This document provides branding guidelines for Rooted School, an open-enrollment high school in New Orleans. It outlines the school's logo, color palette, typography, voice, and examples of applying the brand identity in communications like emails, presentations, social media, and more. The goal is to ensure the brand maintains a consistent look and feel when promoted by partners.

1. <brandbookv1>
2015-2016 Rooted School. All rights reserved.

2. “People used to ask me
what do you want to be
when you get older and I
would say what a stupid
question – the real question
is what am I right now.”
Jaden Smith

3. <CONTENTS>
4 prelude
6 logo
7 colors
9 typography
10 voice
11 use cases
Photo Credit: Harlin Miller

4. <PRELUDE>rootedschool (referred to throughout as “Rooted”) is an open-enrollment high school that
helps students discover their why, while filling critical workforce demands in the Greater New
Orleans area.
Thank you for reviewing our brandbook. We’re grateful.
Our brand is essential to the rooted school experience: for students, staff, and supporters.
The focus of our identity is bold and youthful simplicity. We created this document to help
communicate our branding guidelines to partners seeking to support Rooted through the
promotion of our work. We need to ensure that our brand maintains a consistent look and
feel no matter where in the world it’s seen. This requires strict dedication to standards.
Brandbookv1 was designed to keep our brand accessible, focused and unique.
Let’s get it,
Jonathan
4

5. “Learn how to become a
creator of technology and
not just a consumer.”
Kimberly Bryant

6. <LOGO USAGE>
Our logo is the cornerstone
of our brand and one of our
most valuable assets. We
must ensure proper usage.
The preferred way to use the
rooted logo is over a white/light
background or on rooted school
green. Every attempt must be
made to do this.
If the logo must be placed on a
dark background or color options
are limited then the rooted school
logo can be knocked out and used
in one color.
Please respect the clear space
around the logo to maximize visual
effectiveness. Nothing should
intrude into this specified clear
space.
6

7. “When you begin to worry about
what the establishment thinks,
It’s probably that you’ve become
a part of it.”
Sean Parker

8. Accent
Blue
<COLOR SWATCH>
Rooted Green is not just
any green – it’s confident
but not pretentious. Meek,
yet sophisticated.
Work hard to use our green
and not a poser. Say no to
Kelly, Forest, Lime, Spearmint,
Seafoam, Money (except for
the cash variety), Apple, Olive,
or Army.
Just Rooted.
Rooted
Green
Background
Gray
HEX 118 23 65
RGB 129 167 128
HTML #81A780
CMYK 53 20 59 1
HEX 0 0 93
RGB 236 236 236
HTML #ECECEC
CMYK 6 4 5 0
8
HEX 207 50 92
RGB 118 182 234
HTML #76B6EA
CMYK 50 16 0 0

9. “If we do not share our stories
and shine a light on inequities,
things will not change.”
Ellen Pao

10. <TYPOGRAPHY>
Today, we type more than
any other form of
communication. Therefore,
each letter carries the
mission, vision, and ideals
of Rooted.
We chose the “Klavika” font
family for specific reasons.
Namely, it’s the official typeface
of Facebook, which is the
technological equivalent of the
“telephone” of our generation.
Two, the font family contains a
variety of options to support
diverse use cases both print and
online.
For plain text communications,
we default to Arial plain. All
fonts are available on Google
Drive.
*taken from “Charged Up” by Drake
You think you bout to starve us?*
Klavika Bold Bold
For headers.
You think you bout to starve us?
KlavikaRegular-OSF
For paragraphs.
You think you bout to starve us?
KlavikaLight-OSF
Optionally for paragraphs.
You think you bout to starve us?
KlavikaLight-ItalicOSF
For captions and subtitles.
10

11. “I’ll never let nobody disrespect
my city and everything that we
stand for.”
Drake

12. <VOICE>
Before students learn our
curriculum, before funders
notice our impact, and
before partners share our
goals, they build an
impression of Rooted.
We’re paving an unpaved road to
rethink education as we know it.
To do so, we pay respect to our
elders while challenging status
quo.
Each human interaction, both
verbal and written, possesses
the potential to lay the next brick
in the wall of Rooted’s mission.
Each communication must
challenge skepticism through
asking, “why not?”
12
minimalist
utilitarian
pragmatic
bold
sharp
accessible
confident
intelligent defiant
humble
Each statement should work
hard towards coming across as…
helpful energetic
empathetic
forward-thinking
witty
Every email and presentation
should seek to reference…
Drake
Jaden Smith
Sean Parker
Serena Williams
Malcolm Gladwell
Muhammad Ali
Sheryl SandbergSeth Godin
Steve Jobs
Our Themes
cage-busting
hyper-local
community
job skills
experiential
next-gen
autonomy
independence
down-to-earth
fun
Danny Meyer

13. <USE CASES>
Until our brand becomes a
household name, we have
to rely on each interaction
with potential families,
funders, and supporters.
There’s sending emails, then
there’s sending emails the
Rooted way. There’s giving
presentations, then there’s
giving presentations the Rooted
way. There’s doing social media,
then there’s doing social media
the Rooted way.
Until people can walk through
the doors of our campus and feel
the Rooted Experience,
presentations will be another
way to help communicate what
makes Rooted unique.
Find the Rooted Inspirations doc
in Google Drive.
13
Email Signatures Best,
Jonathan
jonathan m. johnson
founder/ceo | rootedschool
w. rootedschool.org
t. @rootedschool
c. 5042086571
good noise: NPR | Fast Company | Forbes
“Did you hear about the rose that grew from
a crack in the concrete? – Tupac Shakur
down-­‐to-­‐earth
empowering
minimalist
Presentations
Start and end presentations
with quotes, song lyrics, or
book passages on the
Rooted inspiration list.
Blog posts
blog posts should aim to be
singular, nuanced thoughts
that push thinking forward.
Interviews
Make reference to key people
and statements they make
alongside talking points from
the Rooted sound bites
document.
Social Media
Tweet quotes from the
Rooted Inspirations doc
alongside relevant news
stories and blog posts, and
Rooted School updates.

14. “Work toward a world where
expectations are not set by
stereotypes…but by our
passion, talents, and
interests.”
Sheryl Sandberg

15. <brandbookv1>
2015-2016 Rooted School. All rights reserved.