Resources & FAQs

1. Assemble your newsletter stories. We suggest you aim for somewhere between 5-15 stories in your newsletter.
2. Request a send date from the Alumni Office. If you're sending your newsletter to your alumni base (you likely are), please log in and fill out the form here to set up the send through the alumni office. Alumni requests a 2-week notice for all distributions. You can get an idea of available send dates by visiting the alumni email calendar here.
3. Ensure that your full news stories reside online. The goal of email newsletters is to make them as quickly digestible as possible. Therefore, we use headlines and excerpts in the body of the newsletter and then provide links to the full story if the reader wants to learn more. While it is not required to link to full articles from your email newsletter, you will often need to utilize a webpage to share the full story. These full articles can be located either on the Clemson Newsstand, your departmental blog, or any other webpage on the internet.
4. Send your newsletter content to the PROMO Group. Create a word document with the following:
   1. A headline and excerpt for each story. Headlines should be one brief statement, and excerpts should be limited to a few brief sentences. If the story needs to link to a webpage containing the complete article, please copy and paste that page's URL after the excerpt. If you need help accessing or using your blog, please contact us. If you need a new user account added to your blog, please email ows@g.clemson.edu, and request the new addition.
   2. Specify the order you want your stories to appear in the newsletter by numbering them in your document. The number one story in your document will be the lead story and will be featured most prominently.
   3. While photos are not required for every story, great imagery can dramatically improve the quality and readership of your newsletter. Save your image files with the corresponding number of the article (e.g. "1.jpg", "2.jpg" etc.). Images should be reasonably high resolution and horizontal (landscape) orientation.
   4. Email your Word Document and numbered photos (sending this packaged as a zipped file is a good idea) to the PROMO Group at promogroup@clemson.edu no less than 1 week prior to your requested send date.
   5. If you have an email list of recipients other than your alumni base, include it in your zipped package. This should be a CSV file with just one column for the email addresses.

The following guide will assist you in setting up your email signature to adhere to Clemson's brand standards. Use the appropriate instructions for your system and then refer to the sample signature for details on fonts, sizes, and colors.

OUTLOOK FOR PC

1. Download the CLEMSON EMAIL LOGO.
2. Load Trade Gothic Next Fonts using Adobe Fonts. Franklin Gothic or Arial may be used as acceptable replacement fonts if you prefer to skip this step.
3. Open the signature panel by either:
   • selecting File/Options/Mail then selecting Signatures (third from the top) or
   • opening a new email message, select signature from the ribbon, then signatures.
4. Inside the signature window, you will select new.
5. Type in your contact info and style the text according to the instructions below. Be sure to create a hyperlink from the CLEMSON logo to https://www.clemson.edu and another from the words "College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences" to https://www.clemson.edu/cecas

OUTLOOK FOR MAC

1. Download the CLEMSON EMAIL LOGO.
2. Load Trade Gothic Next Fonts using Adobe Fonts. Franklin Gothic or Arial may be used as acceptable replacement fonts if you prefer to skip this step.
3. Open the signature panel by selecting Outlook > Preferences and then Signatures.
   • selecting File/Options/Mail then selecting Signatures (third from the top) or
   • opening a new email message, select signature from the ribbon, then signatures.
4. Inside the signature window, click the "+" icon to create a new signature.
5. Type in your contact info and style the text according to the instructions below. Be sure to create a hyperlink from the CLEMSON logo to https://www.clemson.edu and another from the words "College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences" to https://www.clemson.edu/cecas  

APPLE MAIL

1. Download the CLEMSON EMAIL LOGO.
2. Load Trade Gothic Next Fonts using Adobe Fonts. Franklin Gothic or Arial may be used as acceptable replacement fonts if you prefer to skip this step.
3. Open the signature panel by either:
   • selecting File/Options/Mail then selecting Signatures (seventh tab) or
   • opening a new email message, select signature from the ribbon, then Edit Signatures.
4. Select your exchange account and then click the "+" icon.
5. Use the right option-click to access the dropdown menu and select show fonts/color as needed to style the text according to the instructions below. Be sure to create a hyperlink from the CLEMSON logo to https://www.clemson.edu and another from the words "College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences" to https://www.clemson.edu/cecas  

Clemson's primary brand font, Trade Gothic Next LT, is free to University personnel and can be activated through your Adobe Creative Cloud account at fonts.adobe.com. You can find helpful instructions on the Adobe Creative Cloud Help Page. Licensed brand fonts that require purchase are available as noted below. More info can also be found in the Clemson Brand Guide.

Trade Gothic Next LT

Trade Gothic Next LT is the University's primary sans serif typeface. A "draftsman" font, this mechanical, tactile, and architectural font fits Clemson's work ethic and serves as the more blue-collar font of our font family.

