Division and Oregon State University branding guidelines provide a platform for expressing our division story through a consistent voice and unified visuals.

using the brand

A consistent brand creates a stronger vision of Oregon State University, highlights our impact and values, and even contributes to a deeper sense of trust and community. We aim to be consistent across all departments and platforms. In the Division of Student Affairs, we have developed sub-branding guidelines to communicate our unique contribution to the student experience. Read on for tips about utilizing the brand effectively.

 

Companion Logos

University Marketing provides companion logos for colleges and select units. Within the Division of Student Affairs, companion logos are available for departments and centers. Generally, companion logos are not available for small programs or offices within departments and centers, though requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis for those entities with a strong external presence. All companion logos for the division should be requested from Director of Student Affairs Communications & Marketing Carolyn Boyd, who will coordinate with University Marketing if the request meets division requirements.

Please note that companion logos may only be used in select circumstances. They may be used on promotional products, but you cannot place a companion logo on the front of other print materials, where the main university logo is required. Instead, the companion logo may be used on the back cover, next to the contact information. Companion logos are not permitted on websites or in other digital communications except videos. 

Checklist

Once your project is finished, make sure to go through the brand messaging and design checklist provided by University Relations and Marketing. And don't forget to review your project to ensure content follows recommended practices to increase accessibility. 

writing style

There are resources at Oregon State to help you write within branding guidelines, as well as how to best write for a web audience.

  • Remember that the Division of Student Affairs Style Guide is a reference for telling the division's story. The guide includes the division's positioning statement and messaging for our varied audiences.
  • Writing style is dependent upon the audience and medium being used to present information. For specific writing advice, visit our additional marketing resources pages for tips on writing for posters and other print materials, websites and other projects.
  • For consistency, follow the guidelines established in the Associated Press Stylebook (AP style). You may want to consider buying a hard copy of the AP Stylebook for your office to share or purchasing an online subscription. University Relations and Marketing's editorial style page also provides an overview of AP style and identifies exceptions to AP style that are implemented at Oregon State.
  • Please note that within the Division of Student Affairs, ampersands are used in department, center and program names.
  • Following AP and university style, do not capitalize department names unless using the full title for the department: disability services/Disability Access Services, counseling services/Counseling & Psychological Services, etc.

Avoid some common AP style mistakes:

  • Don't use a serial comma in a series of more than two items unless it is necessary to clarify the meaning. If more than one series is used in a sentence, you may separate the series by semicolons to clarify the sentence.
  • Don't capitalize academic and administrative titles unless they appear before a person's name or identify a named chair or professorship. For example:
    • Director of Student Services Jane Smith is working on a new project to support student success ....
    • Jane Smith, the director of student services, is working on a new ....
  • Abbreviate months August through February (Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec., Jan., Feb.) when used with a specific date, but not when the month appears alone or only with a year:
    • The conference took place in February 2022. They arrived on Feb. 23 for the conference. They traveled the remainder of February.  
  • Don't use ordinals such as 1st, 4th or 23rd in dates, instead simply write the number: March 1, June 4, Dec. 23, 2021.
  • Note that in AP style, numbers of nine or less are spelled out and digits are used for numbers 10 and above. Exceptions are made for dates, ages, monetary units, percentages, credits and grade-point averages, which use digits. Numbers are spelled out when they start a sentence. 
  • Academic terms should always be lowercase: fall term, winter term 2023.