OPCDstyle guide

Office of Planning and Community Development

INTRODUCTION

OPCD is dedicated to managing growth to

become an equitable and sustainable city.
We work to support Mayor Ed Murrays vision
of building thriving communities through
an integrated and equitable approach to
planning and community investment.

We are working toward a city that is

inclusive, vibrant, interconnected and
innovative. We partner with neighborhoods,
businesses, agencies, and others to bring
about positive change and coordinate
investments for Seattle communities.
OPCD Style Guide

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

1. City of Seattle guidelines 1

2. OPCD logo 5
3. Colors 7
4. Copy and tone of voice 9
5. Typography 11
6. Graphic element usage 13
7. Example layouts 17
City of Seattle Brand Guidelines

C I T Y O F S E ATT L E L O G O

The City of Seattle logo retains the graphic

element of Chief Seattles profile and text
orientation. Three colors are used in the
logo-black, white, and Seattle blue. A thin
white border rings the graphic element,
which always has a white background.

A custom font, Seattle Text, was designed

to modernize the text within the logo. It is
presented in the bold style and centered
with the graphic element. Two versions are
available: Seattle for most uses and City
of Seattle for more formal and official uses.
Text will either be presented in black or white,
depending on what creates the best contrast.

1
full width
1/4

1/2

LOGO COLOR

The City logo should display in Seattle Blue

(PMS 293C) with black text where possible.
An all black version as well as a white text
full width version is also available.
1/4

City of Seattle
Seattle Blue Black
1/2 PMS 293C
RGB 0, 61, 165 RGB 35, 31, 32
HEX 003DA5 HEX 231F20
CMYK 100, 69, 0, 4 CMYK 0, 0, 0, 100

The chief Seattle graphic includes solid white

infill and border when used with transparent
or color background.

Border is 1/8 thickness of the hair lines in

graphic.

2
L O G O VA R I AT I O N S

Seattle is now known around the world

as a prominent city full of natural beauty,
progressive policies, and innovative
technologies. Thus, in an attempt to create
Graphic only
a simple and modern logo, the primary logo
now displays only Seattle. A more formal
version which includes City of Seattle is
available as well.

Formal Primary Color options

Seattle

Seattle

3
IMPROPER LOGO USE PROPER LOGO USE

It is important for the City of Seattle logo to

Size
be used consistently to retain brand integrity.
Below are examples of improper usage. The City logo should not be displayed smaller
than 0.25 inches in height, as measured by
the graphic element. For logos smaller than
one-half inch in height, use Small graphic
file, which includes a thicker border stroke.

Spacing
Stretching
A border space of one-half the width of the
graphic element should be retained around
the logo at all times.

Squeezing
1/2

Inverting colors
1/2

Changing colors

Adding words
Speaks

4
Office of Planning and Community Development Logo

OPCD USAGE OF CITY LOGO

The City of Seattle brand brings together all

departments and offices into a consistent and
identifiable brand. The font size will be the
same for both Seattle and the department
or name, with Seattle in bold on the top line.

The Office of Planning and Community

Development logo is broken up in to three lines
together with the Seattle logo. All guidelines
for proper and improper usage of the City logo
applies also to departmental logos.

1/8

full width 1/4

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DEVELOPMENT OF OPCD BRAND

While it is important to be recognized as a

department within the City of Seattle, OPCD
also needs to maintain its own recognizable
identity. Therefore, consistency of material
throughout all platforms must be maintained.
However, as we are an office that reaches
many people and is involved in a variety
of projects, the OPCD brand must also be
adaptable to all uses and inclusive of all
Seattle communities.

The following sections provide an outline to

operate within, with flexibility to continue
to meet the needs of the diversity of our
projects and communities.

6
Color Palette

R E P R E S E N TAT I O N

As our department serves a population of

increasing diversity, global consideration
needs to be paid in the color palette. Our
work invades public as well as private
spaces; therefor, our department needs to
be represented as a piece of home.

