CEC Branding Guide
The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and its state/provincial units and divisions are dedicated to being the voice and vision of special education. One of the most important activities CEC can do to ensure its success is to enhance its image through consistent branding. As CEC competes externally for consumers’ attention, its image and brand help members and consumers understand who we are and what we have to offer.
The CEC brand supports its critical mission -- to work to improve the quality of life for individuals with exceptionalities and their families through professional excellence and advocacy. CEC’s brand also defines who we are -- a diverse, vibrant professional community working with others to ensure that individuals with exceptionalities are valued and included in all aspects of life. In 2000, CEC went through an intensive strategic branding effort to revise its logo and develop guidelines for its consistency.
Goals of CEC Branding:
- Heighten public awareness of CEC, its mission, and its vision
- Unify CEC’s image across units, divisions, subdivisions, and chapters, creating a stronger awareness as a whole
- Differentiate CEC from competitors
- Clarify our promise to members and consumers
- Make access into new markets easier
- Help the general public understand who we are and what we stand for
- Help fundraising efforts
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How CEC State/Provincial Units, Divisions, Chapters and Subdivisions Benefit from Consistent Branding
Strengthening CEC’s brand will yield positive results for all CEC units. Being associated with CEC’s known, respected brand increases a unit’s perceived value and that of its products, services, and membership. As CEC’s brand — and each unit’s brand — becomes reinforced in the public’s mind, each CEC unit should enjoy increased awareness, membership, publication sales, conference attendance, and so on.
Likewise, CEC benefits by linking our brand with that of each of our state/provincial units, divisions, subdivisions, and chapters. CEC’s units have earned a highly respected place in the education community based on their leadership, advocacy, publications, conferences, and other activities. By forming a unified image that is instantly recognizable, we strengthen each other. Consistent use of the CEC brand across the organization will reinforce our brand promise and help ensure our success.
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Guidelines for Using the CEC Logo
1. Only CEC-recognized state/provincial units and divisions may use the CEC logo. The entire graphic, including the logo and slogan, is available from CEC Headquarters. Chapters, subdivisions, and other interested parties should contact Anna Baker at annab@cec.sped.org or (703) 264-9468.
2. The CEC logo includes the slogan: “The voice and vision of special education.”
3. The slogan should be centered under the logo as shown above.
4. The official colors for the CEC logo are Pantone (PMS) 1805 Red and Pantone (PMS) 287 Blue. The colors should never be rearranged, changed, screened, or altered in any way, except as listed in #5.
5. The approved color options are:
- Pantone 1805 (red) and Pantone 287 (blue)
- Black only
- Pantone 287 (blue) only
- Reverse print (white on a colored background)
6. The logo is comprised of the AuLitera font appearing to the right of the figures. The graphic and text should never be rearranged, reconfigured, or altered in any way.
7. If the logo is 1.5” or larger, it must include the CEC slogan (The voice and vision of special education). If the logo is smaller than 1”, the slogan may be omitted. As a test and when it is used, the slogan must be clearly legible.
8. The logo should never be printed smaller than ½” in size.
9. There is no maximum size limit for the logo use, although the logo should never appear distorted, fuzzy, or unreadable.
10. The CEC logo should be prominent while maintaining the graphic integrity of the piece on which it is displayed.
11. The CEC logo may not be combined with any logo other than those of officially recognized CEC state/provincial units and divisions.
12. Association, corporate, government, and other partners, please contact CEC.
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Guidelines for State/Provincial Unit, Division, Subdivision, and Chapter Logos
1. Please read the general usage guidelines first. All guidelines are applicable in addition to the following.
2. In the case of product or other type of endorsements by state/provincial units, divisions, chapters, or subdivisions, CEC’s logo or name may not be used without explicit permission from CEC.
3. Officially recognized CEC units may use a “combo” logo. Two samples of the “combo” logo appear below with the unit name typeset next to the CEC brand. State and provincial units’ are typeset differently than divisions’ names.
4. The CEC “combo” logo featuring a unit's name should be displayed on all print materials, including stationery, publications, brochures, advertisements, and conference programs, as well as on the Web. New products should incorporate the logo and slogan. When old stationery and materials become depleted, the replacements should incorporate the logo and slogan.
5. When multiple logos must appear on a document, the unit logo may be separated from the CEC logo (as in a masthead), with the “combo” logo appearing at the bottom of the page.
6. When using a single logo, such as on a Web site, the “combo” logo should be used.
7. “Combo” logos may be created using the actual brand of the state/provincial unit or division, equalizing the size between the logos, centering the slogan underneath the logos, and organizing them as they appear here:
8. For chapters and subdivisions, the general CEC logo may be used specifically according to the guidelines. The font Myriad Pro may be used instead of AuLitera to typeset a chapter's name or number. Contact CEC for further clarification.
Questions? Please contact Anna Baker, annab@cec.sped.org, (703) 264-9468.
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