Creative Communications
Student Life Creative Communications Guidelines and Procedures
The Creative Communications team oversees all Student Life design and multimedia projects and The Egg, Student Life's student marketing agency.
Designs type descriptions:
- Art: art curation, exhibitions and displays
- Digital: designs such as logos or illustrations, digital signs and web graphics to be displayed on a screen or monitor
- Environment: designs that are large formats, such as banners, clings, interior semi-permanent and permanent signage and wayfinding
- Print: designs that will be printed, such as flyers, posters, postcards, booklets, t-shirts, promotional items, etc.
Notes about design:
- Currently, we only support digital graphics for the media channels supported by Student Life:
- @UDStudents Instagram account
- Blue Hen Life newsletter
- Student Life Employee Newsletter
- All digital and print advertising space reservations must be reserved and confirmed before design.
- Student Life design projects are limited to three revisions and must be approved before printing, allowing for one round of design feedback.
- SL Comm retains oversight of all designs.
- Please adhere to semesterly submission deadlines.
Step 1: Submit Project Request
- Submit a Project Request to the SL Comms Team with all necessary details (e.g., deliverables, quantities, budget, in-hand date, purpose code and delivery address).
Step 2: Project Confirmation
- SL Comms Project Coordinator reaches out to confirm:
- Deliverables
- Quantities
- Budget
- Purpose code (if SL Comms is ordering on requestor's behalf)
- In-hand date
- Delivery address
Step 3: Custom Designed Promotional Items – Vendor Selection
- SL Comms Printing Team provides a quote for promotional items from the external vendor.
- SL Comms may recommend specific vendors and can provide quotes from multiple vendors upon request.
Step 4: Design and Approval
- The SL Comms Creative Team delivers the design.
- The project requestor reviews and approves the design.
Step 5: Order Placement (Pro Card)
- SL Comms Billing Administrator uses a pro card to place the order for promotional items with the selected vendor.
- Project requestor also has the option at this point to place the order with the vendor themselves, or proceed with the SL Comms Billing team if pro card or requestor's billing admin are unavailable.
- SL Comms Billing Team or Project requestor uploads the digital design proof for final confirmation by the SL Comms Creative Team.
Step 7: Order Completion and Billing Confirmation
- Order is placed. If the SL Comms Billing Administrator places the order, then the expense(s) will be allocated to the project requestor's purpose code in Concur.
Step 1: Submit Project Request
- Submit a Project Request to the SL Comms Team with all necessary details (e.g., deliverables, quantities, budget, in-hand date, and delivery address).
Step 2: Project Confirmation
- SL Comms Project Coordinator reaches out to confirm:
- Deliverables
- Quantities
- Budget
- In-hand date
- Delivery address
Step 3: Receive Formal Quote
- DMD Printing provides a formal quote for the project.
Step 4: Notify Requestor
- The SL Comms Team notifies the requestor of the quote and requests approval.
Step 5: Submit Quote for Requisition
- Requestor sends the formal quote to their department's billing administrator to initiate the requisition process in UD Exchange.
Step 6: Start Requisition
- The billing administrator starts the requisition process after quote approval.
Step 7:Design and Approval
- SL Comms Creative Team or DMD Printing delivers the design/proof.
- The project requestor reviews and approves the design/proof
- OCM will also need to approve the design/proof
Step 8: Order Production
- DMD Printing places the order into production.
Step 9: Production Timeline & Delivery
- DMD Printing communicates the production timeline and delivery date.
- The SL Comms Team documents this information in Asana.
Step 10: Purchase Order & Invoice
- After requisition submission and approvals in UDX, DMD Printing receives the Purchase Order # (PO) and attaches the final invoice to the PO.
Step 11: Order Completion
- DMD confirms items were delivered and PO was sent.
- The billing administrator approves the UDX voucher once initiated. Payment then is processed by Procurement.
- The Asana project is closed once the order is complete.
Important Notes:
- Vendors must be approved in the UD external vendor system in order for order to be placed
- For vendors in the UD vendor system (e.g., 4imprint, StickerMule), SL Comms will place the order by default unless specified otherwise by the requestor.
- The requestor has the option to place orders directly with these vendors if desired.
- DMD Printing is the preferred vendor for specific projects (e.g., wayfinding, environmental projects, clings).
Promotional Materials Guidelines
- Promotional items with an imprint area under three inches will only have the UD monogram and Student Life due to the limited spacing.
- Promotional items will follow brand guidelines:
- Vertical stack: UD monogram - STUDENT LIFE - space - Department Name
- STUDENT LIFE - all capital letters
- Department Name - upper and lower case
- Reorders for promotional items will be handled by the SL Comm Project Coordinator
- Promotional items are subject to Office of Communications & Marketing (OCM) approval
Print Items
- Please be sure to reserve space for your print materials in advance.
- Printing orders and re-orders will be handled by SL Comm Administrative Specialist, Alex Colella at acolella@udel.edu.
- If you request print items, you are responsible for the distribution and associated costs for producing and for any installation or removal of these items.
Print Items Distribution
- If you request print items, you are responsible for distribution of these items.
- Read the SL guide for print distribution list.