Most promotional materials, including flyers, programs, newsletters, email campaigns, and more, need to be submitted through the University Brand Review (UBR) process. To see the full list of materials that need to be reviewed and to learn more about the UBR process, please visit the University Brand Review (UBR) Process website.
Materials submitted through the UBR process must be in compliance with Penn State’s accessibility, editorial style, and visual branding guidelines.
Questions can be directed to Shree Chauhan, the Liberal Arts UBR representative.
Submit a Request
In order to access the UBR request form, you must be logged in using your Penn State ID. Please click Log In in the top left corner of your screen.
FAQs
How long will it take for my request to be reviewed?
Most requests should be submitted at least five business days prior to the date you would like to distribute, print, or publish your promotional material, with the exception of programs and newsletters, which should be submitted at least eight business days in advance. We try our best to get your materials back to you within those business days. Once your document is reviewed, you will be emailed a final edited version of the document with the approved UBR number.
What if I want to submit multiple requests at once?
If you would like to make multiple requests, please submit a new form for each request.
How will changes be made to my document?
We encourage you to create your document in the college’s shared Canva account and then provide the URL for that Canva design while submitting the form below. That will allow our UBR representative to make edits directly to your design, which will help your design move faster through the UBR process. For text-only documents, you may upload a Microsoft Word document with your UBR request for the edits to be made as tracked changes.
Does my weekly newsletter need to be reviewed?
No, newsletters that are sent weekly or biweekly do not need to be reviewed by our office. However, they are still required to follow guidelines. Newsletters that are sent less frequently (monthly, quarterly, semesterly, yearly) do need to be submitted for review. They should be submitted at least eight days prior to the date you would like to distribute them.
What if I need to make changes after I’ve already hit submit or after I’ve already received my approved document?
If any changes are made to a document that has been submitted but not yet reviewed, please update Shree Chauhan via Teams or send her an email with the updated document.
If any changes are made to a document that has already been approved and assigned a UBR number, please send a list of the changes made in an email with the updated document attached to Shree Chauhan for final approval before distributing, printing, and/or publishing.
What are some common mistakes I should avoid?
Materials should include the Liberal Arts mark, your unit’s wordmark, and the required UBR statements. Visit the Editorial Standards page of the Brand Book to learn more about editorial style requirements.
Here are a few of the more common mistakes we see on submitted materials:
- Dates: Dates should include the day of the week, and both days and months should be spelled out. We do not include th or nd after days.
- For example, Friday, January 5, 2024
- Times:
- Make sure to write out times, 1:00 p.m. instead of 1 p.m.
- Do not capitalize a.m. or p.m.
- Use noon and midnight instead of 12:00 p.m. or 12:00 a.m.
- For virtual events, make sure to include EST or EDT after the time of the event.
- Use an – (en dash) between times without additional spaces. e.g. 1:00–2:30 p.m.
- Locations: When referring to locations for events, make sure to write out their full names. e.g. 124 Sparks Building; Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library
- Fonts: For materials that will be printed, use Proxima Nova, Proxima Nova Condensed and Serifa fonts. For materials that will ONLY be shared digitally, use Roboto, Roboto Condensed, and Roboto Slab fonts.
- Penn State Usage: Utilize Penn State to refer to the University in all external communications. The full name (The Pennsylvania State University) is reserved for formal documents, legal contracts, and some mailing addresses. Do not refer to the University as PSU.
- Usage of Dr.: Do not use Dr. as an honorific unless the individual has a medical degree.
- Numbers: Write out any numbers up to one hundred.
- Serial Comma: We utilize the serial (Oxford) comma, which comes before “and” in a series of items. For example: She studied lizards, snakes, and frogs.
- Listing courses: When mentioning courses, be sure to include the name and course number. There should not be a colon between the course number and the course name.
- For example, PUBPL 419 Race and Public Policy
- Ampersands (&): Use ampersands (&) only in charts, tables, or lists of companies, where the ampersand is part of the company’s official name. It can also be utilized for the term Q & A. Outside of these exceptions utilize “and” in all text.