Graphic Standards

The Department of Information graphic identity exists to communicate a strong, authoritative and consistent image. This manual sets the standards the Department follows in all of its visual communications: physical, virtual, or otherwise.

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Introduction

The unemotional, contemporary and minimal character of the graphic components conveys the Department's timely objective: disseminating information to the public in an objective, serious and authoritative manner.

While not exhaustive, this guide gives top-level direction on creating and maintaining official Department assets, collateral and ideas. It also offers a glimpse into the history of the organization, and its branding across a decades-long existence, through rare photographs from the archives.

For concepts not fully realized here, direct questions to the Office of Public Awareness.

In this guide

Department sealThe primary identifier: colorways, clear space, sizing and misuse. Alternative identifierThe horizontal lockup and the simplified globe-and-book mark. ColorDepartment Black and Manila, with Beaurocracy Blue, Embargo Red, Safety Yellow and Ledger Green. PatternsDots, grids, lines and waves for charts, maps and texture. TypographyNeue Haas Grotesk, standard issue. Baskerville for flowing text. Grid systemTwelve vertical columns for screens and paper; 24 for broadsheets. ApplicationsStationery, physical media, vehicles and the field uniform. InformationMaps, charts, audio and the smell of the Department. Pencil BoxTokens and components for Department web properties.

Scope

These standards apply to the Department of Information and every office, division and property under it.

Adapted from the Department of Information Graphic Standards Manual, V.1.0 (2021). Plates marked "Manual" reproduce its pages. Archival photographs: NASA Photo Library, Wikimedia Commons and the Library of Congress.