Democracy and Governance Publications Style Guide

The USAID Graphic Standards Manual, available for download at http://www.usaid.gov/branding/USAID Graphic Standards Manual.pdf, stipulates the guidelines for branding and marking. Resources and templates are available online at http://www.usaid.gov/branding/templates.html. Note that for Cooperative Agreements, the USAID branding guidelines do not apply. Instead, the following stipulations must be followed: the USAID logo must be included in proportion to the partner logos on the cover page, and the language "This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by <list authors and/or organizations involved in the preparation of the report" must be used at the bottom of the cover page. Additionally, the disclaimer "The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government" must be included on the title page. For all DCHA/DG contractors and USAID employees, the guidelines for publications include a standard USAID format for the cover page layout, as stated in the Graphic Standards Manual. The layout should be along a horizontal grid with the USAID logo on the upper left-hand corner of the document. The title should be in ALL CAPS, Gill Sans 22, and the date and the following statement should be at the bottom. The use of photos is encouraged, and a specific color palette is recommended for text, including red (194R 17G 58B RGB), blue (0R 42G 108B RGB), black (0R 0G 0B RGB), and dark grey (102R 102G 102B RGB). Secondary palette colors for accent colors or tints include light grey (221R 221G 221B) and light blue (51R 103G 153B). The inside title page should include the name of the publication, date, and the disclaimer "The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government." at the bottom of the page. Document layout guidelines recommend a 3-column layout, but this can be challenging in MS Word. It is suggested to use the 3rd column for pull quotes and pictures only, and to use a one-column layout for the Executive Summary, Table of Contents, and Annexes. The rest of the document should use a 2-column layout, with margins set as follows: left margin 0.75 inches and right margin 2.2 inches. Document styles should be set up using Microsoft Word's style feature, which allows for cascading styles throughout the document and automatic building of the Table of Contents. Clear all styles from the document and replace them with the recommended styles for each core element, including Normal (Main Text), Header 1, Header 2, Header 3, and Footer.