BIG YELLOW BOOK
Brand guidelines for
Amnesty International Australia
Defending human rights
BIG YELLOW BOOK INTRODUCTION
Why this book is here
Amnesty International is a worldwide organisation. In the eyes of many people, there are not many different
types of Amnesty in many different countries.
There is just Amnesty International.
So it’s important that for us, we sound like one voice, with one look, and one shared set of strategic goals.
This is how people are used to seeing other organisations all over the world. It is how people get to know and
love them; a strong, unified purpose is incredibly important for building relationships and affinity with
people.
Of course we must also adapt to local conditions and ways of communicating, but this must be done within
the parameters of a global ethos. This is all the more important today, considering that the digital revolution
has increased visibility of organizations globally.
So, this book is our guide to make sure that the Amnesty International that someone sees in Singapore is
the very same Amnesty International seen in France.
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Guide last updated February 2017. Questions? publications@amnesty.org.au
BIG YELLOW BOOK
Amnesty as a brand and why it’s important
Although we don’t talk about ‘consumers’
and may even think it strange to see Amnesty International as a ‘brand’,
the rules of how to project our identity publicly still apply to us.
A strong brand is one that has a consistent identity.
This is particularly important for global brands, where values, mission and
positioning need to be aligned across countries.
This means that audiences have a clear idea of exactly what we
do and what we stand for
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BIG YELLOW BOOK
The importance of consistent branding
•
Brand consistency has one big advantage – recognition. With recognition comes familiarity. With
familiarity comes trust and confidence. If done correctly, consistency brings clarity and purpose which
audiences recognise. They know straight away which brand is communicating to them.
•
Design is basically a reflection of our image. Subconsciously or not, audiences look for consistency in
design, and they do it for some very basic reasons. Design consistency involving the use of our logo and
colours can help audiences remember us and give us credit for the work that we do.
•
Increasingly we are operating on global platforms. Working together with consistent visual identity will
allow audiences to understand that we are one movement. This doesn’t mean that everything has to look
exactly the same, but that there should be visual cohesion.
•
By keeping our visual identity and branding consistent, we’ll be able to effectively develop and
strengthen our brand – ensuring we make a strong, positive and long lasting impression.
•
We need a global identity, so that what we do in one part of the world reinforces what we’re doing
elsewhere. We don’t want to be uniform – but we do need to be unified.
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BIG YELLOW BOOK
Perception
In 2012 we conducted global
research across the globe.
We wanted to find out what
people thought of Amnesty
International across the
world. And, how to clearly
articulate what Amnesty
International is here to do.
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BIG YELLOW BOOK
Perception
We discovered our presence doesn’t
always have the right impact
“Don’t have the same
presence of other
organisations these days.”
Potential Member, USA
“Get the magazine
and don’t read it, too
many horrific stories, just
hope Amnesty can do
something.”
Member, Denmark
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“Amnesty International
gets involved once
it’s all over.”
Potential Member, Brazil
“Something connected
with the past.”
Potential Member, Denmark
BIG YELLOW BOOK
Perception
We found out that some people feel
helpless
They understand that human rights is an important issue,
but they don’t know how they are supposed to help.
“One is overstrained
because you do not know
where to start.”
“How am I going to
help others when I,
myself, am not helped.”
Potential Member, Indonesia
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Member, Germany
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Perception
We found out that some people feel a lack
of conviction
They feel that even if they were to support Amnesty, what
difference would it make anyway?
What good can Amnesty International really do?
“Not really knowing
what your impact is or
what your impact is going
to be, for me can be
problematic.”
Member, USA
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“We just hear about it,
we don’t see it. There’s
no publicity.”
Potential Member, Brazil
BIG YELLOW BOOK
Perception
We found out that some people feel distant
to human rights
They have issues of their own and don’t feel that another’s human
rights violation is relevant to themselves.
“A homeless person in the
street near to where I live
will have more of an impact
on me than somebody who
is far away and living under
a dictatorship.”
Potential Member, France
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“For a poor person
hardly able to earn two square
meals, human rights becomes
irrelevant to him because his
dignity has already gone.”
