Welcome to the Communicators Community! This page provides an introduction to the resources we offer. By now, you should have met with a member of the Office of Strategic Communications for your intro meeting where they went over everything on this page.
You should also now be added to the communicators spreadsheet and listserv, so you will start receiving updates from the Office of Strategic Communications. Keep an eye out for branding updates and invitations to our All-Comm meetings.
Bookmark this page, and come back while creating promotional materials.
Messaging
Brand Voice and Content Strategy
In addition to integrating the Penn State brand into the communication and marketing we release, it’s important to incorporate the Liberal Arts brand as well. While the Liberal Arts brand fits within the overarching Penn State brand, the content on our Messaging page related to Liberal Arts brand voice and content strategy will allow you to dive deeper into what makes the College of the Liberal Arts unique and how we can draw upon our shared story to market ourselves in an authentic and attractive way that connects with our audiences and motivates them to take action.
University Editorial Style
Maintaining editorial consistency in University communications is critical to the overall strength of the Penn State brand. If you have any questions about editorial style, visit the Editorial Standards section of the Brand Book.
Visual Identity
Visual branding consistency is equally important as editorial consistency. In addition to Penn State’s word marks, our visual identity is reinforced by typography, color, graphic assets, photography, and videography. Employing these elements consistently and purposefully will help guarantee that your visual communications are firmly grounded in the power of our brand.
Color and Typography
When you’re creating promotional materials, you must use colors and fonts from the Penn State Brand Book. If you’re using the college’s shared Canva account, the approved colors and fonts are the default options, which makes it easy to stay on brand. The Penn State Brand Palette has three primary brand colors—Nittany Navy, Beaver Blue, and White Out—and one secondary brand color—Pugh Blue. In addition, Penn State offers many accent colors that can be used to evoke specific emotions and actions, and through consistent use on your marketing materials, you can give your unit a cohesive look.
You’ll most likely be creating digital promotional materials as opposed to printed promotional materials. For digital materials, use the Roboto or Proxima Nova font families. For printed materials, use Serifa for headings and Proxima Nova for paragraph text. These are all in the shared Canva account.
Wordmarks
Because of the vastness of our college, it’s important that all of our units have a shared visual identity that makes it easy for our audiences to recognize the unit as being one of our own.
In addition to using the college mark, Liberal Arts units should use their college-approved wordmark on promotional materials. Unit wordmarks have been created by the Office of Strategic Communications for all college-level schools, departments, programs, and centers and can be requested for department-level units.
All Liberal Arts unit wordmarks are available for your use in the shared Canva account. You can download Liberal Arts unit wordmarks for other uses as well.
Marketing
The Office of Strategic Communications is here to help you promote the people and programming in your unit. In addition to submitting a request to our office, explore best practices for websites, social media, email, branded merchandise, and events.
Submit a Request
Submit a request for general promotional materials, digital signs, undergraduate newswire content, calendar events, story ideas, photography and videography requests, and website content.
Social Media
If you are responsible for managing social media content for your Liberal Arts unit, it’s important for you to collaborate and work closely with the Office of Strategic Communications. Remember to follow University editorial style and visual branding standards.
Events
There are many things to consider when planning an event, and once the event is planned, you’ll need to promote it. We provide information about promoting your events through the college calendar, undergraduate newswire, student listservs, faculty and staff listservs, digital signs, and social media. Plus, find info about commencement communications.
Resources
The vast majority of the templates we’ve created can be found in the shared Canva account, including templates for programs, Microsoft Form backgrounds, flyers, invitations, signs, and more.
All Liberal Arts employees at Penn State University Park who are responsible for creating promotional materials for their unit may utilize the Liberal Arts Office of Strategic Communications’ paid Canva account. Canva is an online graphic design website that makes the process of creating flyers, posters, programs, social media posts, and other promotional materials easier and more efficient.
In addition to the Canva templates, we offer PowerPoint and Zoom templates. Our Resources page also provides information about printing services, ordering letterhead, working with student organizations, and adding social media icons to email signatures.
Governance
Our Governance page provides guidelines and expectations for content creation, management, and oversight for College of the Liberal Arts marketing and branding, including at the college level and at the unit level. This includes college and unit websites and other marketing materials. This page aims to ensure that all content adheres to the University’s brand standards and accurately represents the College of the Liberal Arts.
The Office of Strategic Communications provides oversight of all Liberal Arts marketing materials, including websites, social media, and other promotional materials. The primary strategic direction and support are led by the Office of Strategic Communications.