Penn State Visual Identity Standards
The examples below illustrate how Penn State’s visual identity standards apply to Smeal and its departments and centers. For more information, refer to brand.psu.edu
Brand Colorfully
Smeal Primary Palette
These blues are central to the Penn State brand — just as the growth of our university is central to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Primary Brand Blues — Nittany Navy, Beaver Blue, and Pennsylvania Sky — are not only tied to our identity; they also reflect the active impact and strong roots Penn Staters have in communities across the Commonwealth.
While this palette uses colors found in the Penn State palette, the Smeal visual language elevates Pugh Blue (to Primary Palette) and de-emphasizes Beaver Blue (to Accent Palette).
Pantone 282
CMYK: 100, 90, 13, 68
RGB: 4, 30, 66
HEX #001E44
Nittany Navy
Pantone 284
CMYK: 40, 14, 0, 0
RGB: 150, 190, 230
HEX: #96BEE6
Pugh Blue
No Pantone
CMYK: 0, 0, 0, 0
RGB: 255, 255, 255
HEX: #FFFFFF
White
Pantone 2925
CYMK: 85, 21, 0, 0
RGB: 0, 156, 222
HEX: #009CDE
Pennsylvania Sky
Pantone 284
CMYK: 9, 3, 0, 0
RGB: 229, 237, 248
HEX #E5EDF8
Pugh Blue 25%
Smeal Accent Palette
The Smeal Accent Palette is available to give you more flexibility when making color choices and add variety to your compositions.
Remember, Smeal Accent Palette colors should be secondary and in support of the Primary Palette.
These colors should not be used together in isolation of other colors in the palette.
Pantone 287
CMYK: 100, 76, 0, 18
RGB: 30, 64, 124
HEX #1E407C
Beaver Blue
Pantone 109
CMYK: 0, 9, 100, 0
RGB: 255, 209, 0
HEX: #FFD100
Bright Keystone
Typography
Typography is an essential component of our brand identity. Used consistently and effectively, typography distinguishes and adds personality to our communications, in addition to ensuring legibility.
Proxima Nova is the recommended sans serif font for use by internal and external designers for print communications. It is widely available on our system. It is a distinctive font with a round geometric quality and large ascenders and descenders.
Headers, Impact Statements, Intro Copy, Caption Copy
Proxima Nova
Font weight: ExtraBold
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 0123456789
System Alternative
Arial
Font weight: Bold
Google Alternative
Montserrat
Font weight: Bold
Serifa is a classic slab serif with a large x-height in the lowercase letters.
Headlines, Subheadlines, Intro Copy, Body Copy, Caption Copy
Serifa
Font weight: Regular (Std 55 Roman)
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 0123456789
Font weight: Bold (Std 65 Roman)
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 0123456789
System Alternative
Courier
Font weight: Bold
Google Alternative
Roboto Slab
Font weight: Bold
Intro Copy: Serifa Regular
Sentence case 28 pt.
Leading +3 pt / Tracking -10
Header: Proxima Nova Extrabold
Title case 68 pt.
Leading -10 pt / Tracking -20 with kerning
adjustments where required
Body Intro: Proxima Nova Extrabold
Sentence case 20 pt.
Leading +3 pt. / Tracking 0
Body: Serifa Regular
Sentence case 18 pt.
Leading +3 pt / Tracking 0
Call Out Box: Serifa Regular / Bold
Sentence case. 14 pt.
Leading +3 pt / Tracking 0
We can carry more as leaders when we choose
The Right
Partners.
Wherever you are today or imagine yourself tomorrow, Smeal is your business partner for life.
For that next great opportunity, we provide the skills, credentials, and confidence you need to thrive. We’re everywhere in the world and always in your corner – ready to open doors, offer advice, and cheer you on.
As a graduate of Smeal, you’re part of a network of more than 92,000 fellow alumni – and 760,000+ other Penn Staters – who are ready to open doors, offer advice, and cheer you on at every stage of your career.
Leading
Line spacing, called leading, should be set tight, but not too tight. For body copy, try leading that’s two or three points higher than the type size.
Leading that’s too tight leaves
too little pause between the lines.
Too tight
20pt. type / 24 pt. leadingLeading that’s too loose leaves
too great of a pause between the lines.