Potential Member, India
BIG YELLOW BOOK
Perception in 2015:
Globally:
• 69% are aware of Amnesty International
• 42% good opinion
• 18% bad opinion
• 41% don’t know us well enough to have an
opinion
In Australia:
• 94% prompted awareness
• 57% have a good opinion of us
• 9% have a bad opinion of us
• 26% don't know us well enough to have an
opinion
• 9% did not answer
* Winter 2016 WIN / Gallup International NGO Barometer survey
* Numbers have been rounded out and their sum in graphs and tables might not correspond to the manual addition of rounded numbers.
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BIG YELLOW BOOK
All this has led us to where we are today
our brand
= guidelines
(read on!)
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WHO WE ARE
An intro to Amnesty
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BIG YELLOW BOOK
We are people
We’re ordinary people from all walks of
life, standing together for justice,
freedom, human dignity and equality.
We use our passion and commitment
to bring torturers to justice, change
oppressive laws and free people
imprisoned just for voicing their
opinion.
That’s why people are the most
important thing to Amnesty:
We are not us, the organisation, we
are you, we are each and every
person who supports what we do.
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We are global
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WHO WE ARE
We are independent
We are an independent, global movement that
campaigns courageously for human rights for
everyone.
We’re independent of any government, political
ideology, economic interest or religion to ensure
we can speak out on human rights abuses
wherever they occur.
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BIG YELLOW BOOK
We make a difference
Every day we move closer to a world where human rights are enjoyed by all.
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OUR VOICE, OUR VALUES
Our values underpin everything we do and are reflected in everything we say.
Whether it’s written, spoken or visual, if it doesn’t express these values, it’s just not us.
EMPOWERMENT
PERSISTENCE INTEGRITY
COURAGE
We build people power
We are resolute in
pursuit of our goals
We are fearless in
upholding human rights
We enable others to create
change in the world. We invite
people in and we are equal
partners. It is not about “us”
(Amnesty, staff) and “them”
(supporters, the public etc). It’s not
about us “telling people what to
do”: we want people to participate
and bring their own imagination,
innovation and energy to bear.
We are here to stay. We are here
for the long haul. People can count
on us because we remain
engaged for as long as it takes.
And because we inspire people into
effective action we show what
determination can achieve.
We hold ourselves to the
highest standards
In every aspect of our work,
from research, campaigning,
activism and partnerships. We
get the facts straight; we give
voice to rights holders and
activists. That’s why people
trust us.
We are not afraid to tell it like
it is; to try new ways of
working; or when human
rights are threatened, to stand
up to the powerful .
BIG YELLOW BOOK
WHO WE ARE – INTERNAL INSIGHT
Our values and brand light the way
It guides us as to how to behave and operate as an organisation.
It tells us how to talk about ourselves in all internal and external
communications.
Presenting ourselves in a unified and cohesive way is the key to
strengthening our reputation with our partners and increasing our impact
around the world.
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BIG YELLOW BOOK
WHO WE ARE – INTERNAL INSIGHT
Tagline: defending human rights
Medium descriptor: We campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all.
Long descriptor:
We are an independent, global movement that campaigns courageously for human rights for everyone.
We’re ordinary people from all walks of life, standing together for justice, freedom, human dignity and equality. We use our passion
and commitment to bring torturers to justice, change oppressive laws and free people imprisoned just for voicing their opinion.
We’re independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion to ensure we can speak out on human
rights abuses wherever they occur.
Every day we move closer to a world where human rights are enjoyed by all.
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BIG YELLOW BOOK
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Used in
storytelling
We give an honest picture of the situation, we tell the
story from a personal point of view, we maintain a
human tone of voice to appeal to people emotionally.
Used in
campaigning
We pride ourselves in aiming to make even a far-off
issue seem relevant to anyone, we strive to demonstrate
how Amnesty can empower real people to make a real
difference to others’ lives.
Used within the
organisation
We understand the importance of each and every
member in helping defend and protect another human
being, together.
BIG YELLOW BOOK
Our tagline
Our values
What we do
Our 2020 vision in
Australia
Our global vision
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Defending
human rights
Empowerment
Persistence
Integrity
Courage
We campaign for a world where
human rights are enjoyed by all.
