Think Together Brand Guide

BRAND QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE WHAT’S IN THIS GUIDE? VERBAL IDENTITY 1 How do we talk about ourselves?

DESIGN GUIDELINES 2 What tools are needed to represent our brand?

DO s AND DONTs 4 What is the proper usage of the visual elements?

WRITING GUIDELINES 6 How do we stay consistent in our written communications?

SAMPLE DOCUMENT 9 How does it all come together?

This document is a companion piece to the Think Together Brand Guide.

Last revision September 5, 2017

VERBAL IDENTITY OUR NAME

Think Together The name of our organization began as an acronym: Teaching Helping Inspiring Nurturing Kids Together, or THINK Together.

Going forward, we want to use conventional spelling when the name is not part of the logo typography.

Correct format is Think Together.

You may still refer to the original acronym but please avoid alternative spelling forms for our organization’s name (e.g., THINK, T.H.I.N.K., think).

You may continue to use Think as short for Think Together but only after the full organization name has been introduced in the communication. Do not use the acronym TT in external communication materials.

MISSION STATEMENT

Think Together partners with schools to change the odds for kids.

Although Think Together does many things, our mission statement conveys the single most important message we want everybody to know and remember about us. Our partnership with districts and our work at scale are the two elements that set our organization apart.

VISION STATEMENT

Educational Excellence and Equity Our vision statement captures the why of our work and paints a picture of how the world will look different because of our impact. Another way of communicating our vision is:

A community where all kids get a great education that prepares them for college and career.

You may use these two vision statements interchangeably.

OUR STRATEGIES Expanded Learning

We equip students with the tools they need to succeed through early learning, afterschool, summer and in-school expanded learning programs.

Educational Improvement We empower educators to remove barriers to student achievement and accelerate learning for all students through consulting services for schools and districts.

We also refer to this strategy as “systems change”.

TONE In everything we communicate, we want to come across as:

Inspiring, Innovative, and Professional FOR QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL MARCOMM@THINKTOGETHER.ORG

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DESIGN GUIDELINES START WITH A TEMPLATE DOCUMENT There are multiple templates available for download on our employee portal. Start with the one that best fits your needs.

USE BRAND FONTS There are 3 primary fonts that you may use with any document you are making: Gotham Rounded, Playlist, and/or Helvetica Rounded Bold Condensed. Please refer to page 13-15 of the Brand Guidelines for correct usage. Take note that the alternate fonts should be used in two instances: when sending a document to an external stakeholder and when on a computer that doesn’t allow access to download fonts (i.e. school computers).

PRIMARY FONTS (DOWNLOAD FROM THINK TRAIN)

Gotham Rounded Bold Gotham Rounded Book Gotham Rounded Light

ALTERNATE FONTS (DEFAULT ON ALL PCS)

HOW TO INSTALL

Arial Rounded Bold

· Unzip the folder containing the fonts first.

Fonts cannot be installed if they are zipped.

Playlist Script

TW Cen MT Regular TW Cen MT Regular

· Right click on the font

Playlist Caps

Century Gothic Regular Century Gothic Bold

file and select Install.

Helvetica Rounded Condensed Bold USE BRAND COLORS There is a wide spectrum of colors available for you to use. Refer to page 10 of the Brand Guidelines for proper usage. See below for RGB and CMYK values.

PRIMARY COLOR PALETTE BRIGHT ORANGE

MINT

BLACK

CONCRETE GRAY

WHITE

R240 G90 B40

R75 G190 B175

R145 G150 B150

R0 G0 B0

R255 G255 B255

C0 M80 Y95 K0

C65 M0 Y40 K0

C0 M0 Y0 K50

C0 M0 Y0 K100

C0 M0 Y40 K0

SECONDARY COLOR PALETTE SUNFLOWER

RED

R250 G165 B65

R220 G65 B40

C0 M40 Y85 K0

C10 M90 Y100 K0

EARTH

GRASS

LIGHT GRAY

R110 G150 B70

R120 G75 B65

R190 G190 B190

C65 M30 Y95 K0

C60 M80 Y85 K10

C0 M0 Y0 K30

ALWAYS SCALE PROPORTIONATELY When you place an image or the logo, make sure that you don’t squish, smash, or stretch the image/logo.

