BRAND GUIDELINES
CREATING A STRONG BRAND
Our brand focuses on our positioning, values and key messages. It embodies everything about The Institute - its aims for the future, ethos and character. We have branding guidelines to ensure The Institute’s brand message is clear, coherent and consistent whenever we interact with our audiences.
Through following these brand guidelines, we ensure we maintain a strong brand, making us easily recognisable and invoking trust in our organisation.
CONTENTS
OUR MISSION
OUR VISION
We are the independent expert, setting and upholding standards to empower our members to improve their service and business performance.
We champion change for individuals, organisations and the wider society, so that the UK is the place to experience great service and is a valued expert on the global stage.
A world where customer experience makes a positive and sustainable impact on the reputation and economic wellbeing of the UK.
OUR VALUES
Independent
The impartial voice for customer experience issues.
Expert
Providing relevant, authoritative information, actionable insight and knowledge.
Inspirational
Encouraging ambition, striving for best practice and promoting continuous improvement
Impactful
Making a difference to our employees, customers and stakeholders so that our customers can make a difference to their customers.
Inclusive
Open to all, both organisations and individuals, who want to demonstrate a continued commitment to improving their customer service.
Ownership
Trusted to deliver, being accountable to each other and our members, and for our members to deliver to their customers.
Our personality attributes ensure we always present The Institute in a way that is consistent with our vision and values. Keep these attributes in mind when you are creating collateral and communicating externally:
• Dynamic (never downbeat)
• Direct (never ambivalent)
• Respected (never tentative)
• Positive (never pessimistic)
• Accessible (never pompous)
• Collaborative (never unilateral)
Dynamic
What we mean:
• We create impact. We make progress
happen. We encourage innovation and
make space for new thinking. We are
exciting and forward looking.
We never...
• We don’t use hyperboles and we don’t
exaggerate for effect.
Language tips…
• Use upbeat and positive language.
Choose adjectives and metaphors that
convey energy, forward movement, and
action.
Positive
What we mean:
• We make a difference and we inspire.
We encourage change and encourage
others to take ownership of their futures.
We never...
• We are never negative or apathetic even
if things aren’t working out. We don’t
complain - we look for solutions.
Language tips...
• Don’t be afraid to use some positive
emotional language. Point to a better
future or a positive outcome when
presenting opinions and data.
Direct
What we mean:
• We are plain speaking, candid, and clear.
We cut to the chase. We value brevity and precision. We we are independent thinkers.
We never...
• We avoid cliches and needless
metaphors. Clarity of communication is everything.
Language tips…
• Use short crisp sentences. Always try to
be outcome and end-benefit orientated.
Make single points quickly.
Accessible
What we mean:
• We are welcoming and easy to get to
know. We never try to dazzle or impress
or over-complicate.
We never...
• We dislike over complex, needlessly
elaborate language. We avoid technical
language and acronyms.
Language tips...
• Try to use a conversational tone.
Promote a feeling of dialogue rather
than ‘broadcast’. Ensure language is
easy to assimilate.
Respected
What we mean:
• We are an authority in our field. We lead
by example. We are trusted to deliver.
We are independent, impartial and
always frank.
We never...
• We never boast or over-claim. We never
speak without being able to back up our
opinions with solid data and experience.
Language tips...
• Be definite and unequivocal. Back up opinion with data or examples drawn from experience and accumulated wisdom.
Collaborative
What we mean:
• We work in support of our members and
encourage them to support and
collaborate with each other. We prize
teamwork.
We never...
We are never ‘I’ but always ‘we’ and ‘us’.
We never talk about ourselves before we
talk about our members.
Language tips...
Use first person plural – we, us, our,
ourselves. Use inclusive adverbs –
together, jointly – and inclusive verbs –
combine, blend, partnering.
OUR POSITIONING CONCEPT
The creative concept of ‘Ahead of the Curve’ helps project The Institute as influential, impactful, and dynamic. We inspire, encourage, and collaborate with our members - enabling them to excel at customer service, and so realise their commercial and strategic ambitions.
This short concept unpacks ‘Ahead of the Curve’:
Staying at the cutting edge of customer service keeps your competitive edge sharp.
The Institute of Customer Service provides members with the latest tools, knowledge, and expert guidance - to ensure they stay ahead of the ever-changing demands of today’s customers.
OUR PRIMARY LOGO
Elements:
Our primary logo consists of two elements: The Institute of Customer Service symbol and The Institute of Customer Service word mark. If using The Institute’s logo, wherever possible, use this form of the logo, with the same colours, relative size and position.
Logo meaning:
In a chaotic world, we make
connections and strategies to improve and emphasise the benefits of better customer service. We believe that leadership in this area will help the future success of business in the UK.
Exclusion zone
An exclusion zone is defined to ensure the logo has enough room to make an impact and guarantee that the brand logotype is prominent on all applications. Exclusion zone values are based on the distance between the circles within the symbol (x).
Forest Green
Yellow Green
Minimum size
The minimum size of the logo should be no smaller than 40mm in width (measured from the left of the symbol to the right of the word mark).
