ACES Promotional Materials Best Practices

12/18/18Marketing and CommunicationsBE BOLD. Shape the Future.New Mexico State UniversityACES Promotional MaterialsBest PracticesBy Ana Henke, Senior Media Specialist andFrank Sholedice, Publications Assistant Editor1/2019CollegeCollegeof Agricultural,of vironmentalSciencesSciences aces.nmsu.edu/branding aces.nmsu.edu/brandingTopics to be discussed What should be on your promotional materials Copyright guidelines Graphics fundamentals Graphic design concepts ACES branded templatesCollege of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/branding1

12/18/18What should be on your promotional materials WHAT is your event? (Short, descriptive title.) WHEN is it? (Date, time.) WHERE is it? (Location, special instructions for directions.) WHY are you having the event and HOW will attendeesbenefit? (Short description, agenda, topics covered, etc.) WHO is putting on the event? (College, dept., county office,event co-sponsors, etc.) HOW can people learn more or register? (Website, phonenumber, other contact info.)College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/brandingWhat should be on your promotional materialsOther things to include: ACES logo setup ACES statement ADA statement with contact info in case attendeesneed auxiliary services EEO statement Photos! For more details, visit the ACES Branding FAQ e of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/branding2

12/18/18Copyright GuidelinesAs a best practice, assume that all material(including images!) you find online or in printis copyrighted. Therefore, if you want to useany such outside material, you will need toseek permission from the copyright holder.College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/brandingCopyright GuidelinesHowever, certain works are not copyrighted: Works by the U.S. government Works published in the U.S. before 1923 Works with a Creative Commons license(creativecommons.org/faq)ALWAYS CITE YOUR SOURCE, even when usingcopyright-free material.College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/branding3

12/18/18Photo Credit ExampleWe regularly use photosfrom other sources in ourExtension publications.Here’s an exampleof a photo credit.College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/brandingCopyright-free image resources Wikipedia public domain image resourceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public domain image resources Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Healthhttp://bugwood.org/ U.S. Fish & Wildlife Servicehttp://digitalmedia.fws.gov NOAA Photo Libraryhttp://www.photolib.noaa.gov/ Creative Commonshttp://creativecommons.org/College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/branding4

12/18/18Graphics FundamentalsUnderstanding graphics fundamentals is essentialas you build your promotional materials.College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/brandingGraphics Fundamentals: ResolutionResolution is the amount of information or pixels contained in an image.It is measured in DPI (dots per inch)or PPI (pixels per inch). These areliterally the number of dots or pixelsthat can be placed side by side in aline one inch long. The more dots orpixels, the better the clarity—thehigher the resolution—of the image.Dots Per Inch (DPI): The larger imagehere shows you the actual DOTS thatare used to print a photograph on aprinting press.College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/branding5

12/18/18Graphics Fundamentals: ResolutionHow do you know when an image is low- or high-resolution?Image is probably low-resolution: if the placed or inserted image is SO small you have to enlarge it. if the image’s file size is smaller than 500KB (kilobyte).low-resolutionImage is probably high-resolution: if the placed or inserted image fills the page if the image is at least 1MB (megabyte)(PC users can right-click an image and choose “properties” to see resolution.)high-resolutionThe recommended DPI for an image used for a printed project is 300 DPI! Theimage MUST be the size you need it to be or larger! You can always reduce thesize manually, but you should NEVER enlarge it manually.College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/brandingGraphics Fundamentals: Good sources of image files Images from digital cameras or phones.The default resolution setting should befine for most promo materials, but ifyou’re building a conference poster, setthe resolution to the highest setting. Downloadable high-resolution images.Always remember to look into copyrightpermission when using photos producedby a third party. Always properly citethe source of any third-party photos! ACES Promo Photos website(https://aces.nmsu.edu/promophotos/) NMSU Photo Archive website(https://photo.nmsu.edu/)College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/branding6

12/18/18Graphics Fundamentals: Bad sources of image filesScreen captures are usually only 72 DPI and are notrecommended for print materials because they may bepixelated or blurry when printed—especially if they areenlarged manually.Cut or copied and pasted images usually have very lowresolution, and as the images continue to be copied andpasted the quality tends to degrade.NOTE: Always use the original image file if you have it!College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/brandingGraphics Fundamentals: Embedded imagesPowerPoint and Word embed or permanently insert images placedinto the file. So, the more images you include or the larger theimage size, the bigger the PowerPoint/Word file itself will be. If thefile is too big, it will be difficult to share by email and it may bedifficult to print.Here are a few tips to keep in mind:1) Limit the number of photos used.2) Don’t use the highest resolution setting on your camera/phonewhen taking photos so the file won’t be too big.3) Crop your image before you place it to reduce the file size.College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/branding7

