The REALTORS® Land Institute | Chicago, IL | 800-441-5263 | rli@realtors.org | www.rliland.com

Visual Standards Guidelines January 2017

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Introduction Mission The REALTORS® Land Institute, “The Voice of Land,” provides the expertise, camaraderie,

and resources that are the foundation for all land real estate professionals to become the

best in the business.

Vision The REALTORS® Land Institute continually strives to maintain its status as the

acknowledged leader for all matters pertaining to the land real estate profession. RLI

endeavors to remain the essential membership organization for the extraordinary real estate

professionals who broker, lease, sell, develop, and manage our most precious resource: the

land.

The RLI Brand Our brand represents our mission, our vision, and our organization. It is at the core of what

we say, how we say it, and how we treat our membership. It is a culmination of who we are

and who we continue striving to be as the leading land real estate membership organization

in the industry.

Ensuring that our brand remains clear, concise, and consistent is essential to maintaining

the integrity of our brand and organization as a whole. The purpose of this document is to

provide our community with the visual guidelines for appropriately conveying the

REALTORS® Land Institute brand. Through implementation across our platforms and

membership, we will build a stronger brand that benefits all using it.

For questions regarding any matters contained within this document or pertaining to proper

brand use please contact the RLI Marketing Manager Jessa Friedrich, MBA, at 1-312-329-

8353 or jfriedrich@realtors.org.

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Our Organization’s Name is:

REALTORS® Land Institute

When referring to our organization through

outward facing marketing to new audiences or

prospective members, it is important to use the

full name of the organization. Always include

the trademark after the capitalized

REALTORS®.

The only appropriate acronym to use is:

RLI

When referring to our organization through

inward facing marketing to current members

and familiar audiences, the RLI acronym may

be used.

Proper use of the Accredited Land Consultant

(ALC) Designation:

When referring to the ALC Designation in

marketing, it is important to use the full

designation name in the first mention and,

then, following the first use the ALC acronym

may be used. The word ‘designation’ should

also be capitalized when used directly after the

designation name or acronym.

Proper use of Land University (LANDU):

When referring to the Land University (LANDU)

program, the first letter of each word should be

capitalized when spelled out. In most cases,

LANDU will be used replacing Land University.

LANDU should always be in all capital letters.

When referring to the LANDU Program, the word

Program should be capitalized when it follows

directly after the LANDU or Land University

name.

Name The Organization Name It is very important to prevent confusion

across both new and familiar audiences

about our brand by following these

naming standards.

Consistency, as outlined on this page, in

utilizing the organization’s name will allow

our organization to strengthen, grow and

enhance our brand while simultaneously

protecting it against competitors.

Only active RLI Members may refer to

themselves in their marketing as a

REALTORS® Land Institute Member. The

RLI logo may not be used to represent a

company unless all agents/brokers

employed there are active members.

For information, please see page 4.

The Designation Name To maintain the prestige of the Accredited

Land Consultant (ALC) Designation, proper

use by the organization, its membership,

and outside parties is essential.

Using the ALC Designation

Accredited RLI Members are the only

persons approved to use ‘Accredited Land

Consultant’ or the ‘ALC’ acronym after

their name and on their marketing

materials. The ALC may not be used to

represent a company unless all

agents/brokers employed there are

accredited.

For information, please see page 4.

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Logo Usage Guidelines

REALTORS® Land Institute Logo Usage The REALTORS® Land Institute logo was carefully designed to capture both the history of

our organization, as well as, the future direction we would like to head. This logo is an

evolution of our brand with the darker greens representing our solid core values that

continue to hold true though the years and the lighter green representing the growth and

prosperity ahead.

In order to preserve and protect the RLI brand, the organization, its membership, and

outside parties should adhere to the logo use guidelines outlined within this document.

Minimum padding should be equal to the height of the word

REALTORS® in the logo.

When to use the Image Alone

The land image may be used alone when branding space is limited or when

‘REALTORS® Land Institute’ is written out near the logo; for example, on

social media sites.

Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) Logo Usage The Accredited Land Consultant logo is to be used, in accordance with the guidelines

outlined in this document, exclusively by those who hold the Accredited Land Consultant

Designation as active members of the REALTORS® Land Institute. In addition to ALCs, the

RLI organization may use the logo on marketing materials only when promoting the ALC

Designation or a member who holds it. The ALC logo may not be used to represent a whole

company unless all agents/brokers employed there are active ALCs.

Minimum padding should be equal to half the height of the ‘ALC’ lettering in

the logo.

RLI Chapter Logo Usage The RLI Chapter logo is to be used, in accordance with the guidelines outlined in this

document, exclusively by Chapters to promote themselves and their courses and events.

The Chapter logo should not be used by members of the chapter or chapter leadership to

represent themselves as a chapter member; instead, active RLI members may use the

REALTORS® Land Institute logo or the ALC logo in accordance with the guidelines outlined in

this document.

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Minimum padding should be equal to the height of the word

REALTORS® in the logo.

Land University (LANDU) Logo Usage The Land University (LANDU) logo is the official logo of RLI’s LANDU Education Program. This

logo can only be used to represent official LANDU courses and events offered by RLI and its

chapters. It is a symbol within the industry of top-notch education for land real estate

professionals.

Minimum padding around the logo should be equal to the

height of the wording LAND UNIVERSITY in the logo.