By 2020 we will:
Protect and defend more lives
Be an unstoppable movement
Inspire outstanding passion and commitment
For a world in which every person enjoys all of the
rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and other international human rights
standards
How we look
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Where appropriate, you can use a logo
accompanied by the tagline :
COLOUR
AMNESTY
SWATCHES
Yellow is the primary colour. It identifies the
brand and to symbolise intervention. Use it to
highlight important parts of your
communication; don’t go overboard!
Primary colours
PANTONE
PROCESS
YELLOW
4 COLOUR
PROCESS
C:0 M:0 Y:100 K:0
ON
SCREEN
#FFFF00
ON SCREEN
R:255 G:255
B:0
ON SCREEN
#FFFFFFF
ON SCREEN
R:255 G:255 B:255
Secondary colours
WHITE
PANTONE
PROCESS BLACK
4 COLOUR PROCESS
C:0 M:0 Y:0 K:100
ON SCREEN
#000000
ON SCREEN
R:0 G:0 B:0
PANTONE
COOL GREY 3
4 COLOUR PROCESS
C:7 M:4 Y:6 K:14
ON SCREEN
#C5C5C5
ON SCREEN
R:197 G:197 B:197
PANTONE
COOL GREY 8
4 COLOUR PROCESS
C:20 M:11 Y:12 K:30
ON SCREEN
#939598
ON SCREEN
R:147 G:149 B:152
PANTONE
COOL GREY 11
4 COLOUR PROCESS
C:30 M:17 Y:8 K:51
ON SCREEN
#7A7D81
ON SCREEN
R:122 G:125 B:129
White gives the necessary breathing space to
yellow.
The greys and black should not compete with
Amnesty yellow. Some uses could be in
information graphics and long-form
publications.
Greys can also be used online to aid
legibility.
COLOUR
COMPLEMENTING
YELLOW
Complementary colours
4 COLOUR PROCESS
C:14 M:84 Y:95 K:4
ON SCREEN
#CC3333
ON SCREEN
R:80 G:20 B:20
4 COLOUR PROCESS
C:5 M:70 Y:100 K:1
ON SCREEN
#FF6633
ON SCREEN
R:255 G:102 B:51
4 COLOUR PROCESS
C:0 M:67 Y:88 K:0
ON SCREEN
#FF9933
ON SCREEN
R:255 G:153 B:51
If an extended colour palette is ever required,
eg. complex charts and graphs, then, drawing
reference from the candle flame, oranges and
reds should be used.
COLOUR BASICS
Use for:
•
all professionally designed
materials – contact
communications coordinator if you
need the font files.
•
anything going out externally as a
PDF.
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Secondary font
Caution!
Amnesty Trade Gothic has been designed especially for Amnesty, so external people will not have Amnesty Trade Gothic font on their
computers. If you send a document electronically to someone without the font, it will turn up in a possibly-horrible-automaticsubstitute typeface, or even worse, random symbols.
So:
•
Use Arial / Arial Narrow for external
electronic word documents.
•
Use Arial Narrow/Arial for Google
documents/slides (like this preso!)
•
Canva substitute font: Roboto
Condensed
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HOW TO TALK ABOUT US
Tone of voice
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BIG YELLOW BOOK
HOW TO TALK ABOUT US
How we speak
We all need to influence and persuade. Whether lobbying or educating, fundraising or
campaigning, words are a powerful tool. With a little consideration and a bit of imagination, words
will do great things. So, think of this less as a set of rules, and more as a gateway to sparkling and
powerful language that’s as enjoyable to read as it is to write.
Amnesty’s brand values (see the start of this book) should always guide ‘How we speak’
• Open • Intelligent • Inventive • Determined
Why do we need
‘How we speak’?
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Consistency is everything. Being consistent in how we speak means
people will better understand what makes Amnesty special. It also
means they are more likely to respect and, crucially, trust us.
BIG YELLOW BOOK
HOW TO TALK ABOUT US
How we speak
The ‘How we
speak’ spectrum
Personal
Sociable
Like all good communicators, we adapt how we speak depending on who
we are talking to, for what reason and through which channel.
From personal and sociable to composed and formal, the spectrum
provides the flexibility to tailor your message to best effect.