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OPCD COLOR PALETTE COLOR SIGNIFICANCE

Seattle Blue Seattle Blue Orange

CMYK 100, 69, 0, 4
Blue is Seattles city color. It symbolizes Orange holds the energy of red but is
RGB 0, 88, 164
trust, loyalty, and wisdom, and is often softened with the happiness of yellow.
# 0057A4
associated with stability. When proposing Orange catches the human eye as a hot
new development plans, it is important that color, but does not evoke the immediacy
Green the audience trusts the body making the of red. It is important to walk this balance
CMYK 27, 4, 85, 0 changes. A cool color, blue is associated carefully, and not incorporate oranges that
RGB 196, 210, 80 with intellect. are too dark, as deep oranges are associated
# C4D150 with deceit and distrust.
Particularly darker shades such as the
Orange Seattle Blue, blue can also appear as a Incorporating orange also creates a more
corporate color. With that in mind, it is global color palette. Reds are frequently
CMYK 0, 56, 81, 0
important in future usage that the blue does used as national colors on country flags.
RGB 246, 138, 68
not consistently dominate. People are often Orange alludes to this cultural pride without
# F58944
skeptical of large corporations, especially incorporating a harsh red, psychologically
when they cross the sector to a home associated to danger.
Silver environment.
CMYK 0, 0, 0, 30
RGB 188, 190, 192 Green Silver
# BBBDC0
Green symbolizes renewal and growth. It Including a soft grey in OPCDs color palette
is the color that sprouts up every Spring, is meant to help neutralize public branding
When using green or silver for text or thin
lines, adjust the tint for visibility. For the and the color we see most in the natural and communication tools. Too many colors
silver, change K to 80, and 20 for green. environment. As environmental concerns can be overwhelming, but accenting with
become an increasing reality, Seattle has an inactive color can accent its surrounding
a progressive focus on sustainability. By colors, and the design as a whole. Grey also
representing OPCD with a playful green, the keeps the color palette modern and alludes to
office is communicated as environmentally steel, buildings, sidewalks, and city-scape.
friendly, but modern and upbeat.

8
Copy and Tone of Voice

WRITING GUIDANCE

As a planning agency, we often revert to

using technical, fairly formal, language.
But as a public agency that interacts
frequently with city residents and
community stakeholders, we must use
language that is accessible to the greatest
understanding of the public.

Writing and speaking in plain language will

help the public understand our work better.
This section provides guidance on tone of
voice and the use of plain language to help
us clearly communicate our work.

9
Typography

LOGO TYPE

Seattle Text is the official typeface of the

City of Seattle logo. It is available in bold,
regular, italic, and bold italic. The City
logo uses the bold typestyle for Seattle
and regular for Office of Planning and
Community Development.

Seattle Text

This is the Seattle Text font, regular. This is the Seattle Text font, bold.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
123456789 123456789

This is the Seattle Text font, italic. This is the Seattle Text font, bold italic.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
123456789 123456789

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HEADLINES BODY TYPE S E C T I O N S / C AT E G O R I E S

Headlines also use the Seattle Text typeface. Body type of any documents open to the For documents that may contain sections such
Headlines always use the bold typestyle, community use the typeface Verdana. For as a fact sheet or this style guide, categories
while other typestyles will be reserved for paragraph styles, the Regular typestyle will be defined using Verdana Regular, all
subheadings as needed. should be used, and only specific uses capitals, and widened kerning. For standard
should use other styles available. Because documents using 10 pt font, the section title
Subheadlines use Seattle Text regular. Bold of the large x-height, standard documents font size will be 11 pt, and the kerning will be
should only be used in a subheadline if the will use 10 pt font and 14 pt leading. Only 200. If the font sized is increased, the kerning
background requires thicker type for visibility interdepartmental documents such as memos must also increase to maintain the visual
(in which case a different background should and emails may use Calibri, or a similar sans- ratio, as well as the ratio between section title
be considered, when possible). Italics should serif default typeface. and body text ratio. Section headings should
only be used for emphasis or call-out text. always align left, not centered.
Overuse of italics will take away from their Paragraphs will be divided by an extra line
emphasis. Ratio of headline to subheadline space and no indentation. Do not change the
should, as much as possible, meet the golden leading on the open line, as it will alter the 11 pt EXAMPLE SECTION
rule of 1:1.6. alignment of the ending line and paragraphs 200
will not align with the grid. 10 pt Example of beginning paragraph line.
Alignment may vary depending on the
document. Use left alignment when possible,
especially in magazine or book layouts, but Verdana
center alignment may be used in other forms
where the designer feels it fits best. If the This is Verdana Regular
headline is aligned to the left, do not center the ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
subheadline to the headline. Only center the abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
subheadline if the headline is also centered. 123456789

