A helpful template on our identity and how to communicate that to the public

1. BRAND GUIDE
PLEASE USE THIS GUIDE WHEN CREATING
ANY AND ALL MGOFDC DOCUMENTS

2. Master Gardeners of Davidson County • Brand Guide Brand Guide • Master Gardeners of Davidson County2 3
The purpose of this brand guide is to keep all information released from our organization
consistent, clear, and concise. It paves the foundation for succession and professionalism.
Providing a guideline sets us up for success, and removes the cause of error by igno-
rance. Each and every member represents our organization. Imagine a room full of peo-
ple all chanting the same word at the same time. Now imagine that same room, but with
everyone chanting different words? In which version of the room were you able to deci-
pher any information?
The same goes for our organization. Imagine how far our impact could travel if we were
all saying the same thing?
That is the purpose of this guide.
MGofDC BRAND GUIDE
- the purpose -

3. Master Gardeners of Davidson County • Brand Guide Brand Guide • Master Gardeners of Davidson County4 5
Who We Are
• Educators
• Trained Volunteers
• An Extension (in Davidson County) of the Institute of Agriculture at the University
of Tennessee
• 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization
What We Do
• Educate
• Promote Environmental Stewardship
• Help the Extension Service Share Gardening Information
Our Purpose
Internal - within our organization
• Offer Continued Education for Our Members
• Inform Members of Volunteer Opportunities
External - to the public
• Educate the Public on Gardening and Home Horticulture
• Inform the Public of the Programs We Offer
• Gain New Members
How We Do What We Do
• Educational Garden Sites
• Junior Master Garden Program
• Participate in Garden Related Community Outreaches
• Manage MGofDC Speaker’s Bureau
• Host Urban Garden Festival
MGofDC MESSAGE
- what we communicate -
Internal
• Monthly Meetings
• E-blasts (Mass E-mails)
- Developed & sent through wild apricot
• Email Signatures & Profile Pics on “official MGofDC emails”
- Emails managed through G-suite
• Newsletter “Garden Talk”
- Every other month magazine
• County Website: run by our organization
- mgofdc.org
- Domain managed through go-daddy
- Hosting & content managed through wild apricot
• State Website: site is run by the Institute of Agriculture at the University of
Tennessee
- https://extension.tennessee.edu/mastergardener/Pages/default.aspx
• Facebook Closed Group - only members are approved
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/MGofDC/
External
• Banners /Posters /Information Boards at Events & Projects
• Facebook Public Page
- https://www.facebook.com/mgofdc/
• Instagram
- @mgofdc
• Twitter
- @mgofdc
• Press Releases
MGofDC PLATFORMS
- where we communicate -

4. Master Gardeners of Davidson County • Brand Guide Brand Guide • Master Gardeners of Davidson County6 7
Our names and aliases
Master Gardeners of Davidson County or MGofDC
Please use the following when describing our
organization
Standard Biography of Our Organization
The Master Gardeners of Davidson County (MGofDC) are an Extension of the Institute
of Agriculture at the University of Tennessee. Tennessee Extension Master Gardeners
are trained volunteers that help the Extension Service provide sound, practical, re-
search-based information to county residents about their home horticulture. All volun-
teers are trained with 40 hours of horticultural classes and return 40 hours of volunteer
community service through their Extension office. We were founded in 1986 as a 501(c)3
nonprofit organization with the mission to promote gardening and home horticulture
through education, environmental stewardship, and volunteerism.
In 2017, our volunteers contributed a total of 17,331 volunteer hours toward community
service and education projects in Nashville and Davidson County with an in-kind value
of more than $484,728. We operate five educational garden sites through collaborative
partnerships: Demonstration Garden at Ellington Agricultural Center, Grassmere Historic
Gardens at the Nashville Zoo, Harding Garden at Belle Meade, Historic Nashville City
Cemetery, and the Kitchen Gardens at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage. We also have on-go-
ing community outreach programs throughout the year.
Short Descriptions
Our mission is to promote gardening and home horticulture through education, environ-
mental stewardship, and volunteerism.
We are associated with the Agricultural Extension of University of Tennessee and serve
communities across Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County.
Master Gardeners of Davidson County is 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization with
a mission to promote gardening and home horticulture through education, environmental
stewardship, and volunteerism.
MGofDC BRAND ASSETS
- how we communicate -
Email Signatures
When corresponding as a project chair or board of MGofDC, please be sure to write your
emails in verdana and close with the following:
First Name Last Name
Title
Master Gardeners of Davidson County
MGofDC.org
Standard notice of decline email
We appreciate your gardening enthusiasm! However, we are an all-volunteer organiza-
tion that manages 5 gardens and roughly 8 programs. We just do not have the volunteer
capacity to take on another garden management request. Our organization mission is to
educate the public about home horticulture and best gardening practices. You are more
than welcome to check out our speaker’s bureau and have someone come out to present
on a topic - http://mgofdc.org/Speakers-Bureau.
Press Releases
Please write your press release on the provided letterhead in our shared foler on the team
drive.
Format should be as follows:
Headline
Subheadline
City, Date -- Details on the information you are trying to convey. Start with the most im-
portant parts first.
Bio of MGofDC
Media Contact
###
Please see previous press releases in the G-suite team drive “marketing / communica-
tions” folder for examples. Be sure to include our standard biography at the bottom of
your press release. For easy sending, please see a media list with publications, organiza-
tions and contact information in the team drive. Make sure to attach photos in your sub-
mission.

