MA Communications Toolkit

Hanna Asrat School Innovation Partner Franklin-McKinley

communications toolkit purpose

This document is intended to provide all MA faculty and staff with branding and communications guidelines and procedures to ensure we remain consistent in our messaging, as well as access to the communications tools and resources needed to be supported in our work.

brand

CHAPTER 1

what’s the value of branding?

A strong brand helps students, families, educators, and partners understand how Marin Academy is distinctive. Branding clarifies the benefits of affiliating with our school and community.

Our brand is not simply our name, logo, or graphic identity. It’s the sum of the facts and emotions that come to the minds of our audiences when they hear or read about Marin Academy. While the concept of brand building can be complex (discovering a brand’s essence, determining what factors comprise a compelling brand, and working to turn an organization into a great brand), in its simplest form brand is just another word for “reputation.” We want audiences to not only understand the value of an MA education, but why it matters.

For our “brand” to be successful, we need to work with each other, reinforcing what we do, what we look like, and what we sound like. Every single interaction people have with MA contributes to their overall impression of our school.

brand values

Brand values are the essence of our brand, the code by which we live. They are the heart and soul of what we believe at Marin Academy and do not change over time.

OUR BRAND VALUES: deep knowledge

The MA curriculum is organized around problems, projects, and questions—rather than around lists of facts and skills—because we value thinking deeply about issues that matter as a way of understanding ideas from the inside out.

creative expression

Creativity is the hallmark of an MA education—from the way students solve math problems to the way they score music. MA sees the expression of creativity as central to the learning process no matter the discipline.

working with rather than competing with

MA emphasizes collaborative problem solving and having students learn from one another because we value the importance of “working with” rather than “competing with” each other. And we know that is one of the cornerstones of the world into which MA students will graduate.

empowered students

MA values putting the student at the center of his or her education—in place of a predictable march toward the right answer, students play an active role in the quest for meaning that replaces it.

diverse perspectives

Progressive thought and action, intellectual curiosity, and respect for individual differences and styles define MA’s culture and community. We actively cultivate an environment in which many voices are welcome and encouraged.

compassionate behavior

Adolescence is tough and high school is hard. We value a community whose members appreciate how difficult it is to navigate adolescence and display respect and empathy toward each other through the ups and the downs.

brand personality

Our brand personality captures the set of distinguishing qualities and characteristics of Marin Academy. These qualities are reflected in the experience we offer, and inform our external messages. They are the traits for which we strive to be known.

MA is a forward-looking, inclusive school whose community members are confident, passionate, meaningfully engaged, and joyful.

OUR BRAND PERSONALITY: forward-looking

INNOVATIVE > AHEAD OF ITS TIME > PROGRESSIVE inclusive

INVITING > WELCOMING > NON-JUDGMENTAL confident

SELF-ASSURED > PROUD > STEADFAST passionate

IMPASSIONED > DEDICATED > AVID meaningfully engaged

ENGROSSED > ABSORBED > ALL IN

CONTENT > HAPPY > EXPRESSIVE

brand value proposition

The brand value proposition is the unique value our constituents derive from engaging with us. It is an internal guide for what should be conveyed about Marin Academy in a way that will attract students, families, educators, and partners.

OUR BRAND VALUE PROPOSITION:

WHY IT WORKS:

MA celebrates the journey of each community member and does not rely on grades and test scores to tell the story of student success. This value proposition underscores several MA assets: the joyful, active engagement needed to “develop individuals for a democratic society.”

As part of the Marin Academy community, I feel invigorated because students here joyfully take full advantage of an exceptional education as they develop the tools and critical thinking they need to chart their course in the world.

style guide

Here, you’ll find guidelines, tools, and assets that you may download to help us all remain consistent in our internal and external

logo

Our logo serves as a lead visual signal as to what people can expect from Marin Academy. A consistently applied logo ensures that MA communications are instantly recognizable.

The visual elements of our logo work together to position MA as forward-looking, inclusive, and engaged.

