Brand guidelines
Expressing our University identity
How we all communicate our University as a collective is a really important part of how we are perceived by our students, businesses and the wider community.
In our increasingly global and highly competitive sector, it is essential - and in everyone’s interests – for all our communications to be easily identifiable and recognised internationally as the University of Essex. By appearing consistently ‘Essex branded’ our work benefits from being instantly recognisable.
We all play our part in the Essex story and building a strong reputation as a transformational research-led university, that is diverse and inclusive – a global family.
Communicating our University
Rooted in our founding ethos, all about being different. We are freer, more daring, more experimental.
Who we are, how we speak, how we behave, and our Essex Spirit.
To write like Essex you’ll need to understand our tone of voice and our house writing style.
Expressing our visual style
Our style is real and authentic. We pay homage to our architectural heritage and the geometric structure in our logo, taking an angular approach to any design expression.
We present a single over-arching brand and in general the use of sub-brands and logos is not allowed.
Rules for using the University of Essex logo.
Our colours are what give us our personality.
Our typeface reflects our no-nonsense approach.
Find out how best to use photography in your communications and how to access the photo library.
Our video style follows our visual style principles, reflecting our identity.
Our social presence refers to all the University’s interactions on social media channels.
Our University web presence refers to the entire online digital space of the University.
Celebrating our 60th anniversary
In 2024, we celebrate 60 years of making change happen. To celebrate, we’ve developed a special 60th anniversary campaign running across two academic years.
These templates are solely for use where it is appropriate to add the 60th celebration message to your presentation.
A special letterhead template designed to add the 60th celebration message to your correspondence.
Find out how to update your email signature to include the 60th logo with strapline.
Templates
Our email signatures are clear and simple. Find out how to use them.
Take a look at the templates and guidelines we use to create posters and notices.
This template provides you with maximum flexibility so that your presentations communicate effectively with your audience, as well as being accessibility compliant.
Take a look at the Word templates and guidelines we use to create branded reports.
Take a look at the templates and guidelines we use for stationery.
