VERSION ONE

IDENTITY TOOLKIT

A city connectedLeicester is a city with many connections – to the past, present, and future.

Over 2,000 years ago Leicester was a centre of population and economy held in high importance as a large settlement before the Roman Conquest. To this day many discoveries continue to connect the city to its past and its heritage as a capital city of the East Midlands.

The Leicester of today is still a thriving, diverse city with close connections to a wide range of cultures and economies. The city is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in the UK and truly is international - our residents hail from over 50 countries across the globe. The strength of the city economy is well evidenced through major inward investments and thousands of new jobs.

Leicester is connected to its past and building towards a bright future for residents, businesses, visitors and students. The confidence in the city has grown tremendously over the last few years and the ambitions for the future to thrive and compete have grown stronger as well. Leicester is truly a city connected.

IDENTITY TOOLKIT

INTRODUCTION

identityThe

I The ligature adapted to contain the cinqefoil Template name: Leicester-Ligature-Black.aiI The original ligature using King’s Caslon font

Creating a ligature for the cinquefoil The cinquefoil is a widely-used heraldic symbol that has been a part of our city’s heritage since the arms of the City of Leicester were confirmed at a Heraldic Visitation in 1619. It appears throughout the city’s built heritage and is recognised by many as quintessentially “Leicester”. The contemporary design of the cinquefoil is an important feature of the Leicester identity.

A ligature is two or more letters combined to create a new character that appears connected. The letters “st” in Leicester were joined to create the perfect shape to house the contemporary design of the cinquefoil.

By combining a ligature with the cinquefoil we have created our very own “Leicester ligature”, which represents a true connection that is unique only to our city.

THE LEICESTER IDENTITY

LEICESTER LIGATURE

I The primary version of the Leicester wordmark is set to 100% black (K) and is to be used in all instances of a white or a light background. Template name: Leicester-Wordmark-Black.ai

I The reversed white version can be placed over a dark background or approved photography. Template name: Leicester-Wordmark-White.ai

Leicester takes centre stageThe word Leicester forms the main part of the identity, bringing the city to the forefront in all of our communications.

The wordmark is designed as an authentic representation of our city – an evolving identity that signifies Leicester’s connection to our historic past, our notable present, and our ambitious future. It asserts the city’s identity and belongs to all those that live, work, study, visit and do business in Leicester.

The explicit use of the city’s name as the core component of the identity is the bold statement that truly represents the confidence of Leicester.

THE LEICESTER IDENTITY

WORDMARK

Colour palette

Reflecting our vibrant city through colourWhen representing the diversity of a city like Leicester in place marketing campaigns, a limited colour palette is not an option. Our city is our colour palette and therefore needs the flexibility of a broad colour spectrum. Our designers will choose colours directly from the photographs which are being used as part of our place marketing campaigns and tweaked to ensure colour tones are in harmony to allow the photography to tell the story.

The flexible colour palette is a powerful tool when combined with the right image that genuinely represents life in Leicester. Our approach connects audiences with people and place through a vivid kaleidoscope of colours that are familiar to our residents and visitors.

Examples of campaign layouts which use colours picked in this way can be seen on page x.

I The example colours are not intended to be a definitive range and are only indicative of the colour selection process for design purpose.

C:25 M:75 Y:85 K:0

R:195 G:88 B:53

#c25834

C:55 M:15 Y:75 K:0

R:134 G:173 B:96

#86ad60

C:75 M:45 Y:45 K:0

R:80 G:123 B:133

#507a84

C:5 M:85 Y:0 K:0

R:225 G:66 B:144

#e14190

C:11 M:19 Y:20 K:0

R:230 G:210 B:201

#e6d2c9

C:75 M:45 Y:0 K:0

R:71 G:126 B:192

#477ec0

C:0 M:85 Y:75 K:0

R:232 G:66 B:59

#e8423b

C:65 M:15 Y:0 K:0

R:81 G:174 B:226

#51ade2

COLOUR PALETTE

THE FLEXIBLE COLOUR PALETTE

Typography

The typefaces that represent our city Typography, another visual element, plays an integral role in establishing a consistent visual identity and adds clarity to communication. It conveys a feeling and allows the reader to focus on the content. Consistent use of typography is a key part of our visual identity.

The two font families chosen for the Leicester identity are King's Caslon and Freight Sans. These two fonts complement each other and express the connection between the city's rich history and its contemporary story. The fonts have also been chosen for legibility and ease of use.

King’s Caslon, our primary font, is a contemporary expression of a classic typeface that illustrates sophistication.

Our secondary font, Freight Sans, is a highly legible humanist sans-serif typeface that combines elegance and sense of tradition.

PRIMARY FONT:

King’s Caslonabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

0123456789

SECONDARY FONT:

Freight sansabcdefghi jk lmnopqrstuv w x yz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789

L King’s Caslon should always be used in headlines and as the lead font in documents, it should never be used as body copy.

A subscription licence can be acquired for web and print use of King’s Caslon here and alternatively if you just want to install a local copy of the font for print use you can do so here.

L The Freight Sans family should always be used as the body copy, never as the headline font.

For Freight Sans, the subscription license for print and web use can be purchased here, and for a local install of the font family please purchase the license here.

TYPOGRAPHY

TYPEFACES