For consistent and accurate representation of our brand, we invite you to download our official Brand Guidelines. This document provides clear instructions on the use of our logo, colour palette, typography, and other brand elements.
Whether you're a staff member, student, media representative, or designer, please refer to these guidelines to ensure brand consistency across all channels.
Download NCI Brand Guidelines.
Our tone of voice as per our brand model is “grounded, helpful, professional and engaging”. However, there are some suggested additions when it comes to the tone of voice we use online, particularly for social media. A tone of voice that is also ‘casual’ and ‘friendly’ is recommended, taking care that this does not cross over into hypercasual or flippant (inappropriate jokes or language, textspeak etc.) which would dilute our credibility and could ultimately damage our brand.
Commonly Used Words and Phrases:
Academic degrees
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All degree abbreviations should be uppercase and without periods: BA, BSc, MA, MSc, PhD etc.
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The word “degree” should not follow a degree abbreviation (Use “She has a BA in HRM” not “She has a B.A. degree in HRM”).
Alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae
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Alumnus (alumni in the plural) should be used when referring to a man who has attended a school, college or university. Use alumna (alumnae in the plural) when referring to a woman, and alumni when referring to a group of men and women.
am, pm
Ampersand (&)
Curricula, curriculum
- Curriculum is the singular form; curricula is the plural form.
Departments
- Capitalise when using the official title of the department or office: For example, President’s Office, Marketing Department, Student Services, Students’ Union.
Graduate, graduand
- Our students are graduands when they have completed the requirements for, but have not yet been awarded, a particular qualification. After the conferring ceremony, they are graduates.
Programmes
- National College of Ireland courses are also referred to as programmes, as opposed to programs. (Where possible, ‘courses’ is the preferred term).
State-of-the-art, part-time, full-time
- The phrase should be hyphenated when it is used as an adjective, such as “National College of Ireland has a state-of-the-art campus” and “we offer part-time and full-time courses”
Primary Colours
The primary colours of the National College of Ireland brand are NCI Navy and NCI River. The blues and teals nod to our green island and surrounding waters. The Irish sea and the river Liffey.
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Secondary Colours
Secondary colours are meant to be used in addition to the main colours. In advertising the colours have to be strong, bold and impactful. Strong contrast is essential while using the colours.
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Colour Contrast
Colour contrast is very important to legibility. To meet current accessibility standards*, use only approved colour combinations
*Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level AA compliance requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. To achieve Level AAA compliance requires a contrast ratio of at least 7:1 for normal text and 4.5:1 for large text. Large text is defined as 14 point and bold, or 18 point or larger.
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Colour Allocations
Colours play a key role in discerning brands, that’s why colours have been allocated to different parts. Using approved colour combinations keeps the visual language unified.
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NCI Logo Overview
Our logo is composed of two different elements. The ‘steps’ and the National College of Ireland logo type. Both elements are important to the brand and must not be interfered with, separated or adjusted in any way.
Sizing
- The logo must always be enlarged or reduced proportionately.
- The logo minimum size should never be smaller than 28mm wide.
Downloadable Logos
To accommodate all formats, National College of Ireland has two additional logos to its main logo: A wide version and a super wide version. Please do not attempt to create other versions. If you are unsure which logo to use please seek advice. The usage of the additional logos follows the same principles as the main NCI logo.
NCI Main Logo
NCI Wide Logo
NCI Super Wide Logo
NCI Icon
Which Logo to use?
- Coloured: The NCI full-colour logo must only be used on a white or transparent background.
- White: The NCI white logo must only be used on a coloured background.
- Navy: The NCI navy logo must only be used on a light coloured background, where it may be difficult to view the white logo.
Logo Positioning
NCI Logo: The order of preference for our logo location is top right first, followed by the bottom right.
Partner Logo: If the use of third party/ sub-brands is required the recommended positioning is to the left of the NCI logo.
The first reference to our name should always be ‘National College of Ireland’. On subsequent references, you may use ‘NCI’ or ‘the college’ (note the small ‘c’).
Acronyms should generally not be separated by full stops (periods) or blank spaces. If you use the word ‘the’ before our name, it should not have a capital T.
So for example...
‘I went to National College of Ireland’ (is correct)
‘I went to The National College of Ireland’ (is incorrect)
NCI PowerPoint Presentation
The National College of Ireland Sub-Brands are:
- NCI Early Learning Initiative
- NCI Cloud Competency Centre
- NCI Online
- NCI International
NCI Early Learning Initiative
The NCI Early Learning Initiative logo is composed of multiple different elements. The ‘steps’, the acorn and the National College of Ireland logo type. All elements are important to the brand and must not be interfered with, separated or adjusted in any way.
Download ELI Logo
NCI Cloud Competency Centre
The NCI Cloud Competency Centre (CCC) logo is composed of multiple different elements. The ‘steps’, the cloud and the National College of Ireland logo type. All elements are important to the brand and must not be interfered with, separated or adjusted in any way.
Download CCC Logo
NCI Online
The NCI Online logo is composed of multiple different elements. The ‘steps’ and the National College of Ireland logo type. All elements are important to the brand and must not be interfered with, separated or adjusted in any way.
NCI International
Primary Colours
The primary colours of the National College of Ireland International Office are green, NCI blue, white, and overlaid pattern. The green gradient nods to our green island and surrounding seas. The pattern represents the Irish winds and sea waves, while also mirroring the steps from the NCI logo.
The Pattern
The pattern consists of a green background, a pattern layer and a gradient layer. While using the pattern make sure it isn’t stretched or in the wrong colour profile. The lines should flow from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. When resizing the pattern, the pattern layer stays the same size. The gradient layer changes size and the gradient line has to flow from the top left to the bottom right.
Secondary Colours
Secondary colours are only to be used sparingly. Use them when the design needs a little pop or if you need to draw attention to something. For everybody to read our communication materials make sure to meet at least AA accessibility standards.
Colours in use
The main objective of the colours and pattern is to deliver a message. Choose the right combination for what you want to convey. Use secondary colours when there is a need to highlight certain information. Pick up to three secondary colours and use them sparingly, that way the design won’t be overly busy.