To scale proportionately, hold down the SHIFT KEY + DRAG THE EDGES CORRECT

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INCORRECT

FOR QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL MARCOMM@THINKTOGETHER.ORG

WHEN YOU’RE WORKING OUTSIDE OF A TEMPLATE, MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW THE TIPS BELOW There will be some instances in which one of the templates will not work for you. When those situations arise, just follow the tips below. Remember to keep it clean and simple. If needed, the Creative Services Manager can support you – please email marcomm@thinktogether.org.

WHICH PHOTOS TO USE ON COLLATERAL Showing others how Think Together programs impact the lives of kids and help them beat the odds is very important. Choosing the right photo will help in visually communicating our mission. Here are some tips on what photos to use on any collateral: • Resolution should be close to 300 dpi • Smiling subjects (kids, staff, volunteers, etc.)

• Candid shots of kids or adults engaged in a learning activity • Crop unnecessary items or background in the photo • Make sure to scale the photo proportionately • Avoid displaying student identifiers such as name tags • Confirm that photo releases have been secured before using pictures of children

ALLOW MARGINS AROUND IMAGE IF TEXT WRAPS Make sure there is enough room around an image/the logo to make your layout clean.

1. Select the image you want to wrap text around. The Format tab will appear on the right side of the Ribbon.

2. On the Format tab, click the Wrap Text command in the Arrange group. A drop-down menu will appear.

3. Hover the mouse over the various text-wrapping options. A live preview of the text wrapping will appear in the document. When you’ve found the text-wrapping option you want to use, click it. Alternatively, you can select More Layout Options to fine tune the layout.

4. The text will wrap around the image. You can now move the image if you want. Just click, hold, and drag it to the desired location. As you move it, alignment guides will appear to help you align the image on the page.

ORGANIZE LAYOUT INTO A HIERARCHY Don’t be afraid to go big on size with important items. This would help draw attention to the details you don’t want anyone to miss. You can also use color to make something stand out (i.e. use bright orange for important items and concrete gray for everything else).

DO NOT HESITATE TO CONSULT THE BRAND GUIDELINES OR CONTACT THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT When in doubt, consult the Brand Guidelines that are provided.

WHERE TO ACCESS ALL THE FILES All the files can be found in our employee portal. Please visit Think Train http://thinktrain.info 1. Log in with your Think Train credentials. If you do not have a Think Train log-in, please contact Lori Goodrich.

2. Click on Marketing

FOR QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL MARCOMM@THINKTOGETHER.ORG

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DOs AND DONTs DOs

DONTs

1. USE THE CORRECT LOGO, FONTS, AND COLORS

1. DO NOT DISTORT LOGOS, USE THE OLD LOGO,

ON ALL FORMS OF COMMUNICATION.

INCORRECT FONTS OR COLORS ON ALL FORMS OF COMMUNICATION.

CORRECT LOGO

CORRECT FONTS

Gotham Rounded Bold Gotham Rounded Book Gotham Rounded Light CORRECT COLORS

SMASHED LOGO

THINK THINK THINK THINK INCORRECT COLORS

Playlist Script

INCORRECT FONTS

OLD LOGO

Playlist Caps Helvetica Rounded Condensed Bold 2. KEEP ALL EMAIL MESSAGES CLEAN AND

2. DO NOT ADD ANY BACKGROUND COLOR OR IMAGES ON

PROFESSIONAL. KINDLY USE THE BRANDED EMAIL

YOUR EMAILS. DO NOT ADD ANYTHING ABOVE, BELOW

SIGNATURE AS SHOWN BELOW.

OR AROUND THE EMAIL SIGNATURE. DO NOT ADD THE MISSION STATEMENT, QUOTES OR OTHER TAGLINES TO ANY OF THE EMAIL SIGNATURES.

3. USE CLEAN AND PROFESSIONAL GRAPHICS OR THINK

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3. DO NOT USE CLIP ART, CARTOON GRAPHICS OR ANY

TOGETHER PHOTOS IN ALL OUR MATERIALS. YOU MAY

OTHER PHOTOS THAT ARE NOT ALIGNED WITH THE

DOWNLOAD GRAPHICS FROM FLATICON.COM.

