Style Guide
Design
See the Design Programme for fonts, logos, colours, images, icons etc.
Accessibility
See Accessible documents & outreach materials for advice on making your communication accessible, including for considering colour blindness and dyslexia.
Content
- Be consistent in the name and image used for the event/action across all platforms.
- Consider accessibility: It is key in reaching as many people as possible and growing our movement. Mention where people can find out more about physical accessibility.
- Don’t assume knowledge, for example make clear what abbreviations stand for.
- Seek permission before sharing private numbers or email (and don’t share them as a rule otherwise).
- Slow down & check. Your message will land better if the info is accurate.
Banner Images
- Use Fucxed Caps (the main XR font)
- Colour scheme: use colours from the XR Design Programme (this can include different shades of one colour).
- Limit the words in a visual banner. Put a short title only into the image. Text in images is not fully accessible. Keep the design clean and readable.
- Use one font size for the banner design (or two max). Keep it simple and clear.
- Centralise the text in the image
- Use a consistent margin around the edge of the image for breathing space, so that the text or logo doesn’t sit on the edge of design.
- Check the image and text is in focus. Do not use it otherwise!
- Avoid too many overlays of images or text as it can be overwhelming.
- We advise using black or white text on a background colour for contrast and clarity. Make it clear.
- Consider dimensions (see below).
Spellings
- Citizens’ Assembly; plural - Citizens’ Assemblies
- People’s Assembly; plural - People’s Assemblies
- De-escalation
- Nonviolence, nonviolent
- Wellbeing
- Campsite
- Any more (with a space)
- X-year-old
- XRUK (the hive and its subcircles, as opposed to "XR in the UK", which includes all the nations, regions, local groups, community groups, and so on)
Time
- Use a 24h clock or specify am/pm or AM/PM
- Include a colon, e.g. 17:00 or 05:00pm
Messaging app messages
General
- See the Rebellion Broadcast or Movement Broadcast Telegram channels for examples of well-formatted messages
- Keep messages short. Link out to further information.
- Use CAPS in bold for the title of the message (caps and bold because bold doesn't always work when messaged are shared-on to other platforms)
Links
- Use XR’s link shortener to make links shorter. (You’ll need a Mattermost account to create XR short links. If you don’t have one use TinyURL.)
- Put weblinks on the next line after the text/colon: this is for accessibility as it’s easier to read.
- Don’t use direct (embedded) links on Telegram, share the full hyperlink instead. (Messages are often shared-on to other platforms, which may not support linking.)
- Close linked windows (the cross in top right corner of the message) to reduce the message length and make a neater visual.
Images
- Don’t use an image unless it’s a good one, clear & dynamic with high contrast.
- The dimensions for using an image on Telegram are 1920 x 1005 (the same proportions as a Facebook event header)
- Keep it simple. One image is advised for the best effect - landscape. If you don’t have a strong image then no need to add one.
- Attach an image to the message, rather than posting it before on its own. It will otherwise get lost when messages are forwarded.
- In Telegram, if you have multiple images you can attach them straight to the message and they will automatically form a grid.
- For collages, max 5 images per collage (as a general rule of thumb), otherwise it risks being cluttered. A single image can sometimes be more striking
- Aim for clear images (remember most people will view on their phones)
Example images
Emojis
- Limit the use of emojis. Less is more! Be inclusive in your message format. The visual is as important as the content.
- Don’t frame a message title with emojis or use emojis at the end of a line. The emojis often jump lines when the message is shared to different devices or platforms (Android or iPhone, Signal or Telegram, phone or computer) and can end up looking messy.
- Just use one emoji at the start of the title, if you’re going to use them, and try to colour-coordinate with the header image
- Use one space between image and emoji.
- Consider inclusivity when using emoji skin colours for hands etc. If you want to find more Telegram emojis including additional skin tones check out emojipedia
Lists
- Precede lists with a colon
- If lists need to be displayed (ie items on separate lines), consider using a bullet, asterisk or emoji before each item.
- If each item is in complete sentences, end with a full-stop. Otherwise, no punctuation at end of item except for a full stop at the end of the last one
- For in-line lists, separate items by commas; avoid Oxford commas (comma after penultimate item, preceding an ‘and’).