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Brand Guidelines

Welcome to Digital Main Street’s Online brand guidelines.

How to use

This guide is to be used while creating any communication collateral for Digital Main Street. It should be referenced at every stage of the design process to ensure a cohesive look and feel, which contributes to overall brand success.

Logos & Use

Primary logo

This is the primary logo for Digital Main Street. In every instance possible, this is the version that should be used.

Clear Space

There should be at least the width of the letter ‘M’ in relative distance between this logo and any other elements, text, or distracting backgrounds. For more, see the logo violations examples.

Alternative logo

This small version of the logo may only be used in special circumstances where space does not permit the use of the primary logo. Acceptable instances include a favicon, for example. Use this as a last resort after exhausting all other possible solutions.

Alternative Colours

In all instances possible, the full colour version of the logo should be used. When that is not possible, white is an acceptable alternative colour choice. Black should be a last resort.

Program Logos

All program logos, with the exception of ShopHERE, shall be displayed with all-caps text and in the styles exemplified below. The second word should always be encapsulated with the street sign line and the colours should be consistent with the Digital Main Street logo. All other logo guidelines also apply to the program logos.

Logo Violations

Please do not bend, stretch, alter colors, alter typography, tilt, re-arrange or otherwise distort or  adjust this or any other DMS logo in any way.

Framing

Do not position the logo within encapsulations or frames.

Instead, choose a layout that does not require a boxed logo.

Over Images

To ensure clarity of the logo, it must not be placed overtop a busy background.

 

Instead, position the logo on a low contrasting area of the image. If it’s a darker image, try using the white version of the logo.

Contrast

Do not position the logo on a background with insufficient contrast.

 

Instead, choose a lighter, more neutral background. If a dark background is necessary, consider the white version of the logo.

Effects

The logo should not appear with any effects such as drop shadows or outlines.

Instead, ensure the logo has enough legibility to stand on its own.

Scaling

The ratio of the logo should never be stretched vertically or horizontally.

Instead, try locking the ratio in your design tool to prevent accidental skewing.

Minimum Size

This logo should never appear smaller than 1 inch in width in printed material and less than 80px wide in digital spaces.

Make sure the logo is large enough to be legible.

 

Recreation

Do not attempt to recreate the logo. For example, do not use a different typeface.

Instead, leave the logo as is and download the official logo files here.

Brand Colours

Do not deviate from the brand colors specified within this guide.

This is the only instance where color can be used in the DMS logos.

Axis

The logo should never be rotated, angled or skewed.

Instead, leave the logo as is.

Colors

It is imperative to identify whether what’s being created is going to be viewed online or printed, and choose the corresponding color space. These colour codes below have been manually selected and optimized for their medium, meaning they will not translate automatically and need to be adjusted and monitored manually. For example, if you’re creating a document for general printing, make sure the document colour mode is CMYK and enter the CMYK values, disregarding the other colour space values.

Primary Colours

These are the main DMS colours. They are primarily used for text and special call outs like buttons. Sometimes, they can be used as background colours, like on the business cards for example.

DMS ORANGE
PMS 1235C
C0 M35 Y100 K0
R255 G173 B0
HEX #ffad00
DMS TURQUOISE
PMS 319C
C65 M0 Y25 K0
R51 G204 B204
HEX #33cccc
DMS GREEN
PMS 7722C
C92 M50 Y57 K35
R3 G80 B83
HEX #035053
DMS BLACK
PMS 433C
C60 M40 Y40 K100
R0 G0 B0
HEX #000000

