By: Ryan Johnson

I was asked recently about signature standards.  While there isn’t a standard for everyone to follow at Penn State, here are some recommendations you can use:

Less is more: E-mail signatures should not be longer than 10 lines. Go wider rather than longer, and use pipes (|) to separate components. Use two spaces between content and pipes.

Images and logos: Do not use images or logos within the e-mail signature. Images can come across as attachments and appear chaotic. Many e-mail clients and mobile devices block the appearance of images. Images can also increase the size of e-mail in-boxes exponentially. For those with in-box size limits, this can be problematic.

Quotes: Refraining from the use of quotes or epigraphs is best practice for professional communications. It is important to avoid the potential confusion of external audiences assuming a particular statement represents the college’s official slogan, ideology, or brand promise.

Fonts: Use a simple 12-point standard font (preferred) or your e-mail client’s default font. Non-standard typefaces and HTML may not translate well across e-mail clients.

Rich text formatting: Use plain text so that the signature is compatible with all e-mail clients and devices. Avoid colors, special fonts, bold, italics, and graphics.

vCards: While vCards can be a convenient way to share contact information for some (using a .VCF compatible e-mail client), they add bytes and appear as attachments. It might be valuable to use a vCard for an initial correspondence, but sending it every time is redundant.