Bishop’s University

    Communications Toolbox

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    The Communications Office is happy to provide you with tools and resources that will help you confidently communicate on-brand and present your idea — when you are sharing Bishop’s University’s story and achievements to the world. Need a tailored document for your project? Contact the Communications Office!

    BU Brand

    Brand Book

    Bishop’s University’s brand visual elements — our logos, signature, typography and colours — help tell our story in a unified voice to inspire, motivate and reflect our brand. Take a look at our Brand Book, and do not hesitate to contact us for further dialogue on how you can contribute in promoting the University wisely.

    Download the Brand Book (PDF)

    Logos

    Official Fonts

    Language

    Words matter. Effective communications benefit from clarity. To that end, the Communications office generally relies on the Canadian Press style and spelling as a widely used and accepted standard. However, it’s always important to practice thoughtful and respectful dialogue.

    While there are many resources available on this topic, the American Psychological Association grammar and style’s guidelines provide useful pointers to write while keeping gender inclusivity in mind.

    Promoting Your Event

    The communications office is here to support your communication endeavours. We encourage you to explore the tools and guidelines within our toolbox. We encourage you to reach out well ahead of your planned event or deadline to allow for planning and content development.  

    Social Media

    Social can be a great medium for disseminating news and engaging your audience. If you are managing your own social account(s), we encourage you to tag @ubishops. This gives us visibility on your activities and, when applicable, the opportunity to share your content! 

    If your content represents the institution, there may be an opportunity to post directly to the appropriate BU channel.    

    • Facebook: Reach our community of 22,000+ students, alumni and friends. All event promotion is welcome here! All it takes is an eye-catching picture and an engaging caption. 
    • Instagram: Reach our 11,000+ students and future students. This channel is about entertaining pictures highlighting the student experience.  
    • X: Anything related to research, awards, publications, features about our students and faculty.  
    • LinkedIn: Reach our 22,000+ community in this professional social networking site where we love to celebrate research, awards, publications, features about our students and faculty. 

    Submit Your Social Post  

    Digital Displays

    A digital display is an effective way to share your event directly to community members on campus. Screens are present throughout the Student Centre, LLC, and other areas with high foot traffic.  

    Before sending a Notices email, consider a digital display as an alternative! 

    Submit Your Digital Sign 

    You can also check out the Digital Display section of the toolbox for helpful templates, guidelines, and a how-to video. 

    Press Release

    Press releases are intended to maximize the reach of an event or announcement to the local, national, or international communities. Before considering a press release, consult with us to determine if this is the best approach.  

    Contact Sonia at spatenau@ubishops.ca 

    Still not sure which is right for you?

    We encourage you to fill out this communications plan template to help define your goals, audience, and strategy to reach them. If you need help completing it, let us know!

    Holiday Cards

    The Communications Office has created card designs to help you spread your best wishes this holiday season.

    If you would like to send the cards virtually, simply right-click the card of your choice to save it. You can then incorporate it in your email to accompany your personalized holiday wishes.

    If you would like printed cards, contact Mail & Print Services and specify the model you wish to have printed along with the quantity you desire. The cards come with envelopes (cost: TBD).

    2021 Holidays card with purple background

    2021 French card Joyeuses Fetes

    2021 Season's Greetings card

    2021 card Meilleurs Voeux

    2021 trilingual card

    2021 Happy Holidays card

    Video Conferencing Backgrounds

    Show off your purple pride with our video conferencing backgrounds. These images can also be used as desktop wallpapers, to jazz up PowerPoints, or to assist in any of your Bishop’s branded graphic needs.

    Powerpoint Templates
    Email Signatures

    1. Download the logos below (right-click and save):
    Note: Due to settings on individuals’ computers, operating system and/or email client application, the apparent size of the wordmark may display smaller or larger than intended despite using the same sized image file. There are therefore two downloadable size options for the Bishop’s logo, to adjust the image size if your settings result in one size appearing too large, or too small.

    Small Bishop's logo               Medium size Bishop's logo

    2. Follow the steps to create an email signature:
    Instructions for MAC (PDF)
    Instructions for Windows PC (PDF)
    Or view this short tutorial video.

    Example of what the email signature would look like (example shown bigger than it will be in your signature):

    Example of an email signature

    Video & Photography

    Photography

    Your photo needs can likely be handled internally, particularly if the photo is destined for social media or digital displays. If photos are destined for an external audience, through the web or in promotional materials, a professional may be called for.

    In either case, knowing the purpose and audience for your content is key!

    Communications can help by reviewing your plan and determining the best way forward. We can refer photographers if applicable, and we may have just what you are looking for in our photo bank that can be used in your materials!

    Videography

    Producing quality video content takes time and expertise. Therefore, the strategic questions regarding the use and placement of video is critical. Take the time to consider why you feel video would be the best medium. Who is it for? What are the key messages you want to expose? Find examples of videos you feel are good benchmarks for the tone and quality you are looking for.

    A video targeting our internal community may be able to be produced here, whereas if your intended audience is external we may recommend a professional videographer.

    Contact Benj at btabah@ubishops.ca to discuss.

    Digital Display

    Digital displays run for ~8 seconds each, so  keep the amount of content to a minimum! If you are creating a display with animation, you can specify the length of the file upon export.  

    Accepted Formats 

    • PNG  
    • JPG  
    • MP4 (if animation is included) 
    • 1920 X 1080  

    The maximum file size accepted is 30 MB.

    To have your content added to the displays, submit your file here.

    Need some help making your digital display? Use the templates provided or watch the tutorial on how to make your own in Canva.

    Digital Display Templates