Brand Guidelines & Style Guide

THE CAMPUS CITIZEN

2026–2027 Edition · Indiana University Indianapolis

Contents

01Brand FoundationWho we are, and who we're not 02ColorThe palette and the 20% rule 03TypographyThree fonts, three jobs 04LogoLockups, downloads and don'ts 05Graphic ElementsEyebrows, rules, quotes, tags 06PhotographyShooting standards and credits 07Voice & ToneHow we write, and how we don't 08AP Style Cheat SheetThe rules people get wrong most 09Canva SpecsExact values for templates 10Social KitTemplates, sizes and motion

01 — Brand Foundation

Who We Are

The Campus Citizen is an independent student newsroom at IU Indianapolis, not a club and not a bulletin board. Every design choice should feel like it was made by people who take journalism seriously and have something to say. Bold, credible, unapologetically student-run.

We are

Bold. Credible. Direct. We tell stories that matter and we're not apologetic about it. We earn trust through rigor, not hedging.

We are not

Cute. Vague. Institutional. Safe. A newsletter. A flyer operation. An arm of the university.

02 — Color

The Palette

Six colors, no more. The red is your loudest tool, so use it with intention. Ink and beige carry almost everything else, and white gives the page room to breathe.

Primary Red#7B1919Logo · Section headers · Accent rules · CTAs
Ink Black#0D0D0DHeadlines · Body text · Backgrounds
Beige (Paper)#F0EEEBSection backgrounds · Pull quotes · Print-feel surfaces
Press White#FFFFFFPage backgrounds · Reversed text
Accent Red#AF4949Hover states · Secondary accents
Press Gray#696969Bylines · Captions · Metadata

The 20% rule

Red touches no more than 20% of any composition. When everything is red, nothing is. Reserve it for the single most important element on the page: the section label, the accent rule, the key word in a headline. The moment red becomes background noise, you've lost it.

On beige

Beige is the workhorse, not an afterthought. It's what makes a page feel like print rather than a website: use it for full section backgrounds, quote cards and anywhere a block of white would feel clinical. Ink type on beige is the most comfortable long-read combination we have.

03 — Typography

The Type System

Three fonts, three jobs. Never cross the streams. A dramatic serif display, a compressed grotesque label and a readable body serif give you editorial weight and activist punch in the same system.

Display · Headlines & Covers

Campus Citizen Breaks the Story

Font: Playfair Display  ·  Weight: 900 Black / 700 Bold / 700 Italic
Use: Story headlines, cover titles, pull quotes, section headers
Never: Body copy, captions, UI labels

Label · Categories, Eyebrows & UI

Campus News · Politics · Culture

Font: Barlow Condensed  ·  Weight: 700 Bold  ·  Case: Always ALL CAPS with letter-spacing
Use: Section labels, eyebrows, bylines, nav, tags, badges, UI elements
Never: Body copy, headlines, long sentences

Body · Articles & Long-form

The meeting drew nearly three hundred students to the Campus Center on Tuesday evening, where administrators faced pointed questions about the university's new policy on research funding. "We deserve answers," said one junior, who asked not to be named. "This affects all of us."

Font: Source Serif 4  ·  Weight: 400 Regular / 400 Italic / 600 Semibold  ·  Size: 15–17px at 1.7 line-height
Use: All article body copy, long-form content, guidebook text

Headline size scale

Breaking
Lead Story Head
Section Headline Here
A secondary line adds context

05 — Graphic Elements

The Visual Vocabulary

These recurring elements create visual consistency across social posts, articles and promotional materials. Use them consistently and they'll start to feel unmistakably Campus Citizen.

Eyebrow + headline

Campus News

Students push back on new housing policy

Rule (accent line)

2–3px red rule before or below section headers. Never decorative, always functional.

Pull quote

"We deserve answers. This affects all of us."