Approved Logo Backgrounds In addition to using the logo on black and white backgrounds, the REALTORS® Land

Institute and Accredited Land Consultant logos may be placed over any RLI Primary Brand

Colors as defined in the RLI Color Palette on page 7.

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NOT Approved Logo Usage The below examples are ways to avoid using the logos of the REALTORS® Land Institute and

Accredited Land Consultant.

Do not use only the wording of the logo.

Do not stretch, distort or rotate the logo.

Do not place the logo on a non-brand color (other than black or white) or on a gradient.

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Do not alter the colors of the logo.

Approved Alternative Logo Usage The below examples are ways to use approved alternatives to the main REALTORS® Land

Institute and Accredited Land Consultant logos. These should only be used when color is not

permitted. Always use caution to ensure legibility one used backgrounds.

All Black All White

RLI Color Palette

REALTORS® Land Institute Main Brand Colors

REALTORS® Land Institute Primary Brand Colors

Forest Green Spring Green

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Typography Usage

Consistency in proper use across all materials will assist in establishing a clear and concise

brand.

Print Typography When creating print marketing materials for the REALTORS® Land Institute, the below fonts

are standard.

Cambria The Cambria Font Family was designed for on-screen reading and to look good when printed

at small sizes. Cambria is part of the new Windows ClearType font collection. The Cambria

fonts have excellent legibility and readability characteristics. Cambria replaces Times New

Roman as a Windows Vista and Microsoft Office default serif font.

Charcoal

Dirt

Stone

Grass

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ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789 When to use it: Headlines, pull quotes, titles

ITC Franklin Gothic The ITC Franklin Gothic Font was designed with the idea that the same font could be used to

set type from tiny 6-point text to billboard-size letters. This digital interpretation became the

standard for the digitized ITC Franklin Gothic family. This version has four weights, with

complementary italics.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

When to use it: Subheadings, body copy, footer copy, and calls to action

Web/Digital Typography When creating web marketing materials for the REALTORS® Land Institute, the below fonts

are standard.

Georgia

The Georgia font possesses characteristics that offer outstanding legibility and readability:

large x-heights, open counters, high contrast between the regular and bold weights, ample

letter spacing, and character designs that help distinguish commonly confused letterforms.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

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When to use it: Headers, pull quotes, post titles

Note: When using this font, it is appropriate to use the RLI Brand spring green or forest

green colors.

Open Sans or Helvetica

The Open Sans font is part of the Helvetica font family and is a sans-serif typeface designed

developed with an "upright stress, open forms and a neutral, yet friendly appearance" and is

"optimized for legibility across print, web, and mobile interfaces.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

When to use it: Subheadings, body copy, footer copy, and calls to action

Note: When using this font, it is appropriate to use the RLI Brand Primary charcoal color.

Hyperlinks should be made the RLI Brand spring green color when possible, underlined, and

bolded.

The RLI Voice

Communication Guidelines How the RLI brand is communicated to membership and the industry as a whole is the

defining factor in our how brand will be interpreted and received. RLI leadership, members,

staff, and outside parties all play an integral role in helping to tell the REALTORS® Land

Institute story.

It’s All About Tone

How does being a part of the REALTORS® Land Institute make you feel? Whether you are an

employee, member, part of the leadership, or a partner, hopefully, the answer is excited to

be or serve land professionals! And those are exactly the two things our tone needs to show:

Excitement and professionalism. Whether it is when writing or speaking, these two tones

need to be reflected at all times. When sharing information about being a member of the

organization, taking a course attending an event, or networking, it is important to portray a

genuine, professionally conveyed excitement.

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Wrong tone: “The Land 101: Fundamentals of Land Brokerage course instructs on how to

navigate various environmental, land-use rights and restrictions, and taxation factors

associated with land transactions.”

Right tone: “Ever wonder how to navigate various environmental, land-use rights and

restrictions, and taxation factors associated with land transactions? Enhance your expertise

with valuable information that can only be found in the Land 101: Fundamentals of Land

Brokerage course.”

Web vs. Print

Consuming information online versus in print often means different approaches to reading

the material.

When writing for web versus print, keep in mind most reading done on digital platforms is

skimming:

Make it easy to find hyperlinks, directional headings, and call to actions.

Keep the copy short, both sentences and paragraphs, as often as possible.

Make the content more easily digestible by using bullet points and other formatting

and stylizing like headers and images to get the message across—be careful not to

overuse these tools.

Use direct address, not third person, as it is often perceived as too formal online.

Note: When embedding links, avoid hyperlinking phrases like “click here” and instead

hyperlink a few words that capture what is being linked to through the hyperlink (ie. ten tips

for auctions). Hyperlinks should always be bolded, underlined, and made the RLI Brand

spring green color when possible.

Templates

PPT Presentations When creating a presentation used to promote any part of our organization, all other

guidelines set in this document should be followed. To help keep our brand consistent, a

PowerPoint Template is available and should be used by all. Please avoid changing the font

sizes and keep the content on the slide light and to the point with the meat of the

presentation coming from the speaker.

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Email Templates An email template is established and may be used by staff and RLI Chapters. All emails

should contain the RLI logo in the footer linking back to rliland.com.

Education Emails Newsletter Emails

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Letterhead Official REALTORS® Land Institute Letterhead is available and should be used when

appropriate by RLI National.

Website Style Guide