THINK TOGETHER BRAND.

FOR QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL MARCOMM@THINKTOGETHER.ORG

DOs 5. YOU MAY USE JUST THE LIGHT BULB ALONE TO REPRESENT OUR BRAND.

DONTs 5. DO NOT ADD EMBELLISHMENTS TO THE LIGHTBULB OR USE A DIFFERENT FONT TO WRITE “THINK TOGETHER” BESIDE IT.

THINK

TOGETHER

6. USE THE NEW LETTERHEAD FOR ANY LETTERS THAT ADDRESS OUR CUSTOMERS. TEMPLATES

6. DO NOT USE THE OLD LETTERHEAD OR ANYTHING WITH THE OLD BRAND.

ARE AVAILABLE FOR USE.

7. DO NOT CREATE ANY DEPARTMENT, PEOPLE, OR ACTIVITY SPECIFIC LOGOS. THIS ALLOWS US TO HAVE A CONSISTENT AND COHESIVE BRAND THAT IS RECOGNIZABLE TO BOTH OUR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CONSTITUENTS. 8. DO NOT CREATE ANYTHING THAT YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE CREATING. THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT IS HAPPY TO SUPPORT YOU.

FOR QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL MARCOMM@THINKTOGETHER.ORG

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WRITING GUIDELINES POINT OF VIEW First or third person point of view is appropriate; and you should choose based on the formality of the communication. For example, a blog post may begin “At Think Together, we take summer seriously” whereas a message to a school superintendent may be phrased “Think Together takes summer seriously.”

OUR BENEFICIARIES Use the following terms when describing our program participants and beneficiaries: • Students

• Black or African-American

• Kids or children (may be used interchangeably)

• Latino

• Youth, when referring to older kids (high school and college)

• Vulnerable

• Refer to socio-economic status by focusing on family/ external circumstances:

• Not meeting learning or proficiency standards/ benchmarks

o Kids from low-income families o Children living in poverty o Youth growing up in low-income neighborhoods o Families with limited resources

OUR PARTNERS Our deep and long-standing partnerships with schools and school districts sets us apart from other education organizations.

We work to support our partner’s goals while also advocating for improvements in educational practices so all kids in California receive a great education. Consistent with our brand, when referring to schools or districts, avoid charged terms such as “failing” or “under-performing” and use neutral, descriptive language such as “not meeting standards” or “low-performing”.

OUR PROGRAMS When communicating with external audiences, use the following terms: • Early Learning: programs for children birth to five years of age • Afterschool: programs hosted on school campuses or community sites for students K-12 • School or Educational Support Services: includes summer, tutoring, and other school day intervention programs, and teacher-release / substitute teacher programs • School Consulting or Educational Improvement Services: services offered by our affiliate, Principal’s Exchange • Expanded Learning: may be used to refer to programs, such as summer, that take place outside of traditional classroom instructional time • Nonprofit: to refer to Think Together’s charitable organization status. Do not use non-profit or not-for-profit • Organization: use this term instead of company or corporation • Regions: Bay Area, Southeast Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley, Orange County, San Bernardino County, and Riverside County • Regional Offices: Bay Area, Moreno Valley, San Bernardino, Santa Ana, Santa Fe Springs, Victorville, West Covina 6

FOR QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL MARCOMM@THINKTOGETHER.ORG

WRITING GUIDELINES STUDENT OUTCOMES Our programs and services are varied but they support the same set of student outcomes: • Kindergarten readiness • Reading by third grade • Algebra readiness • High School graduation • College and Career readiness • Social-emotional skills development

WHAT TO AVOID AVOID THE FOLLOWING TERMS WHEN DESCRIBING OUR PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS/ BENEFICIARIES: • Poor

• Uneducated

• At-risk

• Hispanic

• Under-resourced

• Mexican (or any other nationality)

• Under-performing

when applied generically

AVOID USING INSIDER TERMINOLOGY AND ACRONYMS SUCH AS: • ASES programs

• ELP

• 21st Century programs

• QACs, SCs, PLs

• Aux services/ programs

STUDENT IDENTIFIERS Ensuring the safety of the children under our care is a top priority for Think Together. When drafting external communication materials, please take care not to include details that would allow someone to identify and locate a student.