Colour variations
Mono logo
For low-resolution printing applications such as faxing, newsprint etc., use the mono version of the logo.
Reversed mono logo
When applying the logo to a black background, use the reversed mono logo.
Reversed mono on colour
When applying the logo to a colour background, use the reversed mono logo.
OUR SECONDARY LOGO
Certain circumstances may necessitate a narrower, stacked version of our master logo. However, where possible, we should always attempt to utilise the primary master logo in our brand toolkit.
As with the primary logo, our secondary logo has exclusion zones to ensure prominence on all applications. These exclusion zones are based on the same principles as the primary logo.
Inappropriate treatment
Do not:
→ rotate or angle the logo
→ stretch or squash the logo
→ use a single colour logo
MEMBER & AWARDS LOGOS
The brand architecture has been created to promote the masterbrand identity, and at the same time differentiate the different initiatives and campaigns.
These logo lock-ups must be used – and not altered in any way – on the relevant communication material, whether print or digital. The brand logo should not be locked up with other elements with the exception of member and awards-related scenarios.
Member logo
To enable our members to showcase their engagement, we have created a dedicated Institute member logo. This is derived from our primary logo and allows member organisations to easily and clearly declare they are Institute members.
Mono logo
For low-resolution printing applications such as faxing, newsprint etc, use the mono version of the logo.
Reversed mono logo
When applying the logo to a black background, use the reversed mono logo.
Reversed mono on colour
When applying the logo to a colour background, use the reversed mono logo.
Awards logo
Our UK Customer Satisfaction Awards recognise organisations and individuals that have implemented successful customer service strategies.
Organisations that win one of the Awards can promote this achievement by using the Awards Winner logo, which should always feature the year in which the Award was given. Different variations for Award sponsors and finalists are also available.
Please note: the Awards logos should be legible at any size - do not use our full logo unless there is ample space to allow for legibility.
ACCREDITATION LOGOS
ServiceMark, TrainingMark and Approved Centre are given greater prominence, as from a customer point of view it is important to promote the status of these accreditations.
A logo for each has been created to communicate the status and importance of these accreditations.
These marks must always be used and not re-created when communicating the TrainingMark, ServiceMark and Approved Centre accreditations.
These are used on plaques of achievement, and in situations where the customer wishes to promote the accreditation online or in print.
CAMPAIGN LOGOS
Usage
The Service with Respect logo can be used by members and non-members to show their support for the campaign. Two variations are available: one includes the 'back our essential workers' tagline, whilst the other does not.
Exclusion zone
An exclusion zone is defined to ensure that the logo has enough room to make an impact and guarantee that the text is prominent in all applications.
Exclusion zone values are based on the height of the first letter of the ‘Service with Respect’ type, marked with the symbol (x).
Minimum size
There is no absolute minimum size for the logo - just ensure that the text is legible at the size at which it is likely to render on screen or in print.
Campaign assets - design examples
The Service with Respect logo can also be used in conjunction with an illustration across different supports, including digital artworks and merchandise:
NATIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE WEEK
National Customer Service Week (NCSW) is a week-long celebration of customer service, taking place the first week of October every year. It is an opportunity to raise awareness of customer service and the vital role it plays in successful business practice and the growth of the UK economy.
The National Customer Service Week logo can be used by members and non-members to promote their involvement.
Our National Customer Service Week digital assets should only be reproduced from master artwork files and never be redrawn, reset or altered in any way.
Please always use the artwork supplied. If you have a specific requirement which cannot be met by any of the supplied artwork, please contact us.
Themes vary for each day and they are represented by different flat-style icons on the National Customer Service Week illustration below:
Campaign assets - design examples
OUR COLOUR PALETTE
We are primarily a green and white brand – white being manifested by white space and backgrounds where relevant.
We have introduced two brighter greens for use in all applications alongside white, which complements the core greens within the logo.
Our core identity colours include:
• Vibrant Lime
• Neon Green
• Navy Green
Colour matching
To ensure colour consistency across all media, please use the appropriate colour values:
• Pantone when printing special inks
• CMYK when printing full colour
• Hex (#) for digital media
• RGB for Word and Powerpoint
Primary colour palette
Note:
All typography should be either navy green/black, or white/vibrant lime when set against a navy green background.
Vibrant Lime
Neon Green
Navy Green
Secondary colour palette
Secondary colours are used in our logo and icons to add accents, create pace and variety to relevant applications.
Forest Green
Yellow Green
Accent colours
Accent colours should be used sparingly but are included to add impact, and hits of colour to create visual interest.
Neon Pink
Bright Orange
Light Purple
Light Blue
TYPEFACE
MODERUSTIC EXTRA BOLD
Moderustic Extra Bold font is a modern and stylish sans-serif typeface with a bold and commanding presence which has been chosen to create greater impact to our messaging. It should predominantly be used in uppercase for headlines, titles, and focal text in digital and print formats.