12/18/18Graphics Fundamentals: Resizing images You CAN manually reduce thesize of a graphic, but youshouldn’t enlarge it! When you’re resizing, ONLY usethe anchor points at the thefour corners! This will resizeyour images proportionally.Otherwise, your images will bedistorted like the logo on theright shown here.College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/brandingGraphic Design ConceptsUnderstanding graphic design concepts will help makeyour promotional materials more attractive and lookmore professional.College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/branding8

12/18/18Basic Graphic Design Concepts Legibility is crucial to getting your message across. Be concise in yourtext and limit the number of images—LESS IS MORE! If you can’t readit, what’s the point? Alignment is one of the easiest ways to make your project attractiveand easy to read. Remember that magazines/newspapers are built on agrid for a reason! Align images, columns, and headings throughoutyour document. Repetition of fonts (use no more than two!), color scheme, andplacement of images will help strengthen your message. Contrast helps with legibility and can make your project more dynamic! Grouping text logically helps organize the message for your reader.College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/brandingGraphic Design Concepts: Legibility and capitalizationHURRICANE KARL BATTERSMEXICO AS IT NEARS LANDFALLPOWERFUL HURRICANE KARLBATTERED THE CARIBBEAN COASTOF MEXICO ON FRIDAY, BRINGINGTORRENTS OF RAIN AND FIERCEWINDS SEVERAL HOURS BEFOREITS CENTER WAS EXPECTED TOMAKE LANDFALL.Hurricane Karl batters Mexicoas it nears landfallPowerful Hurricane Karlbattered the Caribbean coast ofMexico on Friday, bringingtorrents of rain and fierce windsseveral hours before its centerwas expected to make landfall.Which is easier to read?College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/branding9

12/18/18Graphic Design Concepts: Alignment and RepetitionThese samples demonstrate effective useof alignment and repetition throughout.College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/brandingGraphic Design Concepts: ContrastThese examples showhow the lack of contrastbetween backgroundphotos and font colorsaffects legibility. Also,notice the contrast in thispresentation’s headings.White text on crimson iseasy to read and dynamicand is a good example ofcontrast.RBYBRBYBRBYBRBYBRBYBRBYBFull colorWatermarkGrayscaleCollege of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/branding10

12/18/18Graphic Design Concepts: Good vs. Bad DesignGardening WorkshopApril 21, 2019RegistrationFee: 25New Mexico StateUniversity is an equalopportunity / affirmativeaction employer andeducator. NMSU and theU.S. Department ofAgriculture cooperating.If you are an individual with adisability who is in need of anauxiliary aid or service toparticipate, please contact JohnDoe in advance at (575) 646-####or jondoe@nmsu.edu.Presented by John Doe,Extension HorticultureSpecialistDepartment of ExtensionPlant SciencesNew Mexico state universityFabian GarciaScience Center8 a.m. to 4 p.m.The example on the LEFTshows what can happenwhen multiple fonts areused, too many imagesare used, alignment isn’tconsidered, having goodcontrast is ignored, andwhen information isn’tgrouped logically.Legibility is also difficultin this version.The example on theRIGHT contains the sameinformation where allof these factors areconsidered and when anACES logo setup is used.Gardening WorkshopApril 21, 2019Fabian GarciaScience Center(8 a.m. to 4 p.m.)RegistrationFee: 25John Doe, Extension Horticulture Specialist575-646-0000 johndoe@nmsu.edu eps.nmsu.eduIf you are an individual with a disability who is in need of an auxiliary aid or service toparticipate, please contact John Doe in advance at (575) 646-#### or jondoe@nmsu.edu.New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity / affirmative action employer andeducator. NMSU and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating.College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/brandingACES Branded TemplatesThe ACES branded templates in PowerPoint already includeNMSU branding color scheme, fonts, layout options, andCollege of ACES required elements. Some include the ACESlogo setups and others do not.College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/branding11

12/18/18ACES Branded TemplatesUsing these templates will make theprocess of developing these materialseasier for faculty and staff. You canmodify these templates as necessaryto fit your content.If you zoom out from the PowerPointfile, you’ll see additional guidance incrimson outside the lates.htmlCollege of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/brandingACES Branded TemplatesThere are a wide variety of templates availablefor you to choose from—newsletters, flyers,brochures, and posters! The templates are setup with separate text boxes for the content (ashighlighted here). Replace the mock text bycopying and pasting YOUR text into these textboxes. You can also replace the images by insertingyour own photos. This particular template can beused if you have a lot of text to include.Remember that you CAN modify these templatesto accommodate your content, but keep in mindall of the graphic design concepts we’ve coveredin this best practices resource!College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences aces.nmsu.edu/branding12