UW Flexible Option

Nomenclature

Guidance

Accepted terms/usage

• UW Flexible Option: should be the primary name to represent the brand or the modality
• University of Wisconsin Flexible Option: should be used to represent the brand or the modality on all external communications where it is necessary to spell out what UW stands for.
• Flex: shortened, slang version can be used in internal communications and discussions; its use should be limited or avoided in prospective student or stakeholder facing materials.

Full degree names

When a document requires the referencing of both the UW Flexible Option brand and a UW partner institution’s brand – precedence should be placed on the UW partner institution’s brand. The UW institutions are awarding the degree, the UW Flexible Option is the modality of that degree. The diploma the students get when they graduate does not say UW Flexible Option on it, and so it is not appropriate for us to identify these exclusively as UW Flexible Option degrees (e.g. UW Flexible Option BSN).

See also: UW System Policy 127.

Accepted examples (these are samples to illustrate a few different options)

• Instead of “UW Flexible Option Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences degree”, use UW-Milwaukee Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences, offered through the UW Flexible Option.
• Rather than, the “This UW Flexible Option BSBA degree, awarded by UW-Parkside, is . . .”, instead try to style it as “Available in the UW Flexible Option, this UW-Parkside BSBA degree is. . .”

It is not necessary to write this out every time you refer to the programs. It is still appropriate, given the context of the piece in question, to shorthand programs to just “Health Sciences” or “Business Administration.” This guidance only applies when a document requires a reference to an institutional or Flex brand at large. Program acronyms (BSN, IST) for internal use remain a standard of our trade.

Examples of Prior Inconsistent Branding

The following are a list of common ways that Flex is referred to that should be avoided, and are not in line with our branding standards. Put simply, we cannot continue having 15+ ways to refer to ourselves: it hampers our ability to have a clear and consistent public presence. The below list are all real examples that have been pulled from a variety of publicly facing documents.

• UW Flex
• UW Flexible Options
• FLEX
• Flexible Option
• Flex Option
• UWM Flexible Option
• UW-Milwaukee Flexible Option
• UW-Parkside Flexible Option
• UWM Flex
• Flexible Options
• UW-Flexible Option
• UW-Flex
• UWFO
• UW’s Flexible Option
• University of Wisconsin System Flexible Option

Color Palettes

The primary colors for UW Flexible Option are Pantone 215* (red), Pantone Cool Gray 9c**, Pantone Cool Gray 7c**, Pantone 7625* (orange), Pantone 367 (green), Pantone 211 (pink), Pantone 291 (light blue), and . Additional color of Pantone 7701* (dark blue).

*Pantone 215 can appear pink on some devices and printing processes. The hex, RGB, and CMYK colors have been adjusted to reflect the true red for 4-color process printing and web.
**Orange, Dark Blue, Green, and Gray are standard colors in all collaborative program identities.
***Websites use #444444 gray for text and other consistent applications.
****Pantone 5493 (light blue) is an additional color used in creating a connection to the CEOEL identity.
# RGB and Hex colors have been adjusted to pass color contrast ratio standards, when in doubt of color contrast ratios please enter hex values into the color WebAIM Contrast Checker.
! Lighter colors should not be used as backgrounds to white type.

• Pantone 215*
  0 C	183 R
  100 M	0 G
  35 Y	80 B
  27 K
  #b70050

• Pantone 576** #
  69 C	89 R
  29 M	130 G
  100 Y	38 B
  13 K
  #598226

• Pantone 7688#
  69 C	48 R
  28 M	124 G
  4 Y	172 B
  0 K
  #307cac

• Pantone 142!
  4 C	244 R
  27 M	189 G
  83 Y	21 B
  0 K
  #f4bd15

• Pantone 7625** #
  3 C	212 R
  84 M	68 G
  82 Y	39 B
  0 K
  #d44427

• Pantone 7701**
  94 C	16 R
  62 M	77 G
  44 Y	98 B
  28 K
  #104d62

• Pantone 446***
  67 C	68 R
  60 M	68 G
  59 Y	68 B
  44 K
  #444444

• Pantone 5493**** !
  53 C	126 R
  23 M	167 G
  29 Y	173 B
  0 K
  #7ea7ad

• Pantone Cool Gray 9c**
  55 C	119 R
  47 M	119 G
  44 Y	121 B
  10 K
  #777779

• Pantone Cool Gray 7c
  42 C	153 R
  35 M	153 G
  35 Y	154 B
  1 K
  #99999a

Download ASE

Typography

Typography is an essential element that helps communicate a unified look and distinctive brand personality.

Neutra Text is the primary typeface of University of Wisconsin Flexible Option for print and digital applications. It should be used whenever possible on all branded materials. Neutra Text should only be replaced by Lato as a web font. Open Sans is a font used for secondary use applications.

LICENSING AND USE

This Font Software is licensed under the SIL Open Font License, Version 1.1.
This license is available with a FAQ at: http://scripts.sil.org/OFL

If you absolutely can not gain access to Neutra Text, Lato, or Open Sans use Verdana (Regular and Bold) as a last resort. Verdana is a system font that is available on all PC and Mac systems and web safe.

WEB FONTS

When possible, online applications should use a font replacement technique that allows Lato to be displayed as a web font for hfeadings, subheads, and call to actions. Open Sans will be the font choice for all paragraph styles. Verdana should be used for web materials only when a font replacement technique for Lato is absolutely not possible.

CASE

Sentence case is always preferred for long from body copy. Sentence case means only the first letter of the first word in a series of words is capitalized. This keeps our brand more conversational as well as improves legibility. It is recommended that all caps is used for headlines, subheads, and calls-to-action when it’s written in the context of a sentence.

LEADING

Leading is the space between lines of type. When type is below 16pt., leading should be 6 points greater than the type size. Above 16pt., leading should be 5 points greater than the type size.

TRACKING

Tracking is the space between letters. Never set type with less than 0 tracking. Letters should never touch each other.

COLUMN WIDTHS

It is important that the width of a column of type is optimal for legibility. Column widths greater than 70 characters or less than 20 should be avoided.

SECONDARY FONT USAGE

Paragraph text in web applications should be set to Open Sans, all body copy in print and/or digital applications should also be set in Open Sans.

MICROSOFT OFFICE APPLICATIONS

The font Calibri is the preferred font when working with Microsoft Office applications when licensed fonts are not available.

DOWNLOADS

All weights of Lato and Open Sans are available as downloads from Google fonts.

Lato

Open Sans

Program Imagery

Proprietary Photography

Graphic Elements

Presentations

The UW Flexible Option presentation theme is available in two sizes: the traditional 4:3 format, and the modern 16:9 format. It is important to know ahead of time how the final presentation will be displayed. Widescreen formats such as 16×9 are becoming more popular for projectors, TVs, and computer monitors, but it is best to know for certain what type of screen will be used. The slides will appear with black bars on the top and bottom or the sides if the aspect ratio of the presentation differs from that of the screen on which it is presented.

An additional template in both size formats has been added which includes a limited color palette.

Downloads

• 

  4:3 Theme

  

• 

  16:9 Theme

  

• 

  4:3 Theme Limited

  

• 

  16:9 Theme Limited

  

Tutorial

Need some help using the presentation theme? Check out the tutorial.

Stationery

Letterhead Template

Letterhead templates are available for download in Microsoft Word format.