While Moderustic Extra Bold is the primary choice for impactful applications, the Bold version of the font can be used in instances where a slightly lighter yet equally confident style is more suitable. This might include:
• Scenarios requiring a balance between emphasis and subtlety
• Medium-weight subheadings or secondary messages within designs to maintain visual flow without overpowering the primary text.
MODERUSTIC EXTRA BOLD
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MODERUSTIC BOLD
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Roboto Slab Medium
Roboto Slab Medium is a geometric slab serif font that balances modernity and readability. It is suitable for headlines, subheadings, and short text passages where clarity and emphasis are needed.
It complements sans-serif fonts like Moderustic for a harmonious visual hierarchy and has various weights to ensure we have the flexibility to adopt a style which commands attention, which is more conversational and informal.
Roboto Slab Bold
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
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Roboto Slab Medium
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Noto Sans
Noto Sans is our chosen body typeface for its modern, professional aesthetic and exceptional versatility. Its clean and geometric design ensures readability across both digital and print platforms, making it suitable for body text and captions.
Noto Sans Bold
Noto Sans
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0123456789
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
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0123456789
ILLUSTRATIONS
Because we have a strong photographic element within our brand identity, we can depend less on illustrations. These should be used to help support key points where photography is not relevant and/or to create pace and interest within applications.
We are using an isometric, outlined, 3D-style of illustration, to create a modernistic style which is clear and easy to interpret, and its curved styling is in line with the ‘Ahead of the Curve’ creative concept.
We use colour sparring on these illustrations, predominately using our Navy Green, Neon Green and Lime Green.
ICONS
Icons are used to emphasise a point we are making.
We have chosen a simple, line drawn, open style for our suite of icons. Where possible, icons should be rendered two-tone in our Forest Green and Yellow-green on white backgrounds.
Where used against a colour background they can be done in single colour, ideally white or Navy Green.
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS
PROGRESS WAVE
We have a graphic asset which is predominantly used alongside our primary photography suite, called the ‘Progress Wave’. This is a visual expression of the ‘Ahead of the Curve’ creative concept and a dynamic graphic asset, which has been designed to communicate energy, forward movement, and the supportive interplay between The Institute and its membership.
COLOURED BACKGROUNDS
There are instances where a photographic image or an illustration is not suitable. In these cases, a punchy, bold, typography led messages may be used. There are a series of abstract, coloured backgrounds born out of the Progress Wave, and often combined with an accent colour to create variety and visual interest. This can be used for social headers, certificates, etc.
These coloured backgrounds feature an expression of the progress wave, combined with an accent colour to create variety and visual interest.
White space can be introduced into the background as shown where detail beyond a headline is required, for example Head-to-Head Interview and for Certification.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Primary photography
Primary photography is used sparingly and as a lead branding element – for example as masthead banners on our home page and as cover pages on brochures.
Primary Images need to have a prominent single image as its focus, and large areas of clear neutral space so that the progress wave can be overlayed/underlaid and can interact with the central image.
Secondary photography
Our secondary photography library is designed for use beyond the’ primary images - for example on as web page headers, and within brochure interiors. Secondary photography can also be used in isolation where the medium is not appropriate for primary photography.
All secondary images have an element of at least one of our greens within them to help bind them to our brand. We have grouped these secondary images into categories to ensure relevance to the application and the audience.
TONE OF VOICE
To connect immediately with our audiences and convey dynamism and energy, we use short and punchy headlines to lead our communications and collateral.
These two spreads from our membership brochure demonstrate the point. We want to make our audience sit forward and take notice of what we have to say.
Here are examples of how the identity comes to life across a variety of digital and print formats. You will see how the coloured backgrounds can be adapted where required and where coloured background banners are not possible or desirable, primary or secondary photography can be used depending on the execution.
RESEARCH COVERS
→ Research document covers always use the illustrations in our brand style.
→ Always consider how the illustration links to the title copy that it is accompanying.
→ Any illustrations used should always be in isometric style, using our primary colours only where possible.
CUSTOMER FOCUS MAGAZINE
→ Our Customer Focus Magazine aims to provide insight and inspiration to our members and subscribers
→ A variation of the progress wave and gradient background with accent colour are used throughout the magazine for brand recognition and visual interest.
CONFERENCE & AWARDS BROCHURES
→ The Annual Conference and UK Customer Satisfaction Awards both have their own distinctive style, independent from our main brand (aside from typography) and always in line with the event themes. The creative concept is rolled out across all event assets.
ACADEMY WORKSHOPS
We have specific assets and imagery we use for our Academy Workshops and courses. The photos used should always link in some way to the title. A gradient effect in navy green has also been overlaid to the image to allow for better readability.
COLLATERAL
Here are examples of how our identity plays out across brochures and other documentation.
Who to contact
Thank you for taking the time to familiarise yourself with our guidelines. We endeavor to always present The Institute of Customer Service brand in the correct way and to uphold the principles that the brand is built upon. This means careful attention has to be applied to everything that The Institute produces with regards to media.
If you are unsure of any brand-related issues or have any questions regarding its use, application or appearance, please contact our Communications & Corporate Affairs team (laura.alemany@icsmail.co.uk or david.dagger@icsmail.co.uk).