Download

Click here to access a Google Drive and download the type of logo you need to use. If you have any questions on file-type, application, size or resolution, please contact Communications

SPECIAL USE LOGOS

GRAYSCALE SOLID

AVATAR

REVERSE

Different situations may require different types of logos. While the full-color version of the logo is always preferable, if it can’t be used, special-use logos in grayscale, one color, and reversed versions are available.

The MA avatar may be used as a graphic element on applications for internal or on-campus use, as well as in special cases when the name “Marin Academy” is already clearly established. The MA avatar should never be used in place of the full MA logo.

typography

Consistent use of typography is an easy and effective tool for maintaining visual consistency in all communications. The preferred typeface for all of our communications is Avenir LT Std. Avenir is modern and forward-looking, with the flexibility of weights available to tackle every challenge.

Avenir LT Std 35 Light

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Avenir LT Std 35 Light Oblique

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Avenir LT Std 45 Book

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Avenir LT Std 45 Book Oblique

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Avenir LT Std 55 Roman

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Avenir LT Std 55 Oblique

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Avenir LT Std 85 Heavy

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Avenir LT Std 85 Heavy Oblique

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Avenir LT Std 95 Black

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Avenir LT Std 95 Black Oblique

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

typography

On some occasions, document editing and formatting may need to be completed by someone who does not have access to our licensed brand fonts, or you may be on a different computer that isn’t equipped with these fonts. In these cases, Verdana should be substituted for Avenir. Verdana is available on most computers.

Verdana Regular

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Verdana Italic

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Verdana Bold

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Verdana Bold Italic

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

color palette

Our brand identity color palette is rooted in Marin Academy’s history and also incorporates complementary colors to convey our brand attributes. Our school colors—red, black, and white—represent our commitment to our original founders’ vision to offer a distinctive education. The complementary colors offer a diverse selection to mirror our community’s inclusion of a wide array of perspectives. They are saturated and vibrant to communicate our joy, confidence, and passion.

SCHOOL COLORS

PMS 1797

ACCENT COLORS

PMS 158

PMS 2199

PMS 390

C2 M97 Y85 K7 R190 G40 B40 #BE2828

BLACK

C0 M0 Y0 K100 R0 G0 B0 #000000

WHITE C0 M0 Y0 K0 R255 G255 B255 #FFFFFF

C0 M62 Y95 K0 R232 G119 B34 #E87722

C77 M9 Y16 K0 R0 G187 B220 #00BBDC

C27 M0 Y100 K13 R181 G189 B0 #B5BD00

letterhead template

Please find the MA Letterhead template in your Google Docs template gallery.

Download Here

Click here to directly download a Microsoft Word letterhead template, or use the one in your Google Doc account mentioned below.

From your Google Drive, you can create a new doc by going to your Google Apps and clicking on Docs. Select a blank Google Doc to start a new document, or choose the MA Letterhead in your template gallery to start a new branded document. Or you may download the Word document template directly to your desktop by clicking above.

We’ve added the MA letterhead template doc to your Google Docs template gallery.

powerpoint presentation template

Please find the MA Powerpoint Presentation template in your Google Slides template gallery.

Download Here

Click here to directly download a Powerpoint Presentation template, or use the one in your Google Slides account mentioned below.

We’ve added the MA Powerpoint Presentation template slide deck to your Google Slides template gallery.

From your Google Drive, you can create a new slide deck by going to your Google Apps and clicking on Slides. Select a blank Google Slide to start a new presentation, or choose the MA General Presentation in your template gallery to start a new branded slide deck.

email signature and format

Lynne Hansen Dean of Students

415-482-3249

lhansen@ma.org

1600 Mission Avenue San Rafael, CA 94901

[Add any other call-to-action or pertinent information to your signature here.]

Here is the quickest way to set this up in your email client:

Using Gmail as your email client

• From your inbox, select an email of a colleague that already has this signature set up

• Copy the signature

• Hover to the top right of your inbox and select ‘Settings’ (the gear icon), scroll down and click ‘Settings’

• Scroll down to the Signature box and paste the copied signature

• Update all fields with your personal information

Using Mac Mail as your email client

• At this time, Mac Mail does not support this signature layout

• We suggest a signature with your contact information in the same manner as above, and adding the MA logo directly below

• Another option that has been used is taking a screenshot of the preferred layout and adding it as an image in your Mac Mail signature field

If you have any questions, or use a different email client, please contact us

This is MA’s preferred email signature layout: Our logo clearly displayed with all business information to the right.

comms office

CHAPTER 3

welcome to the communications office

Some rules of engagement.

