Brand basics
A short reference for anyone making something on WERN's behalf, such as a flyer, a poster, a form or a slide.
The logo
The WERN logo does not change. There is a great deal of printed material already carrying it, and consistency matters more than novelty.
- Do not recolour, stretch, rotate or add effects to the mark.
- Leave clear space around it of at least the height of the letter W.
- The Rotary District 9800 endorsement mark should appear on anything representing WERN publicly.
- The swoosh is Rotary Gold. That gold belongs to the logo and is not used elsewhere in WERN materials, which is what stops it competing with the orange below.
Colours
WERN material is black text on white first. Colour is for wayfinding and emphasis. Most people reading WERN’s material are older, and clarity beats character.
| Colour | Hex | Used for | On white |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ink | #1a1a1a | Body text | 17.4:1 |
| Ink muted | #5a5a5a | Captions, secondary text | 6.9:1 |
| WERN purple | #3f4078 | Headings, links | 9.5:1 |
| WERN navy | #022d7b | Page titles, figures | 12.6:1 |
| Orange | #ff7600 | Surfaces only. Buttons and rules | 2.7:1 |
| Orange (text) | #b85500 | Only where orange text is unavoidable | 4.8:1 |
Orange never carries text on a white background. At 2.7:1 it fails accessibility guidelines for text of any size. It works as a surface, with dark text on top of it.
Type
Headings are set in Source Serif 4, echoing the serif of the WERN wordmark. Body text is Source Sans 3. Both are free and open source.
- Body text at 18px minimum, 20px preferred.
- Lines no longer than about 70 characters.
- Generous line spacing of 1.5 or more.
- Never set important information in an image. It cannot be enlarged, searched or read aloud.
Voice
WERN talks like the people who run it. Practical, warm and unpretentious, and it does not oversell.
- Plain, not corporate
- “We come and collect it” rather than “WERN facilitates the logistics of donation acquisition”.
- Specific, not vague
- “$300 buys a family a replacement fridge” rather than “your donation makes a difference”.
- Dignified about clients
- People who have lost their home, not “the needy”. Never use images of identifiable people in hardship.
- Honest about limits
- WERN does not deliver, cannot guarantee stock, and works through agencies. Say so plainly.
- Credit the volunteers
- Every hour worked at WERN is volunteered. That is worth repeating.
The numbers
WERN’s figures are its strongest argument. Use them, and keep them current. They are updated each June in The Story to Date.
Always describe them as cumulative since WERN began, and never round up beyond what the source supports.