MSRVS style guide: the basics#

Everything you need to make something look like the Model Steam Road Vehicle Society, whether it's a poster, a newsletter, a rally programme or a Facebook post. For the finer points, see the full guide.

Colours#

Main colours

	Colour	Hex	RGB	Use it for
	Steam blue	#0B3A66	11 58 102	The Society's blue: headings, panels, backgrounds
	Brass	#E3B23C	227 178 60	Accents: buttons, rules, highlights. Not for text on cream or white
	Cream	#F6F1E6	246 241 230	Paper and page backgrounds

Supporting colours

	Colour	Hex	RGB	Use it for
	Deep steam blue	#0A2A4A	10 42 74	A darker blue for large backgrounds
	Night blue	#071B30	7 27 48	The darkest blue, for footers and dark backgrounds
	Dark brass	#7F5B14	127 91 20	Brass-coloured text on cream or white
	Light brass	#F1D79A	241 215 154	Brass-coloured text on blue
	Crimson lake	#A12A2B	161 42 43	A touch of red for dates and highlights. Use sparingly

Text is near-black, #1E1B16, rather than pure black.

• Put near-black text on cream or white, and white text on the blues.
• Brass is for accents. For brass-coloured words on cream or white, use dark brass, so they can be read.
• Crimson is a touch of colour, not a background.

Using the colours: in Word or PowerPoint, choose More Colours, then Custom, and type in the RGB numbers. In Canva and most other apps, paste in the hex code.

Logos#

Which file? PNG works almost everywhere: Word, PowerPoint, Canva and Facebook. Send SVG to printers and sign makers, because it stays sharp at any size. Every other file is in the file list.

Using the logo#

• Leave space around it: a quarter of the wheel's width on every side (the small square in the picture above). Around the emblem, leave an eighth of its width.
• Don't make it smaller than this:

• Use it as it is. Don't stretch, squash, rotate or recolour it, redraw it or retype the name, or add shadows or outlines.
• Keep it readable. Use the dark-lettered logo on cream or white and the white-lettered one on blue. Don't put it straight onto a busy photo: darken the photo first, or put the logo on a plain panel.

Fonts#

Both are free for any use, including print.

To install them:

1. Open each link above and choose Get font, then Download all.
2. Unzip the download and open the static folder inside it. Those are the files to install.
3. On Windows, select the files, right-click and choose Install. On a Mac, double-click each file and choose Install Font.
4. Restart Word, PowerPoint or whatever you're using. The fonts will then be in its font list.

Can't install fonts? Use Georgia for headings and Arial for everything else. Both are on almost every computer.

Sizes#

• Write headings in sentence case: "Join the Society", not "Join The Society" or "JOIN THE SOCIETY".
• Give text room: don't fill every corner.

Photos#

• Use real photos of members' engines and club events.
• Big things such as banners and website headers need photos at least 2400 pixels across; for everything else, 1200 pixels is enough.
• Ask the photographer before using a photo, and credit them. Check that anyone recognisable is happy to appear, and for under-18s get a parent's or guardian's permission in writing.
• Never put text straight onto a photo: darken it first, or put the text on a plain panel.

Writing the name#

• Model Steam Road Vehicle Society in full, MSRVS for short (no full stops), and "the Society" in sentences.
• Use British English.

Printing#

Send the printer the SVG or PDF artwork, with the hex colours above. If the colours matter, ask for a proof first: brass in particular can print flatter and browner than it looks on screen.