In an effort to provide MA faculty and staff with more streamlined ways of interacting with the Communications Office and supporting your work, we’ve put together a few things here for everyone to make note of. Please contact us if you have any questions about these items in particular, or any other matters in general.

tw@ma process and procedure

TW@MA is our weekly newsletter that goes out every Tuesday to our community detailing the events, news, academic, athletic, creative, and all around general student-life on campus, as well as all things that relate to school process and culture at MA.

DEADLINES: Submissions must be received by 5:00 p.m. Wednesday to appear in the following TW@MA on Tuesday.

Please bookmark this page to upload your submissions for TW@MA.

To ensure that your submissions will be featured in TW@MA, please submit your requests by the deadline each week.

In order to process all entries and submissions for the weekly TW@MA, and provide translation to keep all MA families engaged and informed, please submit your TW@MA requests by the 5:00 p.m. Wednesday deadline to be featured in the following TW@MA on Tuesday. In order to streamline processes, please utilize the Google Form that has been created for submitting TW@MA requests. As we may continue receiving email requests, we will reply with the link to the Google Form and ask that you bookmark it for easy access.

special projects

The Communications Office is here to help support you and your work. Let us know how we can assist you.

A sampling of design, digital, video, and other collateral work done in Communications and for other departments:

5Competencies.org Website

Admissions Open House Catalog

Admissions Tuition Assistance Brochure

Admissions Viewbook

Alumni Event Invitations

Annual Fund Banner

Annual Fund Thank You Cards

Arts Department Open House Brochure

Chamber Music Collateral College Counseling Admissions Profile College Counseling Roadmap

Communications Evening Postcard

Conference On Democracy Collateral

Founders Circle Reception

Giving Day and Giving Tuesday

Grandparents and Special Friends Day

MA by the Numbers

MA Celebrates Collateral

MA Promise Collateral and Video

MAPA Collateral

New Parent Dinner

NEXUS, NEXUS Now

World Languages Open House Brochure

media inquiries

At Marin Academy, only the Director of Communications and the Head of School are authorized to respond to any and all media inquiries. Please direct all media inquiries to the Director of Communications or the Head of School.

All media inquiries are to be handled by the Director of Communications or the Head of School.

If you receive a phone call or are approached in any other way by a member of the media or anyone else, please politely tell them you are not authorized to speak with them, and ask them to call the Director of Communications or the Head of School. This policy serves several important purposes:

1. It prevents employees from being placed in an awkward position

2. The media receives accurate and timely information

3. We fulfill our obligation to protect student privacy since we refrain from commenting publicly on confidential matters, including those related to student, parent, and employee situations

Members of the media will often be persistent and may tell you it is off-the-record, but please realize anything you say is indeed on-the-record. Only offer to transfer them or give them contact information for the Director of Communications and the Head of School. Again, we have the obligation to protect everyone’s privacy. Remember, refer them to the Director of Communications and the Head of School.

Hervé Ernest Travis Brownley Director of Communications Head of School 415-482-3289 415-482-3203 hernest@ma.org headofschool@ma.org

business cards

While MA business cards are not mandatory to have, some roles demand them more than others. Please contact the Business Office if you would like to order new cards, or re-order cards as you run low.

LYNNE HANSEN Dean of Students

LYNNE HANSEN Dean of Students

415.482.3249

415-482-3249

lhansen@ma.org

lhansen@ma.org

1600 Mission Avenue San Rafael, CA 94901

1600 Mission San Rafael, CA 94901

Please contact Marilou Graham in the Business Office to order your MA business cards by email or phone: 415-482-3215

mission statement

Marin Academy asks every individual to think, question, and create in an environment of encouragement and compassion, and challenges each person to accept the responsibilities posed by education in a democratic society.