GUIDELINES

Internal signage guidelines

2 St John Ambulance Internal signage guidelines

Whenever people come into contact with St John Ambulance, it’s important that they’re able to immediately understand what kind of organisation we are, and what we’re trying to achieve.

Our buildings are one of the best opportunities we have to show people what we’re all about. Hundreds of thousands of people come through our doors every year, and we want to make sure that the story we tell them once they’re inside is inspirational, and that we tell it consistently. By doing this, we can unite those who work for us, and inspire those who support us.

Why this guide matters

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Contents a note on balanCe

This toolkit contains a number of different elements. Together, they present a full picture of our work, so make sure that you incorporate as many different elements as you can into the space.

A word of caution, though – too much branding can be overwhelming. Don’t try to cram too much into your space: less can sometimes be more.

a little about our brand 4hoW to use this guide 5your building bloCks 6putting it into praCtiCe 7 using the logo 8 partitions 9 using messaging, quotations and objeCt photography 11Calls to aCtion 18First aid adviCe 20FaCt tiles 21other signage 22ContaCt 26

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Our brand isn’t just a logo or a colour scheme – it’s our face to the world.

With that in mind, we’ve created a fresh, clean and modern look for St John Ambulance, and a new tone of voice that ensures we sound as confident and engaging as we look.

All the elements of our brand combine to communicate who we are, which is why we need to use them consistently, and put them together in the right way. We’ve taken some of those elements to create these guidelines, which provide you with all the tools you need to create vibrant and practical spaces.

a little about our brand

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hoW to use this guide

This document shows you all the different elements you can use when you’re branding a building, along with practical guidance on how to put it into practice.

The Brand team at NHQ holds .eps design files for all the branding elements featured in this guide. Once you’ve decided what branding you’d like in your building, get in touch with them by emailing brandcomms@sja.org.uk - they’ll provide you will all the content you need and explain how to use it.

Although no two St John Ambulance buildings are the same, we want them all to tell the same story. That’s why we’ve developed a single set of messages and accompanying images for you to use – the full selection is included in this guide.

Give this guide and the artwork files to your signage provider (the Brand team can recommend one). Make sure you get them to send the artwork proposal to the Brand team to review, before any signage goes into production.

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elements oF our brand

ColoursInspired by our volunteer uniform, our colour palette is vibrant and versatile.

PMS7482

CMYKC: 90M: 0Y: 93K: 0

PMSBlack

CMYKC: 0M: 0Y: 0K: 100

PMS341

CMYKC: 95M: 5Y: 82K: 24

PMSCool Gray 7

CMYKC: 0M: 0Y: 0K: 40

PMS396

CMYKC: 10M: 0Y: 95K: 0

PMSWhite

CMYKC: 0M: 0Y: 0K: 0

LogoThe most important and memorable part of our visual identity.

TypefaceOur font, Whitney, is confident and contemporary, energetic and easy to read. We use capital letters in our headline font throughout our buildings to ensure our messages have a real impact.

Photography Object photography adds interest, energy and wit to our buildings.

IllustrationOur first aid illustrations are clean and clear, and help teach people life saving skills.

ChevronsWe’ve created a bold and striking graphic motif, based on the green and yellow stripes of our ambulances.

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putting it all into praCtiCe

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The logo should feature prominently so that it’s visible to anyone when they first enter the building.

LogoMessaging should be displayed on the feature walls but, for accessibility reasons, it may only ever be used on a white background. If you are overlaying messaging onto a feature wall, please use one of the simpler chevron patterns.

using the logo

Centre vertically within space

Centre horizontally within space

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Solid or glazed walls are a great place to start applying the new brand.

On a glazed wall our chevrons can create a bold and striking graphic motif that gently ties in to our brand without being too loud.

Chevrons on glazed partitions should be frosted adhesive vinyl.

partitions

Chevron patterns

Clear, frosted adhesive vinyl on glass

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solid and glazed partitions examplesAdd colour to your building by turning an unbroken expanse of solid wall into a feature wall.

Feature walls can be bright green, yellow or white. Create the chevron pattern by overlaying gloss adhesive vinyl on a painted wall.

