Brand Visuals
Brand Visuals
Visuals play a vital role in telling the University of South Dakota story.
Whether using professional branding photography, authentic user-generated content, dynamic video production or print collateral, every visual asset should reflect the university's core identity and maintain a consistent, high-quality standard.
The guidelines, technical specifications and resources in this section are designed to help communicators accurately and effectively represent USD across all digital and print platforms.
The University of South Dakota Design and Print Studio is located in the Continuing Education Building on the Vermillion campus. The studio offers many design, print and production services including but not limited to: graphic design, lamination, foam board mounting, large format and photo prints. Most print jobs can be produced on campus including direct mail pieces.
USD Policy 2.049 outlines that campus services such as Creative Services & Print Shop must be utilized if the supply or service is available.
The online studio offers many free services with your USD login including:
- Business Cards
- Name Plates
- Design Templates
- Price Estimates
- Logo Downloads
- Store Project Files
- Submit to Print
Video is one of our most powerful tools to capture Coyote pride and share the University of South Dakota story. Whether you are spotlighting groundbreaking research, campus traditions in Vermillion, or student success, your video content reflects USD’s brand identity.
To maintain a cohesive visual identity across the USD website, all video content created by departments, partners, or external vendors must adhere to the formatting and technical guidelines outlined below.
Brand Fonts & Typography
To maintain brand consistency, follow these typography rules across all video elements:
- Primary Font: DIN Condensed (This is the only font permitted for use in the lower thirds)
- Alternative Font: Bebas Neue Pro
- Text Formatting: Always use ALL CAPS throughout all videos.
Lower Thirds
Lower thirds identify speakers and provide context while maintaining a clean look:
- Name: Plain white font in Din Condensed for the person's first and last names.
- Title: A red box directly beneath the name containing white text specifying the person's official title.
- Placement: Position the full name and title graphic in the bottom-left quadrant of the video frame.
End Cards & URLs
End cards guide viewers on where to learn more after watching:
- Campaign URL: Display the applicable campaign or landing page web address (e.g., coyoteready.com or usd.edu/siouxfalls).
- Logo: Include USD’s all-white horizontal logo.
Miscellaneous Best Practices & Accessibility
Ensure your footage meets USD's quality standards and digital accessibility requirements:
- Transitions: Hard cuts only. Do not use dissolves or cross-fades between video clips.
- Captions: Every web video must be accompanied by a separate .srt file containing accurate transcriptions to enable closed captioning.
Helpful Resources & Actions
- In the Den Series: Reference our standard video format style guide.
- USD Logos: Download official, high-resolution logo files for end cards.
- SRT Files: Learn more about creating and formatting .srt caption files.
Branding Photography
This type of photography is intended to be more than just a standard image; it is designed to emphasize and elevate a specific subject. It typically focuses on impactful posing, meaningful locations and bold contrast and color to create a stronger visual narrative.
- Emphasizes key brand pillars (Pillar 1: A Pathway to Purpose, Pillar 2: Led by Original Thinkers, Pillar 3: United by The Big Picture).
- High-contrast imagery featuring warm skin tones, bright highlights, and deep blacks.
- Confident posing and facial expressions.
- Intentional and impactful location choices that contribute to the overall story and message of the image.
User Generated Content (UGC) Photography
Student-provided photography allows the authentic and genuine atmosphere of the department, school. Or campus to naturally shine through. This style of imagery helps foster connection and community while also conveying a modern, current representation of campus life. It is especially effective for platforms such as social media, where authentic and engaging content resonates with audiences.
Candid Moments
This style can align closely with the same principles as user-generated content, as candid imagery captures authentic and genuine moments between individuals or groups. Candid photos help create a sense of interaction, connection, and rapport that feels natural and relatable. Avoid overly posed imagery, as prospective students can often distinguish between authentic moments and staged content.
People
Utilize warm, natural lighting, whether captured in-camera or thoughtfully simulated, to showcase authentic moments and highlight the diverse personalities of individuals engaged in their environment. Capture subjects in both landscape for traditional web and print, and portrait for social media and other vertical-format uses, ensuring maximum versatility across platforms.
Frame subjects in a way that tells a story or leans into the university, whether that is a doctor in a lab or a teacher in a classroom. Be sure to leave some dead space in some imagery as well to allow for graphics to be placed.
Campus
When photographing campus landmarks and buildings, capture a variety of compositions rather than relying on a single perspective. For example, place a building such as Old Main in the center of the frame, position it off-center, incorporate foreground elements like trees, or focus on only a portion of the structure to create visual interest.
- Include detail shots with tighter crops to help enhance the atmosphere and storytelling of the image. For example, the Old Main bell tower is on each building sign pole.
- Capture multiple angles and perspectives. Buildings can appear dramatically different when viewed from unique vantage points, so experiment with low angles, elevated perspectives, and less commonly photographed sides of the structure.
- Whenever appropriate, prioritize shooting with a shallow depth of field to create subject separation, draw attention to key elements, and produce a more visually engaging image. (Camera: F/2-F4)
Off-Campus
It's always great to include the community; this imagery can be used to tell more of a story or to fill space when talking about USD or Vermillion.
Education & Hands-On Learning
When it comes to education, we have so much to show and so many groups to emphasize. While each group is very different, we look for the same style each time. We want group collaboration, dedication to their craft, and emotion.
- Try to get both tight and wide shots; this will allow you to capture the group in a single image, along with some detail imagery of what they are doing.
- Frame the subject in the image that shows a sense of engagement.
- Be part of the group (if able), photos from the perspective of the student allow for the outside world to feel like they are a part of what is happening at USD.
- Create opportunities for individuals to present information, demonstrate expertise, or lead group discussions, highlighting leadership and engagement within the group.
- Try to get a variety of angles as well; these can range from lower/higher angles to different angles around a room.
Photo Editing and Manipulation
All photographs should undergo the following post-production adjustments to ensure they meet quality standards and are optimized for use across both print and digital applications:
- Lens Correction
- Exposure
- Contrast
- White Balancing
- Cropping
- Clarity
- Color Correction
- Saturation and Vibrance
The following manipulations CAN be used:
- Removal of non-permanent objects
- Trash, dust, water droplets on lens, vegetation, etc.
- Removal of logos or designs on clothing for marketing purposes
- Removal of minor skin blemishes or stray hairs
The following manipulations CAN NOT be used:
- Altering the facial expression of a person in an image
- Drastically changing a person's skin tone
- Removing or placing people into a group photo
- Altering the color of industry standard materials (e.g., Medical gloves)
Crediting, Releases and Policy
Photographers and videographers at the University of South Dakota must obtain a signed consent and release form from all individuals (students or non-students) appearing in a photo, video, or audio recording intended for university use. Without a completed and signed release form, the photo, video, or audio content may not be distributed or published in any format.
Privacy
Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Communications professionals at the University of South Dakota who share information related to students or educational records must understand and comply with FERPA. FERPA protects the privacy of the educational records of both current and former students.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Communications professionals at the University of South Dakota who share any individual health-related information must understand and comply with HIPAA. HIPAA protects the privacy and security of personal health information.
USD Photography Guidelines in Action
These images demonstrate how to capture the USD story effectively. Use them as a reference for tone, lighting, framing and subject engagement.
