Brand - Design Guidelines | itslearning

Using Ai

AI can be a useful tool for exploring ideas and creating visuals for internal presentations, workshops and early-stage concepts. However, AI-generated images should not be used in customer-facing communications, including websites, campaigns, social media, advertisements and printed materials.

Different AI tools produce widely varying results and cannot consistently follow our visual identity. To protect the quality, credibility and recognition of our brand, all external imagery must come from approved brand assets, commissioned photography, illustration or other agreed sources. AI may support the creative process, but the final published material must meet our brand standards and be reviewed through the appropriate approval process.

This approach protects the brand while leaving room for AI to become part of the approved workflow later, as tools and governance improve.

Our primary orange is the most recognisable expression of our brand, but it should not dominate. It is mainly reserved for brand elements such as our logo, as it does not meet accessibility guidelines for wider use in digital experiences.

For digital applications, we have introduced a supporting orange with stronger contrast. This meets accessibility requirements while maintaining a clear connection to our brand. Together with our wider colour palette, it helps organise information, create visual flow across longer pages and add personality without weakening brand recognition.

Time Bank

Strategic support and expert guidance when you need clarity and direction

Make an Enquiry

Guided Next Steps

Pre-purchased hours that give you flexible access to consultancy and training throughout the year, allowing you to respond confidently to emerging priorities.

Focused Development

Use your hours for tailored professional development, induction training for new staff or targeted workshops designed around your school’s specific goals.

Managing Change with Confidence

Draw on expert support for digital teaching development, implementation planning and strengthening consistent practice across departments.

Optimise and Strengthen

Allocate hours to integration consultancy, site health checks and configuration reviews to ensure your platform remains secure, efficient and aligned to your needs.

Logo Usage

We keep the itslearning brand recognisable throughout our videos without placing the logo on every frame. The logo can appear in an introduction and should be included on the final screen, whether as a static mark or an animation. We choose the ending to suit the message: product and brand videos may use the animated logo, tagline and website address, while campaign or event videos may give the final screen to a call to action or key message alongside the logo. Where an animation is used, its sound can be omitted if the video’s existing audio should continue.

See Outro Video

Communication Skills

We use motion to help viewers follow what is happening on screen. A gentle scroll can reveal the structure of a page, while a subtle zoom can bring a particular feature into focus. In training videos, we use callouts to introduce topics and guide attention to the relevant parts of the product. When a video has no voiceover, callouts can also carry the explanation. We keep them clear and carefully placed so the interface remains easy to see and understand.

Typography

Video content should follow the itslearning typography guidelines, using approved fonts, hierarchy and styling consistently across all on-screen text. This keeps videos recognisably part of the wider brand, while sufficient contrast and display time ensure the text is comfortable to read.

Lower Thirds

We use a consistent lower-third style to introduce speakers clearly without drawing attention away from the main content. It uses our primary orange with white text and can be adapted for presentations, social videos, webinars and other speaker-led content.

See an example

Accessible by design

We build accessibility into every stage of video production. Our prerecorded videos have accurate, synchronised captions, readable on-screen text and narration that explains important visuals where needed. We use clear directions such as “Select **Add** in the top-right corner of the Planner”, avoid flashing effects, keep movement controlled and never rely on colour alone to convey meaning. See it. Hear it. Read it.

We avoid:

We avoid visual treatments that add movement or complexity without supporting the content:

Animation used for decoration rather than to support the message
Movement that is too fast or difficult to follow
Transitions that distract from the content
Flashing, strobing or flickering effects that create accessibility barriers
Visual effects that obscure the interface or make it harder to understand
Effects or trends that feel inconsistent with the itslearning visual identity

Illustration

Our illustrations help bring educational concepts, platform features and learning outcomes to life. They are used to simplify complex ideas, support storytelling and make information easier to understand. Illustration also adds warmth and personality to our brand, helping us communicate in a way that feels approachable, inclusive and engaging.

Illustrations are particularly effective when explaining functionality, highlighting benefits or visualising concepts that are difficult to capture through photography alone. They should be clear, purposeful and consistent in style, supporting the message rather than distracting from it.

Asset Gallery ›

Icons

Icons provide visual cues that improve navigation, comprehension and accessibility. They help readers quickly identify features, actions and key information across our communications. Icons should be simple, recognisable and used consistently throughout the brand.

To strengthen the connection between our marketing pages and the platform, we have adopted the same icon style used in the product, creating a more consistent and recognisable experience.

All colour combinations have been tested against accessibility contrast requirements and are fully compliant. As such, these colours should not be altered.

Asset Gallery ›

01 / 06

Plan

Plan courses, lessons and IEPs in alignment with curricula, individually or collaboratively.

Plan

Plan courses, lessons and IEPs in alignment with curricula, individually or collaboratively.

Engage

Engage learners with resources and apps best suited to their learning styles.

Teach

Teach using your preferred strategies while enjoying optimised workflows for assignments, assessments and grading.

Assess

Assess mastery against local or regional prescribed objectives.

Reflect

Reflect on teaching and learning efficacy with peer reviews and portfolios.

Report

Report on outcomes, course effectiveness and school or municipality performance.

Social images and Reels

Our social images and Reels use the same visual language as other itslearning content. We use our typography, colour pairings and highlight treatments consistently across formats. In Reels, captions, lower thirds and motion also help make the content recognisably ours.

Social content gives us room for more energy and variation. We choose from our approved brand colours to suit the subject: orange can give company stories a stronger brand presence, purple can distinguish product content and Ocean Blue can support guidance or customer stories. Other approved colours can be used where they support the message or campaign. Reels can move at a different pace from training videos, but movement should still help viewers follow the story.

Captions and screen space

We design images and Reels around the space viewers can actually see. Images may be cropped in different placements, while account details, captions and interaction buttons can cover parts of a Reel. Our templates show the clear viewing area for each format. We keep faces, headlines, product details, subtitles and other essential content within it, then check the finished post in its intended placement.

We caption spoken content in Reels so it can be followed without sound. Short phrases give viewers time to read and understand the message. We may show a single word for emphasis, but we avoid presenting full sentences one word at a time when the pace makes them difficult to follow. We check captions for accuracy and include meaningful audio information where needed.