Marketing Department

Visual Identity Guidelines


Schoolcraft College Email Signatures


As one of the most frequently used forms of communication, email messages should serve as a reflection of the institution. Because of the wide variety of formats used by faculty and staff, the college has adopted a standardized signature format to help email signatures. This standardized format will further reinforce the college’s brand identity, as well as convey important contact information. This is particularly important for those who often interface with prospective students and/or members of the external, public community.

Email Signature Style
  • Use black type in 10 pt Verdana, Arial or Calibri font.
  • Do not use the Schoolcraft College logo as part of your email signature.
  • Use plain text format to easily accommodate all types of users. The Marketing Department recommends the following for the campus community to adopt in order to achieve a consistent "brand" for email signatures.

External signature:
Name (bold)
Title or Position | Office/Department
Schoolcraft College | 18600 Haggerty Road | Livonia, MI 48152-2696
734-462-NNNN ext. NNNN | Fax 734-462-NNNN (optional)
name@schoolcraft.edu

Internal signature:
Name (bold)
Title or Position | Office/Department
ext. NNNN | Fax 734-462-NNNN (optional)

An optional line to include your social network links is also acceptable:
Follow us: facebook.com/SchoolcraftCollege | twitter.com/schoolcraftnow


How to Create a Signature in Microsoft Outlook


To set up your email signature in Microsoft Outlook use the following step by step guide:

  1. Select Tools | Options...from the menu in Microsoft Outlook
  2. Select Mail Format
  3. Select Signatures
  4. Click New
  5. Type the text of your signature under Edit Signature
  6. Try to limit your signature to 4–5 lines of text, and possibly use the standard signature delimiter (use the Shift key with the key directly above the Enter key on your keyboard to enter the pipe character)
  7. Save signature and click OK

Simple Signatures


Because of the wide variety of desktop and web browser email clients, a consistent signature can be difficult to achieve. The best rule of thumb? Keep it simple.

  • Less is more. Your signature should not be longer than six lines.
    Go wider rather than longer, and use pipes to separate components.
  • Use a simple 10 pt standard font (preferred) or your email client’s default font. Non-standard typefaces and HTML may not translate well across email clients.
  • Avoid using any graphics or colors.
  • Refrain from using quotations or other philosophical statements. Do not confuse your Schoolcraft College email account with your personal email account. Your signature should reflect a professional and consistent college viewpoint when conducting business through email.

Best Practices When Creating an Email Signature


  • Listing the Web site: Most (if not all) people recognize the email domain on your email address contains your Web address. Since our email addresses have ‘schoolcraft. edu’ it is not necessary to list the college Web site.
  • Quotes: Quotes should not be used in a college email signature.
  • Fax numbers: Industry trends indicate that fax is slipping in popularity as a mean of communication, so it’s no longer necessary to list.
  • Signature on every reply & forward: When continuing a conversation via email, there’s no need to include the signature in every response.
  • Include faculty’s private practice: Please refrain from promoting a faculty or staff member’s other employment in your email signature.
  • Background color: Please refrain from using watermarked, colored, or photographic backgrounds in your emails. Those backgrounds often make your correspondence difficult to read and do not render appropriately in every email program. White is the only admissible background color for Schoolcraft College emails.
  • Professional licenses or certifications: Feel free to add professional designations or certification directly after your name. For example: John Doe, FAIA or Jane Doe, MBA. Omit the college name or degree.
  • Committees: While these are very important, the email signature is not the best location to communicate that information.
  • Confidentiality clause: If it is a necessary part of your business operations to work with confidential information, a confidentiality clause can be included at the bottom of the signature.
  • Social media: If you would like to include social media links, it shouldn’t be more than two. Usually it’s Facebook and Twitter. Do not include images, only the links.