Chevron patterns

Clear, frosted adhesive vinyl on painted walls

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We’ve developed a set of bold new messages and complementary images that talk about important aspects of our work, our goals and aspirations. Turn to p12 to choose the messages that are right for your building.

We use our headline style (Whitney Black font, capital letters) for most of our internal messaging and incorporate the full range of our colour palette to help make an impact.

With the exception of quotation marks and quote attribution, each line should be exactly the same width (600mm–650mm), with no font any smaller than 55mm in height. The messaging should be vertically and horizontally centred on the wall as well.

Messaging should be displayed on the feature walls but, for accessibility reasons, it may only ever be used on a white background.

Please use one of the simpler chevron patterns if you are overlaying messaging onto a feature wall.

using messaging, quotations and objeCt photography

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using messaging onlyexamples

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using messaging and objeCt photography

Using images of objects can add interest, energy or wit to our messages.

Make sure they are predominantly green, are on a white background, and have some clear relevance to the copy around them.

Use them sparingly – less is more.

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using messaging and objeCt photographyexamples

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using messaging and objeCt photography examples

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People’s stories are a really powerful way of demonstrating the impact first aid can have.

These tend to be wordier than our other messages, so they work best in meeting rooms, or other areas where people will be spending long periods of time.

Always make sure that their legibility is not compromised by any seating or table arrangements. Turn to p17 for the full selection of quotations.

using quotations

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using quotationsexamples

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We have created a number of calls to action, which remind people that, whatever their involvement with St John Ambulance, they are helping to save lives.

This element of our internal branding incorporates a highlight effect. Always white copy on a black ‘highlight’ block.

Our calls to action can be created using vinyl stickers, overlaid on feature walls of any colour. Each black ‘highlight’ block should be 230mm high.

Calls to aCtion

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Calls to aCtionexamples

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First aid adviCe

We are practical people, and we want our buildings to be practical as well. That’s why our life size first aid advice illustrations are such an important element of our toolkit: they teach people a vital skill and, by promoting our free first aid app, they give them guidance on how to find out more.

The illustrations should be life size, must only ever appear on a white background, and be positioned above any skirting boards. They should always be accompanied by the relevant advice and call to action.

Illustrations for the following scenarios can be requested from the Brand team:

Heart attack

Choking

CPR

Bleeding

Primary survey.

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FaCt tiles

Another practical element of our internal branding is small-scale (150mm) fact tiles against our chevron designs. They feature key statistics about our work and tell a great story.

However, they need to be updated annually so please make sure you’re able to do this before using them as part your building.

For an up-to-date list of fact squares, contact the Brand team.

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other signageWith all other signage, the key is to keep it simple. We’ve laid out some straightforward rules to ensure your signage is consistent and helps reinforce our brand identity.

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Signs should be white acrylic and no smaller than 400mm

Text should be 50–100mm caps height

Text should be aligned to the left (indented 10mm), and vertically centred

Text should always be the bright green from our colour palette, in the Whitney Black headline font and entirely capital letters.

other signagedesCriptor signs

X

training department

40% width of sign

X

X

X

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other signage door plaques

Signs should be white acrylic and 200–300mm wide and 75mm tall

Text should be 25mm caps height

It should be aligned to the left (indented 6mm), and vertically centred (25mm from the top, 25mm from the bottom)

Text should always be the bright green from our colour palette, in the Whitney Black headline font and entirely capital letters.

training department

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other signage Compulsory signageIt is a legal requirement under the Business Names Act 1985 that the full company name and registration information is displayed in a prominent place within a public area within a building. Therefore the following information needs to appear:

St John Ambulance (company no. 3866129)Registered office: St John’s Gate, Clerkenwell, London EC1M 4DARegistered charity no. 1077265/1

Signs should be white acrylic with green and black text, and feature the SJA logo.

148mm

105mm

st john ambulanCe (company no. 3866129)

Registered office: St John’s Gate, Clerkenwell, London EC1M 4DARegistered charity no. 1077265/1

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ContaCt details

To request artwork files or supplier contact details, or to ask for help and advice on branding your building, contact the Brand team:

T: 020 7324 4205E brandcomms@sja.org.uk