5. Master Gardeners of Davidson County • Brand Guide Brand Guide • Master Gardeners of Davidson County8 9
MGofDC BRAND ASSETS
- how we communicate -
master gardener of davidson county logo
Please use this logo on all documents provided to the public. Do not change the colors
of the logo. Do not apply a stroke or drop shadow. Do not apply a gradient, or alter the
proportions. Do not place on a photograph-background.
Text only logo
Black and white logo
Square logo for use on facebook profile only
White or clear background
DO NOT USE LOGO ON TOP OF A
PHOTOBlack or dark background
color profiles for mgofdc logo
PMS - Pantone Matching System used in professional printing
RGB - Red, Green, Blue used for defining colors for web, monitors, and photos
CMYK - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black used in professional and digital printing
supplemental logos
MANDATORY university extension logo
This is the University Extension logo, and is required by UT to be used in conjunction with
our county logo. You can find this in our team drive under the marketing folder.
state logo
This is the Tennessee Master Gardener logo provided by the University Extension, and
is found on our name tags and any documents that the extension office provides. Please
be sure to add our county logo to all documentation that the public will receive, so as to
keep a consistent brand.
SM
Hex #d4eb8d
R 212 G 235 B 141
C 19% M 0% Y 36% K 0%
PMS 455
Hex #6c5a23
R 108 G 90 B 35
C 48% M 52% Y 100% K 33%
PMS 372

6. Master Gardeners of Davidson County • Brand Guide Brand Guide • Master Gardeners of Davidson County10 11
MGofDC BRAND ASSETS
- how we communicate -
Apple PC
Header Fonts
The following fonts may be used as a
page header or a header within the body.
Please only choose one to keep your doc-
ument consistent.
BANK GOTHIC MD BT
Museo
Avenir Black
vladimir script
use sparingly as it is difficult to read
Body Fonts
The following fonts may be used (12 pt) as
the font of your body of content. Please
only choose one to keep your document
consistent.
Palatino
Museo
Avenir
CAPTIONS
Avenir Italic - 8pt
Microsoft pc
Header Fonts
The following fonts may be used as a
page header or a header within the body.
Please only choose one to keep your doc-
ument consistent.
BANK GOTHIC MD BT
Rockwell Regular
Arial Black
Snell Roundhand Regular
use sparingly as it is difficult to read
Body Fonts
The following fonts may be used (12 pt) as
the font of your body of content. Please
only choose one to keep your document
consistent.
Palatino
Rockwell
Calibri Regular
CAPTIONS
Verdana Italic - 8pt
font fyi
While we have given a few different font options to use, please do not exceed more than
three different fonts when creating a document. Make sure all documents at an event use
the same header & body fonts so as not to overwhelm your audience.
Screens use tiny squares called pixels to create images. Pixels make it difficult for our
eyes to separate serif letters (serif = font with “feet). For this reason please use sans-serif
for large amounts of text and serif for headers.
Opposite to screens, when reading text on paper, the “feet” on serif make it easier
to keep your place by creating a line for your eyes to follow. Use serif fonts for large
amounts of text being printed.
Never use the following in long sections of text due to its reading difficulty:
Bank Gothic
Vladimir Script
Acceptable substitute fonts
website or google documents:
Header: Comfortaa Bold
Body: Comfortaa

