AASHTOWare Brand Standards

Published in PDF Brand Identity Guidelines Download Recommends

This manual is designed as both a guide and a checklist—a guide for appropriate standards for the AASHTOWare software suite.
Read or scan the manual cover to cover. Everyone should be familiar with all parts of the standards because you are, in fact, the standard-bearers.

A little history might interest you. In the Roman army, each century had its own standard, called a signum. When a detachment was sent out, they took a vexillum, a flag-type standard that identified their legion. Standards helped the troops to maintain the right positions during battle. You get the point. Interestingly, the legion carried a portrait of the emperor, the imago, to remind the troops of their loyalty to him. This may be the ultimate source of the corporate logo. Graphic standards are designed to help your lawyers stay on message in the marketplace. (Just don’t try to force them to do push-ups if they refuse to follow orders.)

Order in battle is the appropriate spirit of these brand standards. In marketing, impressions are a valuable commodity. Each impression—the look, feel, personality and message— is a dart into the mind of the buyer. The goal of marketing is very simple—to preview the seller to the buyer. “Familiarity” is proven by all research to be inextricably linked to favorability.Thus, the goal is to make every impression hit its target, to make every impression count.

If the battle images seem too violent, then imagine each impression as a drop of water wearing away a stone. To some degree, this is appropriate because generally, seven to ten impressions are required to convert a prospect into a buyer. Marketing is a long-term proposition and this Standards Manual is designed in service to that goal.

If you have any questions about any detail of this manual, contact your standards officers, who have been assigned to enforce the standards and ensure compliance.

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