Wedgwood Standards Guide v3

communication standards guide
why communication standards?
How w e com m unicate is just as im portant as w hat w e are com m unicating.
Good communications communicate two main ideas to the reader about Wedgwood
Baptist Church, we are unified and that the m essage and the reader are
im portant.
Wedgwood’s mission is “Experiencing Christ together to transform our world!” To do
this effectively, we have to be passionate about sending clear and sim ple
m e ssa ges about key priorities to our members, attendees and visitors.
Communications standards are guide lines for consistency and quality in our
communication. They help ensure that we communicate with excellence across all
ministry areas.
How we communicate (beyond the platform) with each other and our
audience brings the message to life. A consistent stylistic approach will
have a positive impact on the overall excellence of our church.
• Effectiveness
Requires a partnership with staff and ministry leaders to facilitate good
stewardship of resources. It’s not about dogmatic ideas and rigid
principles, but about harnessing the power of our message to enhance the
experience.
• Consistency
Each communication piece is a valuable tool with the opportunity to unify
or dilute all communications church-wide, depending on the quality of the
information and how it is organized.
• Clarity
Simplify everything our audience sees or touches to make their life easier
and more rewarding in every aspect of their engagement with Wedgwood.
Help them connect with Jesus and others effortlessly.
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thought starter questions
When developing any communication, think through these questions in advance.
Answers to these questions guide what communication vehicles will be employed.
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What audience or demographic am I trying to reach?
What obstacles exist that may prevent my listeners from responding?
Do they have any pre-conceived opinions about what I’m communicating?
What other events, programs, or messages exist that I can work in concert with?
What is really going to motivate them to respond to what I’m communicating?
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communication vehicles
Depending on the scope, audience and strategy, the following communication
vehicles may be used to communicate your message:
W eb/electronic
· Announcement in all-church enewsletter
· Announcement in ministry
specific e- newsletter
· Webpage within the
ministry’s area of website
· Listing on website calendar
(i.e., description in ServiceU
event details)
· Graphic for website
· E-mail to desired audience
Print
· Listing in Lifeline (print & web)
· Custom brochure, flyer or
postcard
· Custom poster
· Custom direct mail piece
In-person sign-up or promotion
· Promotion slide on internal TV’s
· Table in Resource Area
Social M edia
· Facebook
announcement/reminder
· Twitter announcement/reminder
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event scheduling process
10-STEPS For Lifeline Requests in SERVICE-U
1 – Login and
click “New”
then click “Event”
2 – Type “publicity”
+ article
name
Leave blank
3 – Enter
the event
start date
in BOTH
fields. See
notes for
events with
rooms.
4 – Leave
blank
5 – Select
department
6 – Select
category:
“Lifeline
Articles”
then click
NEXT
7 – Click on
"Resources
/Support
Services"
link
8 – Uncheck
building entry
door option. Select
“EventPublicity
Request Form”
Go to Event Publicity Form
9 – Fill in form, click NEXT
Go to Summary page
10 – Click "Submit Event
for Approval"
1 - Login into your ServiceU account and click “New” on the top tool bar then click “Event”
2 – On the event form, in the Event Name field, type the word "Publicity" and the name of your event in the first field.
3 – In the Event Dates sections, for any events or publicity that does not require room reservations, enter only the start
date for your event in both fields of the date area. For events that do require rooms and other support services or
resources then type the full date range and fill out all other relevant fields on this form.
4 – Leave description field blank and save your event description for the publicity form.
5 - Select a department
6 - Select a category - choose "Lifeline Articles" then click NEXT
7 - Click on "Resources/Support Services" link on the top of the next page.
8 - Uncheck the option for "Building entry doors..." and select "Event Publicity Request Form" then Click NEXT
9 - Fill in all relevant fields of the Event Publicity Request form then Click NEXT
10 - On the Summary page Click "Submit Event for Approval" and you're done!
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guidelines for verbiage, writing, & grammar
We use many terms at Wedgwood to refer to things unique to this church,
including programs, building rooms, etc. In order to reflect excellence in all we
do, we need to be consistent when referring to these terms in our
communications.
Capitalization rules are reflected as they appear unless noted otherwise.
