The following guidelines are intended to ensure there is international consistency when communicating about National College of Ireland
Consistency in the brand logo, colours, and font, ensures, brand recognition across all international markets.
To request a Photoshop file, please email international@ncirl.ie with the subject 'NCI Photoshop File Logo Request'.
The first reference to our name should always be ‘National College of Ireland’. On subsequent references, you may use ‘the college’ (note the small ‘c’) or ‘NCI’.
Use of the acronym ‘NCI’ is to be limited. Our official name is ‘National College of Ireland’, and we do not want to cause confusion or dilute our name recognition by overuse of our initials.
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)
Genuine approachable and down to earth, honest and open.
Inspiring concerned about the achievement of excellence.
Understanding a partner, paying particular attention to the needs of others; recognising the individual as well as the education.
Committed an ally in the face of difficulties students can face.
Passionate about education and standards.
Our logo is composed of two different elements. The ‘steps’ and the National College of Ireland logotype. Both elements are important to the brand and must not be interfered with, separated or adjusted in any way.
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 or Black
The NCI navy or black logo must only be used on a light coloured background, where it may be difficult to view the white logo.
The order of preference for our logo location is top right first, followed by the bottom right.
If the use of third party/ sub-brands is required the recommended positioning is to the left of the NCI logo.
Print: C23 M30 Y100 K1
Pantone: 457
HEX: #CAAB39
Print: C98 M100 Y0 K43
Pantone: 275
HEX: #241a56
Print: 100% White
HEX: #ffffff
Lucida Sans is the primary typeface for NCI. This should be used on all printed promotional materials.
Using the Font Successfully
Font Family
When to use it
Lucida Sans Regular - Size 10
Main text
Lucida Sans Bold - Size 12
Headings and highlighting information
Lucida Sans Italic - Size 10
Quotes/Highlighting information
Verdana is the secondary typeface for NCI. This should be used on all web-based materials.
Verdana Regular - Size 10
Verdana Bold - Size 12
Verdana Italic - Size 10
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.
All degree abbreviations should be uppercase and without periods: BA, BSc, MA, MSc, PhD etc.
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 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.
Lowercase, without periods
The ampersand can be used in job titles - Careers & Opportunities Officer – and where space is an issue (headers, the web), but should not otherwise be used in place of the word and.
Photographs taken for the college represent National College of Ireland and should convey our brand values. Photographs should convey us as professional, welcoming and supportive. Stock photos should be avoided where possible. Poor quality images will only weaken our brand.
The International Department manage a number of official social media profiles; the main channels are: