Communication Style Guide
To help North East ISD departments and schools maintain a consistent and effective voice and communication style, the NEISD Communications department has prepared this style guide for written communication. It includes basic rules of writing, as well as guidelines for the appearance of NEISD communication tools. (letters, programs, Web stories, publications, etc.)
This Guide may be updated periodically, as common practices in the District evolve, and to clarify or add guidelines as needed.
The primary source for these written guidelines is the Associated Press Stylebook. There are cases in which the NEISD has chosen to modify a rule or recommendation to better fit the District’s needs, and those will be noted here.
Questions or comments can be directed to the Communications department at 407-0040 or news@neisd.net
Guidelines and Tips
Dedications/Groundbreaking/Ribbon Cutting
Consult with the Superintendent’s Office to get these events on the calendars of the Superintendent, Executive Staff and Board of Trustees.
Contact the Communications department to assist with planning and coordination. Communications has a ribbon cutting kit that can be used with sufficient advance notice.
Department and School Letterhead
Refrain from redesigning your school or department letterhead. Letterhead should be consistent across the District. It should include the new NEISD logo on the masthead.
District and Campus Logos
Each North East ISD school must have an official logo (both black and white, and color) on file with Printing Services and Communications.
Modifications cannot be made to logos without approval from Executive Staff.
North East ISD takes ownership of any logos used in official capacity for schools, regardless of who designs or creates them.
District Email Signature
Email signatures should contain your name, title, department/campus, email address and phone number.
You may include the official NEISD logo or your campus logo.
Refrain from including extra information, including graphics, college affiliations, quotes and sayings.
Photography
Many factors determine the quality of photos including sharpness, contrast, exposure and resolution. The quality of photos needed depends on the ultimate size of the photo and how the final document will be produced. This is where the starting resolution is particularly important. Always start with the best quality photos that you need for your project; even photo editing can only do so much with poor quality images. You can always downsize a photo for your needs. Make sure that you have permission and rights to use any image from the web and you can download the file with the appropriate resolution needed for final artwork.
Composition and Contrast
Do your photos grab the viewer’s eye? Do they tell a story? The best photos not only draw in the viewer, they also hold the viewer’s interest and attention beyond a cursory scan. They have a primary subject and some context for quickly understanding what is happening within the photo. They connect with the viewer and somehow move them with emotion such as pride, joy, sadness, love, anger or just simply curiosity. Candid and closely cropped shots usually achieve more of these goals than the typical staged group or posed individual shots. This is not to say that these images do not have their purpose but they do not usually trigger the same connections with your viewers. You want to draw them into your story, not keep them at arm’s length as mere observers.
Large Group Shots
Although the tendency is to try to get every participant into a staged frontal shot to promote the group or its activity, it is important to ask if this kind of photo provides context and the story you want to tell. Does a different angle give the viewer more context and perspective about what the group is doing? Also, with group shots, if the goal is to showcase all the participants, is your final image size going to be large enough to allow the viewer to discern all the faces in the group?
Effects of Cropping
Cropping a photo to bring attention to a more specific targeted part of an image will encourage the viewer to scan the photo further to get more of the story. How much to crop a photo depends on the story you want to tell, how deeply you want to draw in your viewer to the story and the people or things that are part of it, and whether the quality and resolution will allow good enlargement.
Grabbing the Viewer’s Attention
There are not clear or easy paths to good photography beyond practice and gaining a discerning eye. Most of the time, it comes down to artistic and personal preferences. Regardless, your goal is to grab the viewer’s attention and interest. Start off with an attention-getting image that fits your document’s purpose and the story you want to tell.
Programs, Catalogs, Brochures
For programs, catalogs and brochures that are used for official District events and programs, it is important that the identity and brand of North East ISD be consistent across the District.
For questions or assistance, contact the Communications department.