.svg)
TED Web Chat
.svg)
TED Web Chat
Talk to TED
Every day Tendring District Council communicates with residents, businesses and other organisations. Having a strong and consistent identity for the council raises awareness of our services and can help raise satisfaction among residents.
These guidelines aim to unify our communications so the council appears as a single professional organisation. The guidelines provide details of how we will achieve consistency and these must be followed when producing material that bears the Tendring District Council brand.
While every effort has been made to describe simple and clearly our brand guidance, if further guidance is required please contact the Communications and Public Relations Manager.
The Tendring District Council logo should be used on all communications on or behalf of the Council.
Individual Council Departments and teams should not have their own logo, nor modify the logo as prescribed in these guidelines, as this can cause confusion and reduce consistency.
The Tendring District Council Logo consists of the words ‘Tendring District Council’ alongside the graphic of the Tendring shield.
The precise position and proportion of all elements of the logo is fixed and must always be produced as shown here. The elements must never be re-drawn or modified in any way.
Where possible the Tendring District Council logo should be displayed in green on a flat white background. If the logo is used on a coloured or textured background ensure that the background is tonally even and is either sufficiently light or dark so that the logo is easily legible.
There are alternative versions which can be used. The full colour crest version (with black writing) should only be used for civic purposes. There is an all white version which should only be used where the black or green versions cannot be.
It is acceptable to use the wording only, without the crest, in a digital format (particularly mobile-friendly) where using the image would conflict with accessibility and best practice guidelines.
The crest was created in 1974 when the five smaller councils were amalgamated to form Tendring District Council. The crest is based on the arms of Harwich and Clacton, with a reference to Frinton, Walton and Brightlingsea.
The Tendring green is:
You should ensure adequate clear space around the logo as shown below. This is equivalent to the width of the ‘T’ in the word Tendring.
This clear space should be completely clear of typography and any other graphic devices.
The size and position of the Tendring District Council logo is critical in creating documents that are easily recognisable. The table below details the standard size that should the logo should be on all publications. Should it be necessary to deviate from these sizes, then clarification should be sought from the Communications and PR Manager.
You must never:
Council venues, such as the Princes Theatre or Leisure Centres, can have their own logos.
These should be used alongside the Tendring District Council logo, so it is clear that the facility is in partnership with or provided by Tendring District Council.
The Council’s main font is Arial. This font should be used on all printed communications.
Various weights or italic versions of this font may be used to add emphasis to items. This font must be used for text or design purposes, on all core literature. Other fonts can be used on professionally designed non-core literature to allow more scope for creative design.
Taking care when selecting an image can make a big difference to the end message and result. Ensure that when you are choosing an image that it reflects the message that you are trying to create. The following points may help selecting the right images:
There is a standard template for all printed leaflets and information booklets. This is designed to ensure the Council’s visual identity is presented in a professional and consistent way, while allowing for a creative design treatment for the document’s cover.
There are different rules for the Council’s core and non-core literature.
The design templates for core literature are intended to introduce a consistent look and feel to the Council’s permanent printed materials. This is important because it presents a professional image for the Council and makes it easy for customers to quickly identify the information they need.
Core literature covers permanent information about the Council and the services that are provided.
Examples of this would range from the annual council tax leaflet, to Council strategies such as the Corporate Plan.
It is considered that all material produced by the Council is core, unless there is a good case for them to be considered to be non-core.
Non-core literature is promotional information that the Council produces to market an event or campaign. The information will have a limited shelf life with a definite start and end date.
While Council branding remains important on non-core literature, it is lower profile than on core literature. It recognises that these types of materials need to promote Council activities more strongly, often in a commercially competitive situation.
The final decision on whether literature is core or non-core literature rests with the Council’s Communications and PR manager.
Where Tendring District Council works jointly with other organisations, for example Essex Police or the NHS, joint publications may be produced. Both organisations may have their own set of brand guidelines.
Depending upon the nature of the publication or sign, the Tendring District Council logo should appear in the bottom corner in the same way as the core documents with adequate clearance from other elements, or at the top with the partner and subject title. Partner logos should be in a row beside it, or opposite the TDC logo. There will be cases where this will not be possible, please ask the Communications and Public Relations Manager for guidance.
Tendring District Council’s logo should be equally prominent to that of its partners.
There will sometimes be cases where all partner logos are replaced by a partnership logo, for example the Tendring Community Safety Partnership.
Our vehicles are our presence on Tendring’s roads. Clear and consistently branded vehicles mean residents will be able to recognise council vehicles wherever they are and will raise the profile of the Council’s services.
The most appropriate style of livery depends on the vehicle itself, the service and how the vehicle will be used. Common sense should prevail in the positioning in every case.
Staff who work in the public domain within our buildings or out and about in the District (such as Reception and Theatre staff, our Ranger team and Dog Wardens) are provided with uniforms which bear the Council logo. This enables the public to identify and approach our workforce easily.
Signs give our customers an easy and quick way to identify a council building or service. They must give a professional and consistent image for the Council.
The Council has a standard design for signs that is used for most signs. In a few places it may be appropriate to use an alternative design that is sympathetic to the environment in which the sign is placed.
The council uses many different forms of advertising. These can include newspaper adverts, Princes Theatre adverts, job vacancy adverts and outdoor advertising.
Adverts should be designed to a high standard to ensure they achieve the marketing objective for the advert and are consistent with the Council’s brand guidelines.
Recruitment adverts should follow the standard template designed on the website by Human Resources.
The Council’s stationery is one of the most common branded materials that our customers will see.
It’s important that all Council Departments use the Council’s stationery consistently to present a professional image. Council Departments must not customise or alter corporate stationery, except to input service-specific details or messaging, where scope is allowed for such messaging.
The three main types of Council stationery available are:
An MS Word template (available from the Intranet) is available for use with the A4 letterhead to ensure letters are laid out consistently and include important information for our customers.
Wherever possible the black TDC logo should be included on the electronic template and letters printed onto plain paper to reduce costs of printing letter-headed paper.
The Print Unit will only print Council stationery that conforms with these guidelines. Letterheads should not be printed. The MS Word template should be used for all day-to-day correspondence.
To create a PowerPoint presentation, use the templates available on the Intranet (including default font, colours and sizes). This ensures consistency in the layout and style of presentations undertaken by the Council.
To set up an email signature, use the templates set up on the Tendring District Council IT system.
This avoids different people having a different look to each of their emails. The font should be size 12 and consistent with the main body of the e-mail.
It may be appropriate to add a banner, image or text for a campaign being run by your service, or to promote the Council’s social media channels, at the end of the signature
The Council’s email and digital telephone systems (Outlook and MS Teams) allow use of a profile picture unique to the user.
These pictures can be viewed by Members, and in the event of attending a virtual meeting are visible to the public.
If used, therefore, profile pictures should be professional. They should either be a smart image of the individual whose profile it is, or use a generic officer logo.