Hey campus communicators: Take a tour of Western's Design System, Design Conductor, and more

It’s fitting that “Let’s Get Things Started” is the rallying cry for the current recruitment campaign - it’s also a great mindset to take with us as we embark on yet another unprecedented year of recruiting, admitting, welcoming and serving students. In this newsletter, we hope you’ll find some useful information, tips, and resources to help restart things for the fall semester!

New Identity Marks for Colleges, Departments and Units

As we get back into the swing of things in the new academic year, you’ll no doubt be taking a look at your communication plans and pieces, and will want to make updates. University Marketing has new, approved identity marks (logos) developed and ready for use for your college, department or unit–just reach out to creative@wwu.edu, and we’ll forward them along!

Design Conductor: Yeah, There’s a Template for That

And as more of us return to campus and start to look around at the walls and hallways, I’m sure you might notice that there are flyers, posters, and other printed materials that need updating. Design Conductor, Western’s official branded communication template platform, is an easy way to create/update printed pieces. In addition to having a great selection of branded templates (see example at right), we can also develop custom templates for you and your office, if needed. Email creative@wwu.edu to request an account and get an invite to a 30 minute overview and training.

Design System for Everything Else

Finally, a reminder that Design System, Western’s website dedicated to all things WWU brand, contains a number of helpful resources:

• Email signature - use our handy template to add your Western signature to your emails.
• Word and Powerpoint Templates - we have letterhead or presentation resources for you to download in one click.
• Teams/Zoom Backgrounds - represent Western in your online meetings by downloading some branded backgrounds.
• Western’s Logo - make sure you’re including Western’s logo if you’re developing any external communications.

Please spend a little time getting familiar with Design System. If you ever have questions, reach out to University Marketing at creative@wwu.edu.