Brand Design

ON THIS PAGE: Color palette, logos, typography, photo guidelines, graphic guidelines.

COLOR PALETTE

PRIMARY

Purple: #6d2563

Teal: #005b52

Gold: #dd9910

SECONDARY

Rose: #f7cac9

Black: #000000

White: #ffffff

COLOR USAGE

General color use: Matter colors are very saturated and as such should be used with care. Matter’s teal, purple and yellow should not be side-by-side unless it is a gradient or duotone effect. Otherwise, black, white and greys should be used with those colors being used as accents.

Color matches: The color matches should only include the following for text. Using yellow and white together should be avoided to ensure our content is as legible and accessible as possible.

LOGOS

MATTER

Here is a Google folder with Matter logos.

GREY MATTER MEDIA

Here is a Google folder with GMM logos.

TYPOGRAPHY

BRAND FONTS

Headlines and titles: Bitter, Sentence Case

Subheadlines: Lato, Uppercase

Body text: Roboto

TEXT TREATMENT

Headlines and titles: Do not bold. Keep the Bitter headline normal, at about 500 weight.

Text outlines: Part of our brand style includes text with just outlines. For this style, use the Lato font, heavy and add a thick stroke. Keep the font uppercase.

Text in illustrations and photos: Text used in graphics should either be an outline (see above), heavy text with only a subtle drop shadow, or text with a box with squared corners behind it.

PHOTOS / IMAGES

Images, including photos and graphics, should be used in coordination with the outlined brand guidelines both in this section and throughout the document.

Taking Photos

When out shooting photos for a story or gallery, it’s important to remember a few key things.

While Matter is currently covering development and policing, it’s very important to capture the human element as much as possible. It helps the reader place themselves within the story and often provides additional context to the story through the caption.

Always use the rule-of-thirds to frame your photos. Use this guide to learn more about the rule-of-thirds.
Be creative. Part of Matter’s brand is to contextualize hyperlocal information in new ways, so don’t be afraid to bring something new to your editor.
The photos you take should be related to and supplement the story you’re working on.

Editing Photos

One of the most important guidelines for editing photos in a journalism context is to make sure the photo accurately reflects reality. As a news organization, it’s important to show readers news as it occurs in real-life.

Journalism photo editing is different than editing a photo from a wedding. For example, editing a wedding photo sometimes means altering the image to make it look more dreamy. Even if the event being covered has a dreamy atmosphere, it’s important to keep the editing minimal and reflect the actual color, light and tone of the scene.

Below are a few examples of how to edit photos.

Captioning Photos

Always follow these steps when captioning photos:

Always get the first and last name of every recognizable person in your photo. Typically we also get their age and occupation.
Include the date you took the photo.
Clearly identify the location of the photo when writing the caption. Be specific.
Your caption should concisely describe what is happening in the photo. Is it an event? A protest? A meeting? What is happening and who are the key players in the photo?
Captions should be a maximum of two sentences long when paired with an image in a story. If more is needed, speak with your editor.
When used in a photo story/essay, captions can be between two and six sentences.
Follow this format for crediting your photos: Marisa Twigg | Matter News

Photo Ethics

Always adhere to these ethical practices when taking, editing and using photos.

Accurately reflect reality. Do not edit photos in a way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.
Do not stage photos, unless taking an environmental portrait.
Provide context and avoid stereotyping individuals.
While photographing, do not attempt to alter or influence events that you witness. You are a bystander only.
You can find a comprehensive list of photo ethics here.

For a more shareable version of this information, please view the Photo Captioning and Editing Guide.

Graphics

Graphics and photo illustrations should utilize the Matter color palette and draw inspiration from a mix of Brutalist and Memphis design elements.

The tone of voice conveyed through these more heavily-branded visuals should be raw yet playful in nature, incorporating a scrapbook/zine look to provide informative yet tactilely engaging graphics.

Photos

Sometimes look better when made B&W or greyscale along with our 1 brand color in a graphic

Cross-branding

It is okay to include cross-brands in content for sponsor or event posts.

For example, adding Columbus Navigator’s logo to an event graphic.

Logo Use on Images and Graphics

Branded images and graphics often include one of the Matter brand elements. One of those elements is the logo. When creating a branded image or photo, adhere to the following placement guidelines if using the Matter logo.

Avoid placing the logo over busy backgrounds. When possible, try to choose a photo that is not busy in the two preferred placements shown above.

If the image or graphic background is dark, then use a light version of the Matter logo, preferably white. If the image or graphic background is light, then use a darker version of the Matter logo, preferably black. Sometimes the logo needs to be on the graphic, but does not need to be prominent as it may take away from the image. If this is the case, consider lowering the transparency of the logo.

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