CGIF Brand Story
At the CGIF, we believe that ceramic and glass materials are essential to our daily lives and the future of our world. From the technologies that make our homes and workplaces more efficient and sustainable, to the art and culture that enrich our lives, ceramics and glass play a vital role in shaping the world we live in.
The CGIF was founded by the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) in 2014 to advance the education outreach of ACerS. ACerS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and the home for ceramic and glass professionals. The CGIF has a range of programs, including student and teacher outreach, international student exchanges, travel grants, student leadership development, a university-industry network, and an online Ceramic and Glass Career Center.
The CGIF's primary audience is comprised of K-12 educators, students, ACerS members and stakeholders, and industry professionals in the ceramics and glass industry. Find our mission, vision, and values below:
CGIF Mission Statement: The CGIF attracts, inspires, and supports the next generation of ceramic and glass professionals.
CGIF Vision Statement: The CGIF will be the global leader in igniting student interest in ceramic and glass careers to help solve grand challenges facing humanity.
CGIF Value Statement:
- Accountability – Our volunteer leaders and staff take their roles seriously and operate in ways that are open, responsible, and ethical.
- Excellence – We value and reward scientific, industrial, artistic, and educational achievement.
- Inclusion – We commit to the fair and equitable treatment of all regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and any other basis.
- Service – We commit to serve donors, institutions, grant recipients, and program participants with fairness, integrity, and openness in all that we do.
- Collaboration – We value collaboration with industry partners to help fill the worldwide ceramic and glass talent pipeline.
- Awareness – We commit to provide crucial resources, programs, and outreach activities that introduce ceramic and glass science to students and educators around the world.
Logo Guidelines
Where to use our logo? The CGIF logo is typically found on marketing materials such as LinkedIn or newsletter graphics, flyers, stickers, packets, t-shirts, any type of signage, certificates, and any other type of promotional or fundraising material. When in doubt, include the logo in your design anyway and double-check with a team member.
For materials or events that are in collaboration with ACerS, make sure to use the joint CGIF/ACerS logo.
Where to find our logo? The CGIF logo can be found on your Canva account once you are added to our team. Search "logos" under apps on the left hand side to ensure that you have our logos available in your sidebar at all times.
How to use our logo: Always make sure that the background is removed on our logo, unless it is in front of a white background. You can also find a transparent logo in our brand kit on Canva. If you do use the "background remover" tool on Canva, please make sure you restore the areas on the logo that the tool accidentally removes, such as the gray line in the middle.
The CGIF logo should be visible on all our materials without overpowering the focus of the design. Typically, you can find our logo near one of the corners on a design. It is important to make sure that the logo is not placed too close to the edge of a design as well.
Examples of Logo Placement
Examples of Poor Logo Placement
Color Palette
The CGIF color palette consists of CGIF Blue, ACerS orange, light gray, dark gray, and white. Please refer to these colors when designing marketing materials for the CGIF, unless the design warrants colors from another organization/event.
Hex Codes
CGIF Blue #2179C2
ACerS Orange #F49936
Light Gray #CDD2D6
Dark Gray #9A9B9E
White #FFFFFF
CGIF colors as seen on our Canva.
Typography and Font Guidelines
The CGIF typically uses the font "Poppins Bold" in headings, "Poppins Medium" in subheadings, and "Inter" for body text on designs. Occasionally, we branch outside of these fonts if the design warrants a more on-theme, exciting font. When in doubt, feel free to stick to the fonts listed.
We do not have specific sizing guidelines for our fonts in designs; use your best judgement and take a look at past examples on our LinkedIn for inspiration. We typically like to make sure that any body text or paragraphs are no smaller than size 12, but for most designs and graphics, less text is usually more appealing.
CGIF Blue is typically the only color we use for text besides black or white, and we often use it for headers, as you can see on this webpage.
CGIF fonts as seen on our Canva.
Image Guidelines
Each year, the CGIF aims to keep a folder of photos that can be repurposed and used on numerous materials throughout the year. Access the Photos folder here. Some photos may come from K-12 educators, our Teacher Workshops, other outreach programs and events, and more.
Canva Pro also has royalty-free images that we can incorporate into our designs. For example, if you are tasked to design a poster themed "What are fiber optics?" you could then search for real photos on Canva of real-life examples of where fiber optics are found to include in your design.
We typically try to include original photos as opposed to Canva stock photos, but we also don't want to reuse the same images on too many materials. For certain events where K-12 students are present, we may need special permission before using their photos. It is usually best to use photos of students where they are not easily identifiable.
Design Sizes
LinkedIn graphic sizes are 1200 x 627 pixels
Most WordPress cover photos 540 x 400 pixels (sees Program page)
Flyers are 8.5 x 11 inches
Other designs will be sized depending on what their purpose is.
File Sizes
Small file sizes result in low quality images when the size is increased. Always make sure that you are using the highest quality image available, and if a better one isn't available, reach out to the person who sent the image or a CGIF team member. Avoid screenshotting images for design use, when possible.
CGIF Brand Voice
In terms of the CGIF's brand voice, aim to stay consistent in language whenever you are distributing or posting something from the foundation. Remember, our audience is K-12 educators, students, ACerS members and stakeholders, and industry professionals in the ceramics and glass industry, so we want to keep our language professional, friendly, and easy to follow.
Some adjectives to describe the CGIF overall include: educational, inspirational, inclusive, enthusiastic, and professional.
Remember, brand voice is the consistent voice that we present as an organization. Brand tone is what differs between messages from a company. For example, a LinkedIn post about our CGIF Friday Focus has a much different tone than an email to the CGIF Board of Trustees.
CGIF Appropriate Brand Voice
- Do... stay consistent with the language of whatever platform you are writing for
- Do... encourage giving (donations) when appropriate
- Do... emphasize the impact of the foundation when appropriate
- Do... use emojis on LinkedIn when appropriate to draw attention to a post and make sure to tag people when able
- Do... use the collective "we" as a foundation when appropriate
- Do... remember that LinkedIn tone is more fun and casual, while professional documents such as letters are written in business fashion
CGIF Inappropriate Brand Voice
- Don't... use casual abbreviations like LOL or OMG when posting or speaking publicly on behalf of CGIF
- Don't... forget to spell out what the CGIF stands for on first reference (unless using LinkedIn)
- Don't... forget to proofread anything you write before asking for feedback or posting
- Don't... forget who your audience is and what will actively engage them
- Don't... use passive voice unless you know how to use it (example: The students explored the science lessons. VS The science lessons were explored by the students. Which one sounds better?)
- Don't... be offensive, passive aggressive, or inappropriate