SMPSKC Style Guide
Overall Format
The goal of SMPS Kansas City’s (SMPSKC) overall format is to allow for flexibility, yet stay consistent with National’s brand.
§ Garamond 11 pt. is the font for all text, unless it is not available and then use Arial or Times
§ Garamond bold 13 pt. is to be used for headlines, unless it is not available and then use Arial or Times
§ Text should be aligned left or left justified
§ Text shown in ALL CAPS and Small Caps should be avoided
§ Use one space following periods
§ Single space throughout paragraphs
§ Double space between paragraphs
§ Paragraphs should not be indented
Bulleted Lists
Bullet lists should follow this hierarchy:
§ Level 1
– Level 2
o Level 3
Photos
Photos should appear without a border. Photos taken by SMPSKC members must be of high quality. Otherwise, use stock photography.
Text Color
The use of grey text should be limited to ensure that documents can be clearly read and replicated clearly if member uses a copy machine.
Branding Color Formulas
Recipe for the Corporate Color is listed below and the recipes for the Alternative Colors are listed in National’s Identity Guidelines.
Corporate Colors – Must be maintained for all communication pieces, such as letterhead and business cards.
Pantone 648
R – 0
G – 48
B – 94
Alternative Colors – Use the 13 approved alternative colors below to complement the corporate color.
Writing Style
SMPSKC will follow AP Style Guide for all of its external communication. The following is a list of common writing style questions.
academic degrees – Use bachelor of arts, bachelor of science. Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree and master’s degree.
acronyms – Spell out a term on first reference followed by the abbreviation or acronym in parentheses. Do not use periods in abbreviations. Use abbreviation on subsequent uses. Ex. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Department of Transportation (DOT), etc.
a.m./p.m. – Lowercase with periods. Avoid redundancy: The meeting is at 10 a.m. this morning.
chapter abbreviations – SMPS Kansas City or SMPSKC
credentials – Do not use periods with credentials (PE, etc.)
design-build – Do not use the acronym DB.
headlines, headings, sub-heads – In a headline or main heading, capitalize first word and other important words in the heading. For example:
Capitalize
§ The first and last words of the title
§ All nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives
§ Any conjunction or preposition of five letters or more
Do not capitalize:
§ Articles (the, a, an) unless it happens to be the first or last word of the title
§ Prepositions of four letters or fewer (unless first or last word of the title)
§ Conjunctions of four letters or fewer (unless first or last word of the title)
§ The particle “to” used with an infinitive (unless the first or last word of the title)
For a subhead, capitalize only the first word (and proper nouns).
months – Spell out months in narrative text: August 15, 2010; use standard three letter abbreviation in tables: Jan. 14, 2010.
more than – typically used with numerals. (Ex. John Smith has more than 20 years experience in marketing and business development.)
nonprofit – One word, no hyphen.
number at beginning of sentence – Always write out a number that begins a sentence. Try to avoid beginning a sentence with a number.
numerals – Numbers ten and under should be spelled out and 11 and above should be written as a figure. Spell out the numeral at the beginning of a sentence, with one exception if the number denotes a calendar year.
Punctuation
ampersand (&) – Only use in narrative as part of a company’s formal name. Can be used in headings.
En dashes ( – ) – No space on either side (Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+Num-)
hyphen – Use them to join words to avoid ambiguity or to form a single idea from two or more words. Use according to AP style, such as principal-in-charge, right-of-way, right-turn lane, etc. (Other examples: at-grade, below-grade, above-grade)
comma – use comma to separate items in a series but do not put a comma before the conjunction (and, or) when the series is simple.
Inc. – commas are not required around Inc., Ltd., and such as part of a company’s name; however, if commas are used, they must appear both before and after the element. (Chicago Manual of Style)
§ Ex. The president of Millenial Products Inc. was the first speaker. OR The president of Millenial Products, Inc., was the first speaker.
dash – use dashes to signify an abrupt change in a sentence or to create a pause.
quotation marks – Use quotation marks like bookends around an exact quote. The period and the comma always go within the quotation marks. The dash, semicolon, question mark and exclamation point go within the quotation marks only when they apply to the statement quoted.
semicolon – semicolon indicates separation in a sentence that is greater than a comma, but not enough for a period. It is also used to clarify a series if there are other items in the series that need to be set off by commas.
Google Custom Search
Email address:
Password: 1q2w3e4r
Website Information
Web Hosting
Open www.startlogic.com
User name: smpskc
Password: kc.KC1
Security Question Answer: Brookville
Network Solutions
Domain name registration: smpskansascity
Password: service
Account Number: 24289524
Constant Contact Information
www.constantcontact.com
User name: smpskc
Password: service
Security Question Answer: chocolate
Electronic Branding Standards
Font – Garamond (size 10 or 12)
Hex Colors –
§ Light grey – d8d8d8
§ Light gold – f0d1bd
§ Mid gold – c59d14
§ Dark gold – a88112
§ Black – 161616
§ Mid grey – 666666
Templates
Acteva Procedures
www.acteva.com
User name: smpsk
Password: service
1. Select the Create an Event icon
2. Acteva details should read a description f program as used on the announcement or website
3. Select the start time and date of the event
4. Select the stop time and date of the event
5. Category: Miscellaneous or other at bottom of scroll
6. Offering a “ticket” and how many should read “100”
7. Collect additional names should be checked
8. Add information or selector venue from the drop down list
9. Click “Add Activity”
10. This will direct you to the review page where additional methods of payment can be added
11. You will then have the “Activity Overview” option to review the event
Payment Options
Payment options can be added under “Booking Options” by selecting to add an option and working the similar procedure.
§ If the option of paying on line if offered the purchase price of the ticket need to be inserted and Acteva will calculate the additional charges for you.
Payment option samples to be added are as follows:
§ Member – Pay-Online
§ Non-Member – Pay-Online
§ Member – Pay at the door ($XX)
§ Non-Member – Pay at the door (SXX)
§ Sponsor
– When entering the “Pay at the door” option put the amount in after the option in parentheses and $0.00 for the amount.
Webmaster Information
The most frequent pages you will be updating include the home page; job bank; MotM and programs and events page. You will receive information from other board members to post, but if something that you don’t know should be posted, contact the Communications Director and the President.
Things to note about some of the pages:
Programs and events on the left bar – These are located on the following pages and since the .lbi is broken, you must check and update individually.
§ About Us
§ Board Info
§ Sponsorship
§ Contact
§ Job Bank
§ Join
§ Marketers on the Move
§ People
§ Programs and Events
§ Resources
§ Sponsors
Job Bank – remember to add the date to the end of each listing and at the bottom of the page. Protocol as of 2010 is to accept a Word document or PDF of the job posting and label as such:
Also, the job titles at the top are linked to the postings that follow them. Make sure the html code has the same numbers “ap1” with the title as with the listing below.
Dated information – if something seems outdated, talk to the Communications Coordinator about how long information should be listed.
StartLogic
Once you have updated your files locally, then you can upload the documents to StartLogic.
Username: smpskc
Password: kc.KC1
After you log in, you will click on File Manager and click on the Public_Html folder. You must be in the Public_Html folder in order for the files you upload to be updated for smpskc.org.
The blue “up” arrow allows you to upload documents. Remember that you must upload documents into their proper folders based on the existing folder structure of the files that you have locally.
Once you upload the files you need, go to smpskc.org to check your updates, usually the updated files are available nearly immediately.
Another nuance of StartLogic is that you will receive emails saying your email addresses will be disabled. Just log into StartLogic and go to Mail Central. If it is in fact already disabled, just click the enabled button.