Design Standards

Design Standards provide guidance on the proper display of all the U.S. Mission Sites.

 

The Header is the primary branding of each U.S. Mission site and is consistent throughout the enterprise. The Header appears on every page and post within the site.

1. Department of State Official Seal.
2. Local Branding – To maintain consistency, the following labels must be used, depending on the situation in-country:
a. U.S. Embassy in [Host Country]
b. U.S. Embassy & Consulate(s) in [Host Country]
c. U.S. Consulate in [Host City]
d. U.S. Mission to [Country]
e. U.S. Mission to [International Organization]
3. Language Selector.
4. Social Media and Search Buttons.
a. Three (3) Social Media buttons may appear in the header. The “+” links to the social media properties page, which lists all Social Media within the country.

Note: If an exception to the local branding arises, the modernization team will work closely with IIP senior management, the local team in country, and the regional policy office to provide a solution based on justifiable needs.

The Footer is the second branded element of the site and is consistent throughout the enterprise. The Footer appears on every page and post within the site.

See Illustration Here

1. Global Navigation – This includes all items displayed in the Megamenu, in addition to system pages, such as the privacy page.
2. Embassy Details
a. City Name, linked to internal page.
b. Address
c. Phone
d. Fax
e. Social Media Properties
3. Consulates
a. Each Consulate city, with a link to the respective internal page.
4. Official Disclaimer.
5. U.S. Flag.

Per Department of State policy, the following disclaimer is required on all official websites:
“This is the official website of the U.S. Embassy & Consulates in [Host Country]. External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the view or privacy policies contained therein.”

In accordance with 5 FAM 772, all U.S. Government websites are required to provide a statement that describes how user information may be tracked as well as what is done with information collected from users.
Federal websites must contain a privacy policy statement, even if the site does not collect any information that results in creating a Privacy Act record. Every website produced by the Department is required to provide a Privacy Act statement, regardless of what network
the site resides on.

The U.S. Mission Website Platform uses several font families:

Preferred Fonts
1. Site Header: Oswald 22 points
2. Post Header: Oswald 24 points
3. Body Text: Roboto 16 points
Alternate Fonts
1.Site Header: Arial, San-serif
2.H1 – H6: Arial, San-serif
3.Body: Arial, Helvetica, San-serif

Proper use of color can be extremely effective for creating perceptual effects and can reinforce the layout, which will allow for increased comprehension for the visitor. A good use of color can make an item that would otherwise be lost on the page, pop out, emphasize important information, and visually group related items together.

The primary colors for the Department of State U.S. Mission Website Platform are represented below. The colors were selected based upon the overall branding of other State Department websites and historical branding for Embassy websites.

Brand Colors

Brand colors are used in: The Header, Footer, Sidebar Boxes, Newsletter Sign-up Box and the Megamenu.

#003875 #06284C #FFFFFF #CC3333

Other Colors of Note

Some additional colors that appear throughout the website are worth noting.

#EFEFEF

Brand Grey

#DDDDDD

Border Grey

Social Media

The official colors of Facebook and Twitter.

#47639E

Facebook

#55ACEE

Twitter