Secondary Colours

These are the secondary DMS colours. They are encouraged for use as backgrounds, supporting graphics, text colours, etc.
Dark Orange
PMS 130C
C5 M44 Y100 K0
R237 G154 B21
HEX #ED9A15
DMS Orange
PMS 1235C
C0 M35 Y100 K0
R255 G173 B0
HEX #FFAD00
Light Orange 1
PMS 134C
C0 M21 Y67 K0
R247 G201 B109
HEX #F7C96D
Light Orange 2
PMS 7506C
C1 M10 Y32 K0
R251 G227 B181
HEX #FBE3B5
Light Orange 3
PMS 9180C
C0 M5 Y14 K0
R255 G240 B217
HEX #FFF0D9
Light Orange 4
PMS 9285C
C1 M1 Y2 K0
R252 G250 B247
HEX #FCFAF7
Dark Turquoise
PMS 2397C
C78 M16 Y38 K0
R19 G161 B164
HEX #13A1A4
Light Turquoise 1
PMS 324C
C41 M0 Y19 K0
R140 G224 B218
HEX #8CE0DA
Light Turquoise 2
PMS 317C
C18 M0 Y7 K0
R201 G244 B242
HEX #C9F4F2
Light Turquoise 3
PMS 9480C
C10 M0 Y3 K0
R224 G252 B250
HEX #E0FCFA
Light Turquoise 4
PMS 9062C
C4 M0 Y1 K0
R243 G255 B254
HEX #F3FFFE
Dark Green
PMS 2217C
C90 M58 Y64 K62
R1 G48 B48
HEX #013030
Light Green 1
PMS 2236C
C78 M27 Y45 K4
R48 G140 B132
HEX #308C8C
Light Green 2
PMS 2232C
C46 M6 Y26 K0
R138 G196 B191
HEX #8AC4BF
Light Green 3
PMS 9044C
C19 M1 Y10 K0
R204 G231 B229
HEX #CCE7E5
Light Green 4
PMS 9040C
C9 M1 Y5 K0
R230 G241 B240
HEX #E6F1F0
Black
PMS 433C
C60 M40 Y40 K100
R0 G0 B0
HEX #000000
Gray 1
PMS 425C
C69 M63 Y62 K58
R51 G51 B51
HEX #333333
Gray 2
PMS 424C
C52 M43 Y43 K8
R127 G127 B127
HEX #7F7F7F
Gray 3
PMS 421C
C29 M23 Y23 K0
R183 G183 B183
HEX #B7B7B7
Gray 4
PMS Cool Gray 1 C
C10 M7 Y8 K0
R226 G226 B226
HEX #E2E2E2
Gray 5
PMS Cool Gray 1 C @30% opacity
C3 M2 Y2 K0
R244 G244 B244
HEX #F4F4F4

Typography

Titles & subtitles

PT Serif Caption is to be used primarily for titles and subtitles.
PT serif caption
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890

Body copy

Roboto is to be used for any other instance, such as paragraphs, captions, etc.
Roboto
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890

Logo font

Bebas Neue should only ever be used while creating new program logos.
Bebas Neue
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890

Imagery

In general, images used for Digital Main Street should be light, warm-toned, clean and use moderate contrast, ideally featuring a business owner. These images should be professional looking, and high quality. It should never appear pixelated or distorted.
If the image is to be used as a background, ensure there is enough ‘white space’ where there will be text—meaning that area of the image is low contrast and as plain as possible.

Icons

Icons use a simple line art style and the DMS colour palette. These icons should be as simple as possible without losing context. Often, they are displayed within a circle. These can include 2-3 different colours.

Graphic Elements

In order for the brand to be recognizable, each communication piece should include one or more of the following graphic elements.

Bricks to clicks

This graphic element is a callback to the origins of the Digital Main Street. These organic shapes, created to loosely resemble brick masonry, add some warmth and approachability. Other subtle, organically shaped objects are acceptable as long as they’re somehow related to the brand.

Triangle corners

The asymmetric layering of colourful triangles around the edge of the page/graphic is great for framing content. Try experimenting with lighter coloured triangles.

No More Coloured Gradients

The gradients that have been used in the past are dated and a little muddy when mixed with multiple colours. Do not use gradient overlays, instead find photography with enough whitespace that the text can comfortably sit on top of an image and have enough contrast to be legible.

Digital Applications

The following are guidelines specific to the medium being created. Please keep this in mind as you’re creating. Use this photo as an example of the guidelines below.

Logo placement

When possible, the logo should be displayed on the top left side of the graphic.

Colours

When possible, it’s preferred to use a lighter background. As mentioned in the colours section, it is imperative to choose the right colour space and codes depending on the output otherwise the colours may appear differently than intended. For example, if this is for digital applications, the colours should use the RGB colour space.

Contrast & Legibility

Legibility is the most important function of any visual communication. The text colour should be highly contrasted to the background, whether its an image or a solid colour. If it is not legible, adjust so that it is.

Print Applications

In addition to the guidelines for digital applications, there are a few print-specific guidelines to keep in mind. Use this photo as an example of the guidelines below.

Bleed

Because of the nature of the triangle corner graphic elements, it is preferred to use a bleed when having documents professionally printed. This will ensure that the graphic appears as though its been printed right to the edge of the paper.

Colours

Be sure you’re choosing the right colour space and inputting the proper codes for each. For example, when creating a document that will be printed, you should ensure that the document is in CMYK and use the CMYK values listed above to input the colours.

Example Collateral

Below are a few examples of the brand in use. You may find some of these elements available for download here.

Stationery (business cards, letterhead)

Social Media Profiles

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