School Brand Guidelines: What to Include (+ Free Template)

Clear brand guidelines prevent off‑brand flyers, mismatched uniforms, and vendor headaches. Use this outline to ship a useful document in days—not months.

Core Components

• Logo family: primary, horizontal, one‑color, and clear‑space/minimum size
• Color system: primary/secondary with PMS/CMYK/RGB/HEX
• Typography: display, body, numbers; web and print fallbacks
• Mascot marks: academic vs athletic usage, lockups, and spirit marks
• Photography/graphics: tone, composition, backgrounds, and icon style

Athletics vs Academics (One System, Two Contexts)

• Athletics: distance legibility, simplified marks, number/wordmark pairing
• Academics: accessibility, body copy legibility, header styles, seal usage
• Shared assets: color harmonization and shared typography

File Formats Vendors Need

• Vector master: AI/EPS/SVG (logo + mascot) with outlined fonts
• Web: PNG/WebP/SVG; Print: PDF/TIFF
• One‑color and reversed versions for embroidery/vinyl/paint

Governance & Requests

• Who approves new marks; where to request files; expected turnaround
• Template library: letterhead, slide deck, social headers, signage

Downloadable Outline

Copy this structure into your doc, then add screenshots for each rule:

1. Introduction and purpose
2. Logo family (+ clear‑space/min size)
3. Colors (+ accessibility notes)
4. Typography (+ usage examples)
5. Mascot/mark usage (athletics vs academics)
6. Photography/graphics style
7. Templates & examples
8. Governance, requests, and contact

Next Steps

Want a ready‑to‑use manual with vendor‑ready files? See our visual identity service and get a quote. View real outcomes in our case studies.

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