Using the Logo

Invitations and Related Materials

General Information

Invitations are important for the Smithsonian because they reach a wide audience that includes not only the general public but also powerful opinion formers and leaders. Invitations provide an opportunity to bring the visual identity of the Smithsonian Institution, and thus its many activities, to key individuals around the country, in communities and in government.

An invitation "package" can consist of, but is not limited to, the following elements: Save the Date Card; Outer Envelope; Invitation; Entrance Ticket; RSVP Card; Return Envelope; Paid Business Reply Card.

The appropriate Museum, Organization or Institution Lock-up, together with its Exclusion Zone, or the Smithsonian Seal, should appear on the invitation, on the front whenever possible or on the back if necessary.

[back to top]

Lock-ups

The relevant Museum, Organization or Institution Lock-up, in either the Standard Flush Left Version or the Standard Centered Version, or the Smithsonian Seal, are used on invitations. The Lock-up should be in a clear space of its own as defined by the Exclusion Zone. In invitations and related materials, for space reasons, long, two-line Lock-ups may use the three-line version, if necessary.

When refering to the Institution as a whole, use a "Smithsonian Institution" or "Smithsonian" Lock-up.

[back to top]

Use of the Sunburst

The Sunburst may not be separated from the type or lettering of a Museum, Organization or Institution Lock-up. Therefore, the Sunburst may not be used on any invitation materials as a design element or as a die cut. See more information on using the Sunburst.

[back to top]

Color Options for Lock-up Components

The lettering of any given Lock-up is always black or white; it can be white (or the color of the paper on which it is printed) if reversed out of a dark background. If the type used is white reversed out of a dark background, the Sunburst will also be white, with no circle, or "sky," used around the sun.

Click here for more information on using Color.

Color options for the Sunburst that accompanies the logotype in a Lock-up are as follows:

[back to top]

Multiple Sponsors

In certain cases, it is not possible to use one logo, or Lock-up, on the front or with the main text for an invitation. For example, when there are multiple sponsors paying for an event and its printed materials, the Museum, Organization or Institution Lock-up ordinarily appears on the left, with the sponsor's logo on the right. But if there is not enough space for tasteful presentation of multiple logos, no logos are used on the front of invitations. If logos are not used, make certain that the Smithsonian organization sponsoring the event is named properly, for example, "the Smithsonian National Museum of American History." In such cases, the appropriate Lock-up may appear on the back of the invitation if possible.

If several Smithsonian Museums or other Smithsonian units are joint sponsors of an event, the Smithsonian Institution Lock-up alone may be used instead of two or more separate Lock-ups.

[back to top]

Use of the Smithsonian Seal

The re-designed Smithsonian Seal may be used in place of the logo when protocol dictates, such as on very formal invitations and on all place cards and menu cards. The Seal may be engraved in gold, silver or Smithsonian blue and yellow. The old version of the Smithsonian Seal, with the words "Washington, D.C.," is no longer to be used. This use must be cleared in advance with the office of the Director of Communications.

Only the Institution's name appears on the Seal, so when the Seal is used in place of a Museum or Organization Lock-up, make certain that the Smithsonian unit sponsoring the event is named properly in the text on the invitation and related materials, for example, "the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History." When the Smithsonian Seal is substituted for a Museum, Organization or Institution Lock-up, the Lock-up of the sponsoring Smithsonian unit, if possible, should appear in the area of the return address on the Outer Envelope, unless an outside group is mailing the invitation. When the Seal is used on a formal engraved invitation, only the name, not the logo, is used in the area of the return address on the Outer Envelope.

[back to top]

Envelopes and Return Cards

Any Outer Envelopes or mailers used on or to convey invitations should carry the appropriate Lock-up if possible, when they are not being sent by an outside organization. Return Envelopes and Paid Business Reply Cards are not expected to contain a logo.

If invitations are sent by an outside sponsor who is paying for the event, the sponsor's logo may not be used on the Outer Envelope instead of a Smithsonian Museum, Organization or Institution Lock-up. In this case, no logo is used.

[back to top]

Menu Cards

The design for a Menu Card may employ any of the color options listed in this section under Color Options for Lock-up Components or the engraved gold, silver or Smithsonian blue and yellow Seal, as shown under Use of the Smithsonian Seal in this section.

[back to top]

Place Cards

Protocol dictates the use and placement of the Smithsonian Seal on place cards. The Seal should be engraved in gold, silver or Smithsonian blue and yellow in the upper left corner of place cards, as is traditional.

[back to top]

Name Badges

Using the flush left version of a Standard Lock-up, a Museum, Organization or Institution Lock-up should run across the top of a name badge. Space considerations dictate that any Smithsonian Museum or Organization that wishes may use just the "Smithsonian Institution" Lock-up at the top of a Name Badge. The design for a Name Badge may employ any of the color options listed on this page under Color Options for Lock-up Components.