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Acronym s – Acronyms communicate exclusivity in harmful ways, as people
newer to the church don’t know what you are referring to. Therefore do not
use acronyms unless you first use the full name with the acronym in
parentheses.
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Bible
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Bible study
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bib lical / go dly
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child care – lowercase; two words.
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church – Not capitalized in general uses; capitalize when used in official name
(Ex. We went to church today. We went to Wedgwood Baptist Church today.)
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Com m unity Life Center (CLC) – use full name first time used in
communications and abbreviate each following time used.
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Dates – When listing dates, always use numbers only, without st, nd, rd or th
(See also Months).
•
e-m ail – Lowercase except at the beginning of a sentence; only “E” needs
capitalization.
o Always include a hyphen between “e” and “mail.”
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Gospel
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Kids Hope
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Leaders in Training (LITs) – Use full name first time used in communications
and abbreviate each following time used.
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m in istry / M inistry – Capitalize when used with the name of a specific
ministry (Ex. Children’s
o Ministry, Women’s Ministry). Lowercase when using in general terms (Ex.
the ministry in which
o I serve). Never use the plural “ministries/Ministries” unless referring to
more than one ministry.
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•
M onetary references - $ before figure. No zeros if even amount. E.g., $10
instead of $10.00.
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M onths – Capitalize the names of months in all uses. When a month is used
with a specific date (Aug. 12), abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Apr., Aug., Sept., Oct.,
Nov., Dec. Spell out when using alone or with a year alone. When a phrase lists
only a month and a year, do not separate the year with a comma (Ex. July
2007). When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with a
comma. (Ex. Aug. 4, 2007).
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Nehem iah Kids
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Num bers – No apostrophes, e.g., 4s and 5s.
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online – one word, no hyphen
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pastor – Capitalize if used before a name (Ex. Pastor Joe Bartemus); do
not capitalize in general use (Ex. Eric Anderson is the pastor who oversees
worship.)
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Phone nu m bers – Phone numbers must include the area code and a period
between the first three and last four numbers, not a hyphen (Ex. 317.846.2884).
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Preschool Park– Always uppercase to match our signage. The Park refers
to the entire preshool wing, primarily in the foyer area with the Children’s
Welcome Desk.
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Resource Center – Match our signage. Do not use foyer, lobby, or narthex to
refer to this area.
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Scripture – Capitalize when referring to the Bible as a whole. (Ex. The pastor
referred to various portions of Scripture in his sermon.) Lowercase when
referring to a verse or passage, (Ex. scripture verse).
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Scripture references – To honor copyright laws, cite the translation
abbreviation at the end of the reference, outside the quotation marks.
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Sm all Group – Use Small Group instead of “Flock Group.” Both words are
capitalized in all uses.
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Sunday sch ool groups – school is not capitalized
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Tim e s – Use figures except for noon and midnight. Use a colon to separate
hours from minutes. Use a.m. and p.m. (Ex. 12:30 p.m.; 4 a.m.). Not AM, am or
A.M. Do not use zeros at even times, e.g., 3 p.m. instead of 3:00 p.m. Avoid
redundancies (Ex. 10 a.m. in the morning).
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the W edg
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w ebsite – one word
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W orship Center -
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W edgwood Baptist Church – For the first reference, write the entire
name. All subsequent references, you can use “Wedgwood” or “WBC”. Use
“WBC” sparingly and only after an initial reference to “Wedgwood Baptist
Church” or “Wedgwood.”
When this guide does not cover an issue, WBC will default to AP Style for grammar
and punctuation consistency. http://www.apstylebook.com/ask_editor.php
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tips for effective digital communication
digital = website, e-Newsletters, email
How to write effectively & clearly for digital readers
Less is m ore
• This is the most important thing about writing for digital readers.
• Web users are scanning and don’t like to read very long paragraphs.
The more concise the content, the easier it is to scan.
• “Chunk” text (break into bite-sized pieces) for quick and easy consumption.
• Break paragraph points into bulleted lists.
• Use short phrases instead of full sentences to make a point.
• Make one point per paragraph.
Use headline s and headin gs
• Use headings within a document to make it easy to scan the document's
meaning. Good journalistic headings read like a bullet-point summary of the
document's contents, so a reader can scan down the page, get a quick idea
of what's on the page, and decide whether to read in more detail.
