MARK-003 Email Signature Guidelines

Policy Statement

The following are recommended guidelines for e-mail signatures for faculty and staff for @fortlewis.edu e-mail accounts. 

Less is more: E-mail signatures should not be longer than 10 lines. Go wider rather than longer for your recipient’s convenience.

Example:        

Dr. Andy Smith, Professor of Economics
School of Business Administration, Fort Lewis College
110 Education & Business Hall
office 970-247-7444
cell 970-123-1111
www.fortlewis.edu/soba

Digital media mentions (websites, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) should be that of the College, and not personal sites. 

Images and logos: Use images or logos sparingly within the e-mail signature. Images can come across as attachments and appear chaotic. Many e-mail services and mobile devices block images. Images can also increase the size of e-mail in-boxes exponentially, which can be an issue for those with in-box size limits. If using an image, make sure it is a small file size (320 px wide and below 20kb). It is acceptable to use official FLC logos in official signatures.  

Customized backgrounds:  “Personal stationary” including background patterns or colors should not be utilized as it often does not translate well on mobile devices which constitutes a growing majority of users.

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.

Taglines: Departments or divisions wishing to include a tagline should submit it to their Vice President for approval. Upon approval, others in the department or division can use that tagline.

Fonts:  12-point Calibri or Cambria is recommended, or your e-mail default font. Please note that non-standard typefaces, colors, fonts that are bolded, italicized, or blocks that include graphics and/or in HTML may not translate well when viewed by your external recipients, so it is best to avoid these.  

vCards: While vCards can be a convenient way to share contact information, 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.

Suggested format

A. FLC email signatures should contain the following and in order:

1. Full name, Official title(s)
   
   1. 1. Courtesy title optional
2. Department name, Fort Lewis College
3. Office address (optional)
   1. 1. Using this format: 46 Berndt Hall
4. Office phone number
   1. 1. Using this format: office 970-247-7444
5. Mobile phone number (optional)
6. www.fortlewis.edu (or departmental website)
7. FLC Digital media links (sans logos)

Use font Calibri or Cambria, 12 point.

Sample:

Dr. Andy Smith, Professor of Economics
School of Business Administration, Fort Lewis College
110 Education & Business Hall
office: 970-247-7444
cell: 970-123-1111
www.fortlewis.edu/soba