As a general rule, use first names only and avoid listing both grade level and school name for the same student.

For example, it’s appropriate to write “Tia at Lakeview Elementary loves STEM” or “Our 5th grade student at Lakeview Elementary loves STEM.” It’s not appropriate to write “”Tia, a 5th grader at Lakeview Elementary elementary, loves STEM.”

FOR QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL MARCOMM@THINKTOGETHER.ORG

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WRITING GUIDELINES CAPITALIZATION Capitalize all proper names, titles, and department names.

COPYRIGHTED AND TRADEMARKED NAMES Do not use the symbols to denote copyrights and trademarked names.

DATES • Use Arabic figures (without -st, -th, etc.): ex. May 3 • Always spell out days of the week, unless necessary in a grid or tabular format • Capitalize the names of months • When a phrase lists only a month and year, do not separate the year with commas: ex. The data presented in October 2016 was accurate • Always include the year when the date is in another calendar year; do not use the year if the date or dates are in the same year as the publication. Set off day of the week with comma: ex. The event was scheduled for Saturday, April 23, 2013 • When mentioning a century, use the full word for the first to tenth century and the ordinal figure for all others. ex. First century, 11th century, 21st century • Always use numbers for years: ex. the 1980s (no apostrophe) or the ’80s (note apostrophe faces away from the year) not “the eighties”

GRADE LEVEL • Spell out for first though ninth grades. ex. fourth grade; fifth-grader (note hyphen) • Use figures for grades 10 and above. ex. 10th grade; 12th grade

EMAIL • Please do not use any email background color or graphics • Only use Helvetica font in black • Response emails can be in black or navy • Please use the current email signature until otherwise noted

NUMBERS • Always follow APA formatting on numbers.

• Spell the whole word for numbers one through nine.

• 10 and above may be in numerical figures

PHONE NUMBERS Phone numbers should be formatted as xxx.xxx.xxxx. (e.g. 714.556.3610) Use periods, not dashes.

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FOR QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL MARCOMM@THINKTOGETHER.ORG

SAMPLE DOCUMENT PARENT NEWS LE T T E R VOLU M E 1 I SS U E 1 J U N E 1 , 2 01 7

Dates are written in Arabic without -st, -th, etc.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN AFTERSCHOOL

The header is bigger than other content to emphasize hierarchy

UPCOMING EVENTS

HAVE A WONDERFUL SUMMER! AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS IN YOUR COMMUNITY ARE IN DANGER OF CLOSING THEIR DOORS.

The word afterschool is one word

Almost half of California schools, including your child’s, receive government funding for afterschool school programs. These public funds can also support before school programs and summer school. The money comes from two main sources: The state, through California’s After School and Education Safety (ASES) program.

The federal government, especially through the 21st Century Learning Centers program.

The funding from the state has not changed since it was first authorized ten years ago. Like everything else, costs to run afterschool programs have increased every year. Right now, programs need $100 million to stay afloat but with the

DON’T FORGET TO PRE-REGISTER FOR THE NEXT YEAR. ASK YOUR SITE LEADER FOR FORMS AND INFORMATION.

upcoming minimum wage increases, the need will grow to $300 million. To make matters worse, President Trump’s federal budget proposed to cut $1.2 billion from afterschool and summer programs. What would happen in your community if these essential programs went away?

Think Together is working with partners to support increased funding for afterschool programs. For as little as $3 per day, we can fix the problem. But we need everyone’s help.

CONTAC T US

View our video at thinktogether.org/afterschool to learn more and register your support for afterschool.

Think is spelled as a proper noun and not in all caps

Think Together has a New Look This year Think Together is celebrating 20 years of partnering with schools to change the odds for kids. To mark this milestone, we are introducing a

THINK TOGETHER

LOS ANGELES REGION 626.373.2311 thinktogether.org

new look.

Visit thinktogether.org to see a video of our evolution.

Use third person in a Think Communication

Use dots to format phone numbers

FOR QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL MARCOMM@THINKTOGETHER.ORG

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thinktogether.org