Use active vo ice
• English grammar uses two 'voices': active and passive. Active voice is
when something does something (actively). Passive voice is when
something is done to something.
• Passive voice uses more words than active, and takes slightly more
decoding.
o E.g., "Sign up on the registration page." is better than "Sign-up
can be done on the registration page."
Use a friendly, conversation tone
• · People make impressions about our church by what they read on the
website. Therefore, use a tone is friendly, conversational, and inviting
• · Use language welcoming to new attenders or guests, with little to no
“church” language or hard-to-understand terms or acronyms used
(unless good explanations are provided), especially on the visitortargeted pages
• · Refer to the verbiage and grammar guidelines above for tools to
ensure consistency in grammar and punctuation.
Give read ers all the inform ation they need to lear n m ore or take the
next step
• · This may sound obvious, but many writers ask people to sign-up but
don’t include a link to register.
• · Always include contact information (name, phone, & email) or a link
for registration (if applicable).
• § When providing contact information, provide a hyperlink from the
person’s name to their e- mail. “Contact [name and number].”
Links to Reso urces for W riting for the W eb
• Helpful comparison of print vs. online content:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/print-vs-online-content.html
• Introduction and overview of writing for the Web:
http://webdesignfromscratch.com/writing-for- the-web.php
• Helpful articles on many different aspects of the Web:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/print-vs- online-content.html
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•
An online library of links to Web site resources, including how to write for the
Web:
http://websitetips.com/webcontent/
Sam ple w ell-structured e-m ail:
Hi all,
Curious about the plan for our staff lunch tomorrow? Here are the details
about our schedule for tomorrow:
S taff AM M eeting
· Meet at 9 a.m . in the east room
· Will be a time of staff prayer
Staff Lunch
‐ Meet at 11 a.m . in the east room
‐ Eat at 11:15 a.m .
‐ We’ll eat a tasty meal served by Brother Al and watch the inauguration
ceremony (11:30)
Thanks,
Mitch
Sam ple of poorly-structured e-m ail:
Hi all,
As we usually do for staff meetings and on our Tuesday schedule, we’ll be
doing a couple of things as a staff tomorrow. Hopefully you’ll be able to join
us for what we’ll be doing as a staff. We’ll be in the fellowship hall in the
morning for both of the meetings. At our regular staff meeting we’ll be
praying for the needs in our staff and church family and we’ll be meeting at 9
a.m. We’ll be doing our every third-Tuesday staff lunch also, when we’ll be
meeting to each a meal served by the Staff Elders and then we’ll be watching
a cool video. The meeting time will be 11 am and later we’ll eat at 11:15 a.m.
Thanks,
Paul
Sam ple w ell-structured w eb even t:
JumpStart Prayer Now Starting for W omen
Due to the great response to the Men's JumpStart Prayer, the Rebound ministry
team is now starting a JumpStart Prayer for women!
This prayer time is for women who are currently unemployed and it is designed
to give them support and encouragement to keep them persevering through
the job search process.
Here are the details:
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Starts Thursday, March 26 and continues through Thursday, May 7 (may
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continue after May 7 if interest continues).
Meets 12-1 p.m. at Wedgwood Baptist Church in the Prayer Room.
A light lunch will be provided each week.
Meetings will be led by staff as well as other College Park members.
Please join us for this great time of prayer, encouragement, and practical help!
REM EM BER
• You may be the first and only contact that someone has with the church.
• Your goal is to connect people directly with a resource and not necessarily
another person. Avoid the middleman.
ASK YO URSELF
• Instead of connecting people to the church staff, how can we connect them
with each other?
• Instead of making people wait for us, how can we give them tools that
empower them to do things themselves?
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formatting for webpages
•
See Wordpress template for branding style.
formatting for e-Newsletters
Beyond the digital communication guideline above, follow these specific guidelines for enewsletters:
• Right justify all images and graphics.
• Limit your image size to 151 pixels wide for two-column templates and 200 pixels
wide for one- column templates.
• Always have a second person proofread your e-newsletter draft.
• Always double-check your recipient list segment. It is very easy to inadvertently
send to the entire all-church distribution list.
photography usage
• All photos to be used on the Wedgwood website must be reviewed with the
Communication Team.
