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Introduction

Welcome to the Cal State East Bay Brand — Expressing our Brand Clearly and Consistently

The university has embarked on an initiative to raise its profile and strengthen its ties with various audiences.

Our objectives are many:

• To become the “first choice” of motivated applicants and their families
• To instill pride of place among existing students, faculty, staff and alumni
• To encourage the Bay Area business community to engage with our programs and hire our graduates
• To gain recognition and respect for our many achievements, our contributions to the community, the caliber of education we offer and the quality of our graduates

To achieve these goals in a cluttered media environment, it is essential that we develop a distinct brand, and that we express it consistently, both in words and visuals.

This book is intended to help you be an effective brand champion while bringing optimal consistency to our communications. Specifically, it covers:

• Key messages for informing written and verbal communications.
• Nomenclature guidelines for identifying the university.
• Visual identity standards for the proper use of the university logo, colors, typography and other visual elements.

Approval Process

University Communications must approve any communications materials prior to publication or posting. Submit a PDF of your materials to university.communications@csueastbay.edu.

What is a Brand? 

A brand is often narrowly defined as the name and symbol that distinguish a product, service or organization. In modern use, however, the term has come to mean much more than the “brand name” and logo. For an enterprise such as a university, a brand encompasses an entire set of attributes that influence an audience’s perception of the organization. Just as the words and deeds of our administration, staff‚ and faculty impact the perception of the university, so do the visual imagery, language and tone of voice we use to communicate. Many marketers say that “a brand is a promise,” meaning that a brand creates an expectation of a positive experience on the part of the audience. That is why it is important to be consistent in the expression of our brand through images, words and our everyday interactions.