Too loose
20pt. type / 40 pt. leadingWhen leading is correct, the
reader won’t even notice.
Just right
20pt. type / default leadingTracking
The space between a range of letters is referred to as tracking.
Tracking that’s too tight leaves too
little space between letters.
Too tight
20pt. type / 24 pt. leadingTracking that’s too loose leaves too
much space between letters.
Too loose
20pt. type / 40 pt. leadingWhen tracking is correct, the
reader won’t even notice.
Just right
20pt. type / default leading
Alignment
Always choose ‘left alignment’ for text. It is clean and easy-to-read.
Left-Aligned
Align text against page guides/margins to improve consistency.
Aligned to guides
Capitalization
Capitalizing words or phrases gives TOO MUCH EMPHASIS.
Too distracting
Experiment with text size, color, and weight for a balanced emphasis.
Effective emphasis
‘Labels’
Creating a label-maker effect gives too much emphasis.
Too distracting
Experiment with text size, color, and weight to draw attention.
Subtle enphasis
Rectangle Links
Use Rectangle Links sparingly to draw maximum attention to a Call-To-Action.
Underline Links
Use Underlined Links for a subtler Callto- Action. This is an ideal option when the design includes multiple Calls-To- Action. Experiment paring link colors with background colors.
Inaccessible Text
Always check the accessibility of the colors in your design. Your use of color MUST conform to the web accessibility standards adopted by Penn State: accessibility. psu.edu/color/
For text 18 points or greater, the text-to background contrast must be at least 3:1.
For text under 18 points, text-to-background contrast must be 4.5:1 or greater.
The text color combinations listed here are commonly used but do not pass Accessibility standards at any point size.
Inaccessible at any size
Text Color: White
Background Color: Pugh Blue
Contrast: 1.94:1
Accessibility limit: never accessible
Inaccessible at any size
Text Color: Pugh Blue
Background Color: PA Sky
Contrast: 1.58:1
Accessibility limit: never accessible
Inaccessible at any size
Text Color: Pugh Blue
Background Color: White
Contrast: 1.94:1
Accessibility limit: never accessible
Inaccessible at any size
Text Color: PA Sky
Background Color: Pugh Blue 25%
Contrast: 2.61:1
Accessibility limit: never accessible
Inaccessible at any size
Text Color: Pugh Blue
Background Color: PA Sky
Contrast: 1.58:1
Accessibility limit: never accessible
Inaccessible at any size
Text Color: Pugh Blue 25%
Background Color: PA Sky
Contrast: 2.61:1
Accessibility limit: never accessible
Accessible Text
The text color combinations listed here pass Accessibility standards. Some combinations require a minimum point size.
Accessible at 18+ pt
Text Color: PA Sky
Background Color: Nittany Navy
Accessibility limit: 18 pt or higher
Accessible at 18+ pt
Text Color: Nittany Navy
Background Color: PA Sky
Accessibility limit: 18 pt or higher
Accessible at 18+ pt
Text Color: PA Sky
Background Color: Beaver Blue
Accessibility limit: 18 pt or higher
Accessible at 18+ pt
Text Color: Beaver Blue
Background Color: Pugh Blue
Accessibility limit: 18 pt or higher
Accessible at 18+ pt
Text Color: Pugh Blue
Background Color: Beaver Blue
Accessibility limit: any size
Accessible at any size
Text Color: Pugh Blue
Background Color: Nittany Navy
Accessibility limit: any size
Accessible at any size
Text Color: White
Background Color: Nittany Navy
Accessibility limit: any size
Accessible at any size
Text Color: Bright Keystone
Background Color: Nittany Navy
Accessibility limit: any size
Accessible at any size
Text Color: White
Background Color: Beaver Blue
Accessibility limit: any size
Accessible at any size
Text Color: Bright Keystone
Background Color: Beaver Blue
Accessibility limit: any size
Accessible at any size
Text Color: Nittany Navy
Background Color: Pugh Blue
Accessibility limit: any size
Accessible at 18+ pt
Text Color: PA Sky
Background Color: White
Accessibility limit: 18 pt or higher
Accessible at any size
Text Color: Nittany Navy
Background Color: White
Accessibility limit: any size
Accessible at any size
Text Color: Beaver Blue
Background Color: White
Accessibility limit: any size