• People clearly seen in all photos used on the Wedgwood website must have signed a
written photo waiver (legality issues).
• Whenever possible for photos of children: Use stock photography or large group
photos taken from behind without a focus on faces (legality issues).
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fonts
This document provides guidelines for designing print and/or web promotional applications for
Wedgwood Baptist Church. A consistent stylistic approach will positively impact the efficiency,
consistency, clarity, growth, and overall excellence of our church.
On this page you will find the approved fonts for usage in Wedgwood Baptist
Church communications.
approved typ e styles
the Wedgwood font: Gotham Book
Gotham Book Regular
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890
The Gotham Book font is Wedgwood’s
primary typeface and should be used
across the board in all communications
(letters, postcards, brochures) to
establish a consistent look and feel.
Gotham Book Italic
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890
Gotham Bold
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWX Y
abcdefghijk lmnopqrstuv wx yz
1234567890
Gotham Bold Italic
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWX Y
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuv wx yz
1234567890
the secondary font: Russo One
The Russo One font is included here for
usage in headlines or sub headlines.
Russo One is not approved for usage in
body copy or paragraph texts.
approved typ e styles
Russo One Regular
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890
Russo One Extra Bold
A B C D E FG H IJK LM N O P Q R S T U V W X Y
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvw
xyz
1234567890
-The ONLY exception to these fonts is special event/sermon logos that
utilize a word or words in their event/sermon logo. If a special
event/sermon (kids play, DNow, Facets, etc.) uses a font because that
word(s) is part of that special event/sermon logo/graphic, then it does
not have to be one of the approved branding fonts. This should still not be
something done often.
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colors
The Wedgwood color palette reflects our mission and the unique DNA that characterizes our
church. The primary & secondary colors below can be used as accents to any basic
document. Text should appear in black. These colors can be used as a color heading (see
example below), in a box behind a photograph or graphic, or as colors in bulleted lists.
Remember the principle that color used sparingly, yet consistently, can add just the right
amount of emphasis and impact.
primary colors:
W eb
81bc00
76777b
54565b
2a5135
seconday colors:
510c76
003e52
7aa4dd
ee7624
dc0032
fed857
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logo
When using the Wedgwood logo in
any document and when printing in
color, please use the standard logo.
Always include the Wedgwood logo
on every external/public piece.
standard logo
You can access these files/logos in
the ‘Publicity’ folder on the server.
If the standard logo is not
used in your application for
some reason, you may use
the secondary logo.
secondary logo
(stacked version)
There are many situations in
which it may be necessary to
use a one-color version of the
Wedgwood logo (e.g., a white
background is being used
or you cannot use a color
printer). Because there is so
much variance in black and
white printer quality, the logo
must appear in black.
one-color version
secondary logo / one-color version
(stacked version)
If the standard logo is not
used in your application for
some reason, you may use
the secondary logo.
filename: logo_secondary_one_color.png
When reversing the
Wedgwood logo out of an
image (that is, the logo
appears in white) make sure
there is enough contrast in the
background color for
maximum legibility.
white version
(reversed)
NEVER put a box around the
Logo under any circumstance,
this is just an example to see the
white.
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logos — examples of correct & incorrect usage
Do not:
stretch logo horizontally or
vertically
standard logo shown
unaltered, left or center
justified suggested
secondary logo shown
unaltered, left or center
justified suggested
recolor the logo
one-color logo shown
unaltered left or center
justified suggested
place the logo over a
complicated
background
place the logo at an angle
reversed logo shown
unaltered, good contrast
for maximum legibility
NEVER put a
box around the
Logo under any
circumstance,
this is just an
example to see
the white.
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minimum logo size & usage
Reminders:
• Smallest approved print size for the Wedgwood logo is 2 inches
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•
•
When any communication is sent from Wedgwood that uses any proprietary logo or event logo
please include the Wedgwood Logo somewhere on the document.
Use the ‘Shift’ key when dragging an image handle in order to maintain the aspect ratio.
Try to leave white space around the logo, about the height of the “W” (note, this may not always be
possible).