7. Master Gardeners of Davidson County • Brand Guide Brand Guide • Master Gardeners of Davidson County12 13
Hex #f2eb8d
R 242
G 235
B 141
C 7%
M 2%
Y 56%
K 0%
please use the following colors
in conjunction with our logo
Hex #d4eb8d
R 212
G 235
B 141
C 19%
M 0%
Y 36%
K 0%
LOGO GREEN
Hex #89a44a
R 137
G 164
B 74
C 51%
M 20%
Y 92%
K 2%
Hex #937e45
R 147
G 127
B 70
C 40%
M 42%
Y 84%
K 13%
Hex #6c5a23
R 108
G 90
B 35
C 48%
M 52%
Y 100%
K 33%
LOGO BROWN
Hex #7d5147
R 125
G 81
B 71
C 40%
M 66%
Y 66%
K 27%
Hex #6c462f
R 108
G 70
B 147
C 42%
M 66%
Y 80%
K 40%
Hex #476b7e
R 71
G 107
B 126
C 76%
M 50%
Y 38%
K 12%
Hex #3a5764
R 58
G 87
B 100
C 80%
M 36%
Y 46%
K 25%
Hex #1d4b5b
R 29
G 75
B 91
C 90%
M 61%
Y 47%
K 31%
Hex #005841
R 0
G 89
B 65
C 100%
M 0%
Y 69%
K 60%
MGofDC BRAND ASSETS
- how we communicate -
Art File types
PDF Universal way to save art or files to send in emails or other applications when
vector file format is needed. File can be reduced or enlarged but content cannot
always be changed.
JPG Photos or other digital images saved with tag .jpg as a compressed file. Good for
sending photo files but if again resaved as jpg will compress again and eventually
loose data.
TIFF Original photos should be saved with tag .tif if to be large and/or require Pho-
toShop manipulation or retouching. It will be a larger file than jpg and not com-
pressed. Use for print production not web.
PNG Art/logos which require a transparent background especially in creation of web
based graphics.
Email signatures
A footer with the MGofDC contact information appears at the bottom of every “official”
MGofDC email account - created in G-suite.
email profile pictures
Profile pictures should be of the member using the account or our MGofDC logo.
letterhead
The letterhead can be found on the shared team drive in the “marketing / communica-
tions” folder.

8. Master Gardeners of Davidson County • Brand Guide14
photographs
photo library
All MGofDC photographs are stored in the shared Team Drive on G-suite. Please request
access from the correspondence secretary via info@mgofdc.org. Please be sure to upload
high resolution (300 dpi) jpegs for anything intended to be printed.
photo permissions
Obtaining proper permissions when taking and using photographs is crucial, for legal and
privacy reasons. This includes:
• Always obtaining signed consent forms from people being photographed
• Informing people being photographed how images may be used
• Securing appropriate usage rights for photography before using it
• Using photography in its proper context and not misrepresenting the subjects
Photography permission forms are found in our shared team drive:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ONjwbIgkhOcS8pgS6sPYrEixiiNh_BBfTMF-
pG-1OGss
photo submissions
When saving your photographs in the library - please be sure you save in the appropriate
folder. IE: a photograph from 2018 Urban Gardening Festival should be saved in the Pho-
tography - Urban Gardening Festival - 2018.
Please name your photos in the following format: 01-YourName-Event-Year-FormNumber
posting photos on social media
Please make sure to tag any posted photos with #MGOFDC
MGofDC BRAND ASSETS
- how we communicate -