Audience Spectrum
The audience engagement spectrum is a tool that allows designs to be customized based on an audience’s engagement level. Though core brand design elements never change from audience to audience, there is flexibility with secondary design elements across the spectrum. For less engaged audiences, more primary visual elements should be used within the overall design hierarchy; for more engaged audiences, fewer primary and more secondary or tertiary elements can be incorporated.
Where do past projects and campaigns lie on the audience spectrum?
What are examples of low engagement audiences?
- Prospective students and their families
- Prospective employees
- Government officials
- Peer institutions
- People who are unfamiliar with the CU Boulder brand
Low engagement audience guidelines include:
- Fonts:
1. Helvetica Neue Condensed,
2. Helvetica Neue Regular
3. Noto Serif as a secondary font only - Colors
- Primary (70%)
- “Other” colors, preferably pulled from imagery (30%)
- Visual elements hierarchy:
- Primary: Photography
- Secondary: Iconography and graphic elements
- Tertiary: Illustrations
Emphasize primary brand elements first, like photography. Use icons, graphic elements and illustration minimally, if at all.
High Engagement Audiences
What are examples of high engagement audiences?
- Students and their families
- Employees
- Alumni and donors
- People who are engaged and familiar with CU Boulder’s brand
High engagement audience guidelines include:
- Fonts:
1. Helvetica Neue Condensed
2. Helvetica Neue Regular
3. Helvetica Neue Extended
4. Noto Serif
5. Display font - Colors:
Primary (50%)
“other” colors, preferably pulled from imagery (50%) - Visual elements hierarchy:
1. Photography
1. Iconography
1. Graphic elements
1. Illustrations
All visual elements (photography, iconography, graphic elements and illustrations) may have any hierarchy that best serves the content, tone or audience needs. High engagement pieces may include other colors and other fonts more prominently than designs for low engagement audiences. At the same time, primary and secondary fonts and colors must be used even in high engagement designs.
A mixed audience is any mixture of low and high engagement audiences. For a mixed audience, use guidelines at both ends of the spectrum to determine how to use fonts, colors and visual elements.
When an audience is leaning low engagement:
- Lean toward using only
1. Helvetica Neue Condensed and Regular primarily
2. Noto Serif as a secondary font - Lean toward using only primary color for the majority of the piece and “other or pulled” color for less than half of the piece
- Use photography predominantly, iconography and graphic elements secondarily, and illustration last
When an audience is leaning high engagement:
- It is permissible to introduce a display font
- Use “other or pulled” colors (up to 50%)
- Lean on photography, icons, graphic elements and illustration equally; may have one visual element without another
Examples of Successful Use of the Audience Spectrum
The diagram above shows four projects with different audience engagement levels. They are successful because they all use branded design elements and follow the guidelines of the audience spectrum.
Recruitment Digital Ads: Low Engagement Audience
The ad set for CU Boulder’s recruitment campaign is a successful design example implementing the audience spectrum for a low engaged audience. The design uses all branded design elements while following the low engagement guidelines:
- Fonts used:
1. Helvetica Neue Condensed,
2. Helvetica Neue Regular - Colors used: Primary (100%)
- Visual elements hierarchy:
1. Photography
MLK Convocation Event Social Media Post: Mixed Engagement Audience
The MLK Convocation event had an audience with mixed engagement, as the target audience included Boulder community members, students and CU Boulder employees. The design is successful for a mixed engagement audience because it blends low engagement and high engagement guidelines.
- Fonts used:
1. Helvetica Neue Regular,
2. Helvetica Neue Condensed - Colors used: Primary (50%) and “other or pulled” colors (50%)
- Visual elements hierarchy:
1. Graphic elements
2. Photography
School of Education Alumni Magazine,Voices: Mixed Engagement Audience
The School of Education’s alumni magazine,Voices, is for an audience with mixed engagement. The primary audience is alumni; however, other audiences could include peer institutions or prospective donors. The magazine’s design successfully implements the mixed engagement design guidelines as it uses branded design elements and blends low and high engagement guidelines:
- Fonts used:
1. Helvetica Neue Regular,
2. Helvetica Neue Extended,
3. Display font - Colors used: Primary (100%)
- Visual elements hierarchy:
1. Photography
2. Graphic elements
3. Illustration
Student Affairs Brochure: High Engagement Audience
The Student Affairs brochure is an example of a design for high engagement as the brochure is sent to enrolled CU Boulder students. It is a successful example of design for a high engagement audience because it uses all branded design elements and follows the high engagement guidelines:
- Fonts used:
1. Helvetica Neue Regular,
2. Helvetica Neue Condensed,
3. Display font - Colors used: Primary (50%) and “other or pulled” colors (50%)
- Visual elements hierarchy:
1. Illustration
2. Iconography