. 0845 258 1486 rb@russell-britton.com www.russell-britton.com