Activate Trade Gothic via Adobe Fonts

Tiempos

Our primary serif typeface looks editorial yet fresh; traditional yet modern and innovative. Offering a wide range of faces, particularly in its text set, it is more legible than past typefaces, including Goudy. Its “fine” set of styles offer sharp serifs and high contrast, adding to the legibility.

Purchase Tiempos License

Hoefler Text

Largely designed to optimize long-form copy to make it legible and comfortable for the reader, Hoefler Text identifies as an industry-standard serif for body text. Its form identifies as a classic Roman serif face for use in long-form print and on the web.

Purchase Hoefler License

Old Hall Slab Serif

This custom display typeface, developed by Clemson University Relations, mirrors the architectural lettering found on historic campus buildings. It offers a nod to our distinguished history while lending a distinctive look to our brand font family.

Download Old Hall

Relation Script

Relation Script should be used contextually, either for formal or decorative purposes, and not heavily used in branding applications. The relation might be considered an accent for display text, ornamental or embellishment purposes, and they are free and available through Clemson’s Adobe fonts CC license.

Activate Relation Script via Adobe Fonts

Bickman Script

Bickman Script should be used contextually, either for formal or decorative purposes, and not heavily used in branding applications. Bickman might be considered an accent for display text, ornamental or embellishment purposes, and they are free and available through Clemson’s Adobe fonts CC license.

Activate Bickman Script via Adobe Fonts

We have several templates available which reflect the new branding to assist in the creation of common documents.

PowerPoint Template – This template includes master slides for creating new slides. This template was created using standard fonts that should be common to all versions of PowerPoint (PC or Mac).

CECAS Letterhead Word Template – MS Word Template of our standard departmental letterhead.

ZOOM Backgrounds - download several CECAS-themed zoom backgrounds.

Solving a real-world problem. The more relatable to the general public your work is, the better. For example, could your research help people lose weight, help stroke victims recover, or lead to paint that repairs itself like skin?

Timeliness. Are you an expert on a topic that you saw on today’s front page? It could be worth offering you as an expert or putting together a release.

The cool factor. This is intangible but can help capture attention. Does your research fire people’s imaginations? Good examples include research involving outer space, seahorse-inspired robots, and students making animated films.

Prestige. We’re always interested in putting together stories when your work appears in highly prestigious journals, such as Science and Nature, or when you win highly prestigious awards.

Large dollar amounts. Money isn’t the only factor, but the higher the dollar amount, the more attention-grabbing the story.

Economic development. Could your research, conference, or other work help create jobs or go the extra mile in making people employable?

A story behind the story. For example, did you have to go to extraordinary lengths to do your research or win your award? Or were you inspired to do your research because of an emotional event you’re willing to share with a mass audience?

Keep the release simple. TV news tries to communicate at about a 3rd-grade level, while print news is at a 6th-grade level. This is how they reach the widest possible audience. We highly suggest avoiding technical and insider language whenever possible.

Show how you’re solving real-world problems. Researchers are often so ahead of the curve; they’re working on problems the general public hasn’t yet heard are problems. It helps to include a few paragraphs near the top of the release that gives an overview of the problem and the impact. This helps put your research in context and makes it relatable to people who are not engineers and scientists.

Offer great visuals. We improve our chances of getting coverage by scheduling time for news crews to get shots of you at work. Lab shots are great because they provide context and give people a sense of where you work. It’s even better if we can show people things they have never before seen or show them familiar things in a new light.

If it sounds like a good idea, go for it! We are available to proofread the story to ensure that you and the college are well represented. Email the proposed release to Paul Alongi at palongi@clemson.edu. We can also help provide pictures to supplement the release.

Be honest.

Return emails and calls as soon as possible. Reporters are working under tight deadlines. A returned call or email is very much appreciated, even if it’s just to say, “Sorry, not available today. Can we talk next week?” Of course, it’s preferable to grant the interview at the time approached whenever possible.

Speak simply. Reporters are trying to tell your story to an audience that includes many non-engineers, non-scientists, and many whose education has not reached your level.

What to wear. Business casual is usually most appropriate. There is no need to put on a suit unless that is what you normally wear. Avoid jeans, T-shirts, and other casual wear. When you’re on TV, avoid solid black, solid white, or extremely busy patterns. It’s always appreciated when you wear Clemson colors or something with a Tiger Paw. When in the lab, please wear any necessary safety equipment.

On TV. Talk to the reporter and try to forget the camera is there. If something didn’t come out quite the right way, you could ask the reporter to repeat it, and they will usually accommodate. When the photographer is getting shots of you working in the lab, try to ignore the camera and do what you normally would.