Inclusive
Optimistic
Instructional
Direct
Authoritative
Incisive
Amnesty’s brand values (see the start of this book) guide ‘How we speak’
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Composed
Formal
BIG YELLOW BOOK
HOW TO TALK ABOUT US
How to use the spectrum
“How we speak” is not channel specific. However, generally speaking, some channels such as
Facebook and various campaign materials tend towards the left of the spectrum. Others, such as
research reports and advocacy materials, tend towards the right of the spectrum.
How you choose to approach your communication depends on your audience and what you are
trying to achieve.
“Who am I writing for?”
Ask yourself…
“What do they want to know?”
“What do I want the reader to do?”
Remember: No matter what voice you use, always be clear and plain-spoken. Avoid jargon.
Remember: Accuracy, impartiality and integrity underpin everything we say and do, and build trust in Amnesty.
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BIG YELLOW BOOK
HOW TO TALK ABOUT US
PERSONAL and SOCIABLE
Speak to people as your peers. Don’t position Amnesty as a distant voice of authority. Seek
people’s opinions, find out what they know and feel as well as expressing our own views
and insights.
TIP
Keep your text short and chatty. Take
the opportunity to have fun with words.
LESS
The reader
should feel
You have grabbed my attention.
I want to know more.
MORE
Amnesty has
launched a new
campaign to end
the overrepresentation of
Indigenous youth
in detention.
Use Personal and Sociable for: Campaign slogans │ Facebook posts
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MORE
BIG YELLOW BOOK
HOW TO TALK ABOUT US
INCLUSIVE and OPTIMISTIC
Speak as a real person not a faceless organisation and you are more likely to engage and inspire
your reader.
TIP
Emphasise how the reader is part
of the solution. Make them feel valued.
LESS
Amnesty
International is
calling on EU
governments to
resettle Syrian
refugees.
MORE
The reader
should feel
LESS
Work with Amnesty
International
to help improve people’s
lives through
campaigning and
international solidarity.
Use Inclusive and Optimistic for: Blogs │ Campaign materials
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Amnesty gets things done. Together
we can make change happen.
MORE
BIG YELLOW BOOK
HOW TO TALK ABOUT US
INSTRUCTIONAL and DIRECT
Always be plain-spoken and cut to the chase. Only include information that is absolutely
necessary to get your message across.
TIP
Give one clear action - do not ask the
reader to do multiple things at the
same time. Begin with a verb (“Write”,
“Take”, “Follow”).
The reader
should feel
I understand and know what
to do.
LESS
MORE
Learn about the
justice system
in the Philippines.
Use Instructional and Direct for: Human Rights Education toolkits │Online actions
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BIG YELLOW BOOK
HOW TO TALK ABOUT US
AUTHORITATIVE and KNOWLEDGEABLE
Speak with confidence and demonstrate expert knowledge. Say exactly what you mean and
say it clearly.
TIP
Make bold statements. Avoid colloquial
phrases and qualifiers such as, “It’s likely
that…”. Writing with authority does not
mean using lots of jargon, it means using
the appropriate language for your audience.
The reader
should feel
LESS
At least four children have allegedly
been killed when a rocket hit their school. The rocket
was reportedly fired by opposition forces who may
have been aiming at a nearby military target.
MORE
Amnesty has received reports that
opposition forces fired a rocket that
hit a school, killing four children.
Use Authoritative and Incisive for: Research reports │News reports
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I have an invaluable insight
into how people are
affected. I know what
action needs to be taken.
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HOW TO TALK ABOUT US
COMPOSED and FORMAL
Speak without emotion and stick to the facts. But keep it accessible – no jargon or acronyms.
TIP
Be rational. Avoid overstatement and
sensationalism.
The reader
should feel
I have the facts and the reliable
information I need.
LESS
In a terrible start to the year, Parliament passed
a law that was catastrophic for the rights of
transgender people.
MORE
In January Parliament
passed the Gender Act, a discriminatory law that
would make gender reassignment surgery
mandatory for people wishing to change their
legal gender.
Use Composed and Formal for: Annual Report │ Advocacy materials | Media releases
 Use ‘How we speak’ with existing Amnesty Editorial Guidelines.
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Questions? publications@amnesty.org.au
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