For Primary and Secondary colors (above):
o CMYK color numbers are used for print documents
o RGB color numbers are used for digital graphics/images
o Spot/PMS color numbers are used by printing businesses for placing logos/graphics on
products such as banners, cups, shirts, etc…
o Web color numbers are used by websites and other website creation software.
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email signatures
Email is used extensively to communicate internally and externally. Email signatures should
be consistent with all staff. Simplicity is very important because different email systems
render messages differently, and images/fonts often do not work with mobile devices.
Effective email signatures should contain a person’s name, title, phone number, and link to
the College Park website. Optionally, you may add the standard (horizontal) logo, your blog
address, or a unique font or signature to personalize your name. For all other words in your
signature and the body of the email, use Myriad Pro or the Microsoft standard font Calibri.
For consistency across staff, do not use stylized, textured background template. Email
systems and mobile devices to not handle backgrounds and images well (sometimes
completely obscuring the message or marking it as spam).
Form at:
{Name}
{Title}
{Phone # of church or direct line} | www.wedgwoodbc.org
{blog address – optional}
{mission statement – optional)
{standard horizontal logo – optional}
exam ple
John Doe
Pastor of e-mail Signatures
317.875.0282 x123 | www.wedgwoodbc.org
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file format usage
.tiff, large, raster file type, easy to use with software that deals with page layout and
publishing. However, tiff is not compatible for all systems. Tiff’s file size can be very large, take
up lots of disk space and have slow loading times, not a good format for anything web
related. TIFF is a good choice when images are intended for print. Its ability to read CMYK and
YcbCr color, plus its ability to store such high pixel intensity makes it the only choice for
designers, photographers and publishers
Best use = images and photographs for high quality print. Remember CMYK format!
.eps, is a vector file type of a graphic, text or illustration. Because it is vector it can be resized
to any size it needs to be. It can also be reopened and edited.
Best use = master logo files, graphics and print designs
.ai, is a proprietary, vector file type created by Adobe that can only be opened and edited
using Adobe Illustrator.
Best use = creating logos, graphics and illustrations.
.jpeg, raster file type, web friendly, rich color for photos, great compatibility, be careful
compressing as it tends to create artifacts. PEG is great for images when you need to keep
the size small, such as when you need to upload it online. If you don’t mind compromising the
quality of the image a bit, use JPEG.
Best use = rectangle or square photos and photographs displayed on web, monitor/screen
.png, raster file type, 256 colors maximum, preserves transparency, specifically designed for
the web, If you want to keep the size small, but still retain the image quality, use PNG. can be
used for some images and graphics/logos showing on displays/monitors/computers. It is ideal
for saving logo files for websites because they can be placed over a colored background.
Best use = logos, icons and other images where transparent background is preferred.
.bmp, DO NOT USE, they are not great, not popular, oversized files, and are not very “web”
friendly. Nor are they compatible with all platforms and they do not scale well.
.giff, raster file type, 256 color maximum, oldest format on the web, suitable for graphics,
diagrams, cartoons and logos with relatively few solid colors and don’t have gradients or
natural shades. You wouldn’t want to use a .giff for a photograph.
Best use = simple web graphics such as web buttons, charts and icons.
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file format usage
Raster Images: use many colored pixels or individual building blocks to form a complete
image.
Vector Images: constructed using mathematical formulas rather than individual colored
blocks.
PC & Mac Compatibility:
•
.tiff, .eps, .jpeg, .png, .giff are good choices. .bmp is not a good choice.
Logos & Line Art:
•
JPEG is the worst choice, it tends to add artifacts and blur the text, line and edges.
JPEG also cannot support transparency, which is often a need for logos or icons. GIF is
a good choice, but it pales in comparison to TIF, PNG and EPS. These three image
formats are lossless, store as much image information, and are not limited to 256 colors,
unlike GIF. They also don’t add artifacts (the downfall of JPEG) and keep the logo or
line art sharp and concise.
Clip Art:
•
GIF is best for clipart and drawn graphics that only use few colors, precise lines &
shapes.
Printing
•
Remember any file(s) created specifically for print need to be either in the .tiff or .eps
format AND use the CMYK color spectrum. An image may still be in the RGB color
spectrum even though it is a .tiff or .eps format. Easiest way to remember, CMYK for
printing and RGB for screens.
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