Route Consultant Brand Guidelines

Logos

Please note: in 2021 we officially increased the weight of our brand font for legibility in print and event merchandise. Old designs or designs not yet updated in 2021 may include a thinner version of the Route Consultant logo. All designs will be updated to the thicker logo as revisions occur.

Colors

Primary Brand Colors

• Designs should use monochromatic colors of the Primary Brand Colors to create differentiation prior to utilizing any accent color

• Accent colors should below should be used less than 10% of the time and only in designs which are very large and require extensive additional colors to differentiate content

Accent Colors (Use Rarely)

Fonts

Digital H1(Open Sans 400)

Digital H2 (Open Sans 300)

Digital H3 (Open Sans 600)

Body Text (Open Sans)

Link Style (Underlined + Hover Effect)

Imagery

Generic Imagery

When needed, generic images—for backgrounds, thumbnails, blog post headers, and more—should depict American highways and roads. These images should include a variety of geographic landmarks and features. They should also have both day/night settings. Our brand leans toward images with time lapse vehicles to communicate growth and pace in our industry.

Our Community Images

Content for our community need to include images from past events. We should not use stock images that include people. Our style focuses on education, and the way our team constantly shares information. It also makes it clear that our team is approachable. And we want our images to include instances of conversation and fun!

Imagery to Avoid

Please do not depict the FedEx logo in any images across our platforms. Similarly, avoid the Amazon and UPS logos. We do not use stock photography of people if at all possible. Take care to avoid images with trucks not used in the US or images of cities/highways not based in the US.

Graphic Elements

A few guidelines for brand graphics:

• Use icons sparingly; when used, icons should be simplistic and not cartoon-like

• We use boxes as highlights; avoid rounded corners or bubbles

• We do not use drop shadow text or graphic elements; although we may use layered shapes for depth

• Thin lines/pipes may be used to create visual sections or to connect concepts

• Where possible, always choose an image over a graphic

• Color gradients are in use throughout the brand

• Use pull quotes to create visual interest

Brand Examples

• Products and Services (Print + Digital Deck)

• Contractor Happy Hour (Print + Digital)

• Mastermind Invite (Digital)

• Contractor Expo + Party (Magazine)

• Road Show Flyer (Print + Digital)

• Contractor Expo Attendee Badge (Print)

Content Style Notes

• Investors do not buy “a route” — they buy or own “routes” (always plural, except in rare specific cases)

• Capitalize financial terms like Total Revenue if we are talking about a precise figure

• ISP is the contract; CSP is the person

• Owners, contractors, and operators are interchangeable

• A partial sale is also known as a carve-out

• We use ampersand (&) for P&D, but our brand uses the plus sign (+) as a graphic “and” wherever possible

• “An” SBA Loan (when abbreviated); “A” Small Business Association loan (when spelled out)

• We use the numerical digit (1,2, 3, 4, 5…) instead of spelling out the number (one, two, three, four, five…) except in a title or at the start of a sentence

• We represent percentage ranges like so: 10-25% (we do not use: 10% to 25%)

• Rarely use dramatic punctuation (!) or bold or underline