Branding & Communications

Communications

Written communications

This page provides information on Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture written and visual communications; required branding, including information about logos, a required disclaimer, required phrasing, and other style guidelines. It is intended for use by Principal Investigators (PIs) and other partners who are currently funded as part of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture network. 

General

Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture communications provides all aspects of support, from announcing and sharing new projects and research results to producing high-quality publications and other communications-related materials, as well as developing and coordinating events to connect researchers to development stakeholders.

Sharing research results
To share the outcomes of Innovation Lab for Horticulture-funded research and to request any assistance with sharing results at any point in the project timeline, contact Archie Jarman and (rajarman@ucdavis.edu) and Heather Hayashi (hnhayashi@ucdavis.edu). For all events-related queries: Archie Jarman (rajarman@ucdavis.edu).

Funding acknowledgements
For more on funding acknowledgement, refer to the section on Disclaimer Language (pages 42-3) in the Feed the Future Graphics and Naming Standards Manual.

Research papers
As a public academic research and education program, we are required to make available all products that come from funded Horticulture Innovation Lab projects, including working papers, results summaries and journal publications. Research papers should acknowledge Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture funding with the following text:

“This research was funded by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture and made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this publication are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.”

Other materials
For communications materials such as video, powerpoint presentations, webinars, trainings, etc. the following should be included:

“This [specify: video, webinar, event, etc.] is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture [insert project name] and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government."

USAID branding Press releases and written pieces
When writing about your Horticulture Innovation Lab project in public communications — press releases in particular or other text-only articles such as a journal article or blog post — you are required to include a phrase in the text substantially similar to: 

"… supported by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, as part of the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative."

Branding

USAID, Feed the Future, UC Davis and Horticulture Innovation Lab

Due to the collaborative nature of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab, there are several guidelines we must follow, in order to ensure an inclusive and respectful incorporation of the identities and marks that represent our global network. It is helpful to understand the roles between the partners in order to remember the way to display their relationships through their logos and markings as designated by each.

USAID is the funder of the Feed the Future Initiative, while UC Davis is the host-institution for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture leadership team in the United States. 

USAID branding

The USAID Branding Policy is mandated by Congress. Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture is considered a USAID-funded Assistance Program, and thus is allowed to co-brand, featuring partner logos - following USAID guidelines. Branding resources, including downloadable USAID logos, may be found at usaid.gov/branding/resources, and an educational video is available here. General guidelines for logo-use include:

  • USAID logo must always be displayed as the logo at bottom left
  • No other logo must be larger than it (with the exception of the Feed the Future logo)
USAID mandated by congress


Feed the Future branding

Feed the Future is a global food security initiative funded by USAID. Branding guidelines and downloadable logos for Feed the Future may be found at feedthefuture.gov/branding. General guidelines for logo-use include:

  • Feed the Future logo must always be displayed as the logo at the very top left of a program material
  • No logo may appear larger than the Feed the Future logo

UC Davis branding

As the host-institution for the USAID-funded Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture, UC Davis has it's own set of logos and branding, which are all applied towards administrative items - materials where USAID and Feed the Future have instructed that their logos are not permitted to be displayed (p. 38). Administrative materials include e-signatures, business cards and letterheads. General guidelines for logo-use:

  • when used in administrative items (where USAID and Feed the Future logos are not permitted to be displayed), use the extended version of the mark (with University of California, Davis) whenever possible, for global recognition

Horticulture Innovation Lab branding

See very bottom of this page for resources, including downloadable logos, templates, cheatsheets etc.

Naming
Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture will be referred to formally as such, or, informally as: Horticulture Innovation Lab - once it has been introduced in the following manner.

For example -
"The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture, also referred to as the Horticulture Innovation Lab, is managed by a team..."

Acronyms such as HIL or ILH are highly discouraged by USAID.

 

Colors
Use Feed the Future colors (see p. 19)

FeedtheFuture colors

 

Fonts
Use Feed the Future fonts (see p. 20-3) 

Feed the Future fonts

 

Proper Logo Treatment: Spacing Requirements
A minimum area or “clear space” surrounding the Feed the Future logo must be kept free of any other text or graphic elements, such as illustrations, thematic images, and the trim edge of a printed piece. In certain cases, the logo may be overlayed on top of a photograph or patterned background provided that the logo is still clear and legible. The photograph or pattern must not be overly distracting from the logo. Minimum clear space on all sides is equal to the height of the Feed the Future text, no matter the size of the tagline. The letter “D” from the word “FEED” determines the height and width of the clear space around the logo, as shown below. Products should use more than the minimum clear space where possible (see below for reference from p. 16).

treatment of logo clear space example

 

EXAMPLES BELOW of properly branded presentation slides, and the breakdown of what is being shown:

Example 1
(above) End-of-presentation slide with proper branding; Feed the Future logo largest at top, USAID logo furthest lower left, followed by partner logos of equal size (hierarchy of logos read left-to-right), and disclaimer/funder-acknowledgement.
Example 2
(above) Closing slide of presentation, may also be used for outro of video.

Editorial Style Guidelines

Digital story submissions

To meet USAID Agrilinks digital publication submission standards, a good reference to follow is their Editorial Style Guide. Tips here include how to title a story, as well as photo requirements (dimensions, resolution, naming, describing, photo crediting).

Visual Storytelling

Photos, visual communication and multimedia

Below are resources on storytelling through the use of photos, videos, and other activities.

Photos

Guidance on capturing photos

Sending photos for media use and public access archiving on Flickr

When sending photos to be shared for external communications – and publicly archived to our Horticulture Innovation Lab Flickr account – please provide as much information as possible, including descriptive title and photo credit. For tips on this:

  1. The Agrilinks Editorial Style Guide has a good Photos section to reference, especially when preparing to submit a digital story to their newsletter. These include requirements for photo: credits, descriptions, image quality, file names, and alt tags.
  2. Alternatively, a quick and easy way might be to simply:
    Name the photo title with the description (who, what, when, where, image credit)
    For more, including examples, view this document.

Visual communication

Multimedia

Here is a general UC Davis social media training presentation on how to manage your professional profile:

Additional Brand Resources

Downloadable logos and templates

Feed the Future Branding Guidance Training

View modules 1-39, and 43-46: feedthefuture.gov/resource/feed-the-future-branding-training-module/ 

Templates for download
Administrative Item Templates

For administrative items such as e-signatures, business cards and letterheads, USAID and Feed the Future logos are not permitted to be displayed (p. 38). Thus, we must then follow UC Davis branding. Below are templates provided for the following administrative items:

Documents