TO: All Employees
FR: Julia Gonzalez, AVP Strategic Communications
Many of you may have already noticed that Sonoma State University’s website is sporting a new look. The new website theme and color palette is one facet of the campus rebranding initiative SSU embarked upon last year, and that involved campus-wide participation. SSU partnered with the design team at The Engine is Red to develop a new logo and brand concept that embodies our values, commitment to educational excellence, and our campus community's spirit.
We are pleased to begin unveiling the new brand elements, which feature visual and verbal assets, including new logos and marks, a new lexicon, and a well defined brand identity.
Key to SSU’s new brand is the concept of embodying a Sonoma State of Mind, which harkens to a curious, optimistic, and confident mindset that empowers students to become strong and thoughtful leaders in their careers, communities, and beyond.
Website Theme - The first phase of applying the new logo and brand elements to the SSU website involves the top-level pages, which are most frequently visited, and the Admissions website. These changes only affect the layout and graphic theme of the website, the functionality of the website is unchanged.
This first set of webpages are just the beginning of the web refresh project. As you navigate across the SSU website, you will notice some pages retain SSU’s old logo. The remaining webpages, of which there are over 100, will be transitioned to the new brand theme over the next several months.
Stationery and Business Cards - We will begin issuing new business stationery and other collateral assets with the new SSU brand in the coming weeks. If you have marketing materials with current brand elements on them, continue to use them until they run out.
Logo, Design Elements, and Brand Guidelines - Our logo is the cornerstone of our visual brand identity. To ensure consistent use of the Sonoma State University logo, we ask faculty and staff to complete a short, online Branding Basics course, after which you have access to logo files and other brand assets. Please contact Creative Services to take the Branding Basic course.
SSU’s brand identity, how we describe the university is outlined in the new Brand Guidelines. There are new color palettes, typography, presentation slide templates, and other templates now available for use. Additionally, we will unveil new social media avatars and a uniform format for email signatures in the coming weeks.
The Creative Services team is available to help answer questions about the new brand guidelines and to consult on projects involving marketing campaigns.