Caption style

Students gather outside Cavanaugh Hall on Tuesday. The protest drew an estimated 300 people. / Photo: Khamryn White

Section tags

PoliticsBreakingOpinion

Byline

By Salsabil Qaddoura · June 6, 2026

06 — Photography

Photo Standards

Photography is where credibility is built or broken. These rules aren't aesthetic preferences, they're editorial standards.

✓ What to shoot

  • Real moments, not posed smiles. Candid over staged.
  • People doing things: protesting, reading, building, speaking.
  • Environmental context. Show the space as part of the story.
  • High contrast. Strong light. Clear subjects with clean backgrounds where possible.

✕ What to avoid

  • Filters, heavy presets and stylized effects on news photos.
  • Generic stock photography. If it could be anywhere, it's worthless.
  • Posed group shots as news images (fine for staff pages, not for stories).
  • Cropping people in misleading ways or altering content.

Credits & captions

Every image must have a caption and a photo credit. No exceptions.
Format: Description of what's happening. / Photo: [Photographer Name]

Graphics & illustrations

When photos aren't available, use bold typographic graphics in brand colors. Charts and data graphics must be clearly labeled with the source. Generated or AI images are never used as news illustrations.

07 — Voice & Tone

How We Write

Voice is consistent, it's who we are. Tone shifts with the story: serious for investigations, warmer for profiles, direct for breaking news. These principles apply to everything we publish, including social media and headlines.

Clear and direct

The chancellor canceled the event two days before it was scheduled to happen.

The event was ultimately not able to proceed as originally planned.

Specific over vague

About 300 students attended Tuesday's protest.

Many students showed up to voice their concerns.

Active voice

The university denied the request.

The request was denied by the university.

Attribution is visible

The data is wrong, said Maya Chen, a senior political science major.

Sources say the data may be inaccurate.

08 — AP Style

The Cheat Sheet

The Associated Press Stylebook is the law. This is the short list of what people get wrong most often. When in doubt, check the stylebook before you publish, not after.

The serial comma

We don't use one. It's the dog, cat and hamster, never the dog, cat, and hamster. The only exception is when leaving it out would genuinely confuse the reader.

Numbers

RuleCorrectWrong
One through nine spelled outthree students3 students
10 and up in figures12 studentstwelve students
Ages always figuresa 9-year-olda nine-year-old
Percent uses the symbol65%65 percent
Money$5 · $1.5 millionfive dollars · $1,500,000
Starting a sentenceTwelve students spoke.12 students spoke.
Years are the exception2026 was the year.Two thousand twenty-six…

Dates & times

RuleCorrectWrong
Abbreviate long months with a dateSept. 4September 4th
March–July never abbreviateJune 12Jun. 12
Month alone stays wholeSeptember was busy.Sept. was busy.
No ordinals on datesOct. 1Oct. 1st
Times7 p.m. · 7:30 a.m.7:00 PM · 7 pm
Noon and midnightnoon12 p.m.
Days of the weekTuesdayTues.

Names, titles & attribution

RuleCorrectWrong
Formal title before a name: capitalizeChancellor Latha Ramchandchancellor Latha Ramchand
Title after a name: lowercaseLatha Ramchand, chancellorLatha Ramchand, Chancellor
Second reference: last name onlyRamchand saidMs. Ramchand said · Latha said
Attribution verbsaidclaimed · stated · noted · opined
Attribution ordersaid Maya ChenMaya Chen stated that
Class years lowercasea junior · a seniora Junior · a Senior
Majors lowercase unless properbiology · EnglishBiology · english

Places & abbreviations

RuleCorrectWrong
States spelled out in body textIndianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis, IN
Our campus, first referenceIndiana University IndianapolisIUPUI
Our campus, after thatIU IndianapolisIU Indy (in copy)
Acronyms: spell out firstStudent Government (SG)SG on first reference
Addresses420 University Blvd.420 University Boulevard

Headlines & punctuation

RuleCorrectWrong
Headlines in present tenseStudents protest tuition hikeStudents protested tuition hike
No period on a headlineChancellor cancels eventChancellor cancels event.
Single quotes in headlines'We deserve answers'"We deserve answers"
Punctuation inside quote marks"answers," she said"answers", she said
One space after a periodthe end. The nextthe end.  The next
Em dash, spaces both sidesthe vote — which failed —the vote—which failed—

09 — Canva Specs

Quick Reference for Templates

These are the exact values to enter in Canva, or any design tool, to stay on-brand. All fonts are free on Google Fonts. Add them to your Canva Brand Kit under Brand Fonts.

