Identity Guidelines

Web and Multimedia

Visual Design/Presentation

Page format and institutional branding

All pages residing within the utsa.edu domain should use the approved branding elements for the university. In all instances, the branding elements should link directly back to the UTSA home page ().

Required institutional branding elements

• an approved variation of the UTSA logo at the top of the page (preferably top left corner) that links to
• an alternative form of contact for the content owner such as e-mail or phone number
• a footer that contains the following:
  • a link to labeled "© The University of Texas at San Antonio."
  • (210) 458-4011
  • One UTSA Circle, San Antonio TX 78249
  • a link to identity labeled "Identity"
  • a link to policies.cfm labeled "Policies"
  • a link to oep labeled "Emergency Preparedness"
  • a link to texas.cfm labeled "Required Links"

Page dimensions

Relative monitor platform settings should be considered when dealing with Web page dimensions. Pages that expand and contract depending on user settings are preferred. Adoption of this design principle satisfies Priority 2 compliance guidelines set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium (http://www.w3c.org).

Page dimension should at least accommodate window sizes of 640x480 pixels (additionally accounting for browser buttons and scroll bars). Pages that optimize for 800x600 pixels are acceptable.

Typeface

Text color should contrast with the background color to ensure readability. Since the default background color of the UTSA sites is white, black is highly recommended. Flashing or moving fonts and images are not to be used.

To ensure that all platforms and operating systems will display your site properly, use only common fonts found on all systems.

UTSA default fonts:

• sans serif font types Verdana, Arial, Helvetica (10 pt.)
• serif font types Times New Roman, Times (12 pt.)

Background

As a default, UTSA uses a white background for all pages. This creates a more consistent look throughout the site. Use background images sparingly. If used, these images should not overpower the text.

Frames

Frames are not recommended or supported by the university for the following reasons:

• State mandates require that if a site uses frames, that frameset must be released when loading a page that resides outside of that departmental jurisdiction.
• State/federal mandates require that frames shall be titled with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation.
• Due to layout issues, frame sizes cannot be guaranteed across all browsers. Browsers display information differently, and if exact sizing and placing are required in the design of a site, potential display problems may occur.
• Frames are not conducive to wireless protocol—current wireless markup languages do not support frames.
• Frames are not conducive to accessibility—alternative page readers may not be able to read framesets appropriately.
• Frames are not conducive to usability (e.g., searchable, indexing, etc.). Many times, the site custodians will not break the frameset when linking to a site outside of their own jurisdiction.
• Frames are disruptive to universal site navigation, institutional branding and consistency.