Example Headline 1.6 Example Headline

This is a subheadline 1 This is a subheadline

Example Headline 1.6 Example Headline

This is a subheadline 1 This is a subheadline

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Graphic Element Usage

OVERALL STYLE

Because many of OPCDs documents will contain

photos, maps, and other images that will
carry inherently busy properties of their own,
additional graphic elements should be used
sparingly to avoid crowdedness. The style of the
department needs to appear clean and modern
to appeal to the audience with confidence and
gain their trust in city development.

Certain elements may be used for emphasis,

as outlined in this section, but the integrity
of a design should rest on elegance of
arrangement, typography, and existing
elements. Strong use of a grid is impertinent
to any document coming from OPCD. The
overall message to our audience is crucial for
support of our projects; if we cannot design a
layout, we cannot design a city!

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Do not use conflicting directions

LINES AND DIVIDERS

A signature element of OPCD design is an

Do not overuse colors extended thin line. This document provides
examples with how to use this line to create
distinction or emphasis. Where applicable, one
end of the line always extends off the page,
while the other end either meets an adjacent
line, or reaches the end of a headline or other
text the line is supporting.

The line has a .5 pt stroke width (unless

creating larger documents) and may be colored
with OPCD colors. Consistently use one color
pattern throughout an entire document. For
Do not use thick strokes example, this document uses blue to underline
(unless special conditions apply) section headings, and green for emphasis
throughout the spreads.

Do not overuse or create tension with conflicting

horizontal and vertical lines. This page provides
examples for potential issues to avoid.

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COLOR BLOCKS

Style may also be added by use of large color

blocks with white knock-out text. An example
of this design style is the cover of this
document, as well on the following page.

As with the usage of lines, do not overuse

this design element or crowd the document
with overwhelming color. When proposing city
plans, simplicity is key.

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IMPROPER USAGE BALANCED USAGE

OPCDstyle guide
Office of Planning and Community Development
OPCDstyle guide
Office of Planning and Community Development

A NOTE ON STYLE

This page uses the front cover and Table of

Contents of this document to exemplify an
overcrowding of color versus a more balanced
and modern style. OPCD is white against
the colored background but bleeds into
the white space below, while style guide
breaks the grid and is accented in orange.
The design on the right creates balance and
intentional use of white space. By adding blue
to the bottom however, the design becomes
crowded without space to breathe, as pictured
in the left column. Similarly, the left Table
of Contents page appears elementary and
unsophisticated. By deleting the color block,
the allusion to the grid is strong and the
design becomes sophisticated and modern.

When creating documents for communication

with the public, careful consideration of color
and graphic element usage must be paid.
Both can add character and style to a design,
but more is not always better.

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Example Layouts

O F F I C E T E M P L AT E S

The following page provides examples of

document templates that have been created for
OPCD. Each serves a different purpose and was
created in a different program, but all adhere
to the guidelines outlined in this document.

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POWERPOINT M O N T H LY N E W S L E T T E R MEMOS / LETTERHEADS

The style of OPCD should also be carried

throughout documents such as memos
and letterheads. As these documents
This template was created and is available on should not appear too stylized by use of
Mailchimp and is a scrolling document that color and additional elements, as they are
would be viewed in an email or web browser. also representing the City of Seattle, it is
When working in programs that allow important to be typographically consistent to
less detail-manipulation than the Creative maintain a brand identity. The above image is
Suite, such as Mailchimp, stick to the brand the letterhead template, but both memo and
The OPCD powerpoint template is designed
guidelines as closely as possible given the letterhead Word Templates are available.
to be adaptable to all presentations given on
parameters of the program.
behalf of the office. Where applicable, master
slides can be altered, but should always
adhere to brand guidelines. See template for
the full suite of layout options.

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THANK YOU