ElementFontWeightSizeColorExtras
Cover headlinePlayfair DisplayBlack (900)60–80pt#0D0D0DLine height 1.0–1.1
Section labelBarlow CondensedBold (700)11–13pt#7B1919ALL CAPS, letter-spacing +150
Story headlinePlayfair DisplayBold (700)28–40pt#0D0D0DLine height 1.15
Subheadline / deckPlayfair DisplayBold Italic (700)18–22pt#1A1A1AItalic only for decks
Body copySource Serif 4Regular (400)15–17pt#1A1A1ALine height 1.7
Byline / captionBarlow CondensedBold (700)11pt#696969ALL CAPS, letter-spacing +100
Pull quotePlayfair DisplayBold Italic (700)22–26pt#7B1919Red rule above and below
Tag / badgeBarlow CondensedBold (700)10–12pt#FFFFFFALL CAPS, fill #7B1919
Accent rule——2–3pt height#7B1919Full width of column

Add to Canva Brand Kit

Brand fonts: Playfair Display · Barlow Condensed · Source Serif 4
Brand colors: #7B1919 · #0D0D0D · #F0EEEB · #FFFFFF · #AF4949 · #696969
Logo: download the lockups in section 04 and upload them as separate brand assets.

10 — Social Media

The Social Kit

Social is where most people meet us first. Every post should be recognisable as ours before anyone reads a word of it. Download a template, replace the text, publish.

Sizes & safe zones

FormatSizeSafe zoneNotes
Feed post1080 × 1350Full frame4:5 takes the most vertical space in feed
Square post1080 × 1080Full frameUse when the image demands it, not by default
Story1080 × 1920Keep 250px clear top and bottomPlatform UI covers those bands
Reel cover1080 × 1920Centre 1080 × 1350 shows in gridTitle must survive the grid crop
Link preview1200 × 630Centre 1000 × 520Headline only, no small type

Downloadable templates

Headline post template

Headline post

1080 × 1350

Standard feed post. Eyebrow, headline, rule, byline.

DOWNLOAD PNG
Quote card template

Quote card

1080 × 1350

Pull quote between two rules on beige.

DOWNLOAD PNG
Breaking template

Breaking

1080 × 1350

Red band across the top. Use sparingly.

DOWNLOAD PNG
Photo + caption template

Photo + caption

1080 × 1350

Image fills the frame, caption and credit beneath.

DOWNLOAD PNG
Story template

Story

1080 × 1920

UI zones marked top and bottom — keep them clear.

DOWNLOAD PNG
Reel cover template

Reel cover

1080 × 1920

Cover frame for Reels and vertical video.

DOWNLOAD PNG

Motion · Reel intro & outro

These are live animations, not video files. Press play, then screen-record the black rectangle and drop the clip on the front or back of any Reel. The intro runs about two seconds; the outro holds five and wipes out in red.

Mac: Shift-Cmd-5 → Record Selected Portion. Windows: Xbox Game Bar, or OBS on either. Record at 100% for true 1080 × 1920 if your display allows it.

CC
THE
CAMPUS
CITIZEN
Independent student newsroom

Writing for social

✓ Do

  • Lead with the fact, not the framing. The headline is the post.
  • Credit the reporter and photographer by name in every caption.
  • Link the full story. Social is a doorway, not the destination.
  • Write alt text on every image. Every time.

✕ Don't

  • Use "BREAKING" for anything that isn't.
  • Post a graphic with no link to the reporting behind it.
  • Let red take over the frame. The 20% rule applies here too.
  • Publish a photo without a credit, ever.