Our brand

We have a corporate template for all employees to use as their email signatures. This unifies us as an organisation and helps convey our high standard of professionalism.

Here is a 4-step guide for creating your corporate email signature, including how to ensure your email signature is accessible. 

Step 1: download the template 

Download the Email signature template (DOCX, 23KB)​​. ​

Step 2: customise  ​

Customise the email signature template to include your: 

• name - preferred pronouns are optional 
• job title 
• department or service name - we have various levels of naming hierarchy for departments at the council, make sure you use the name that helps recipients understand your profession 
• contact details ​

Remove any contact details that are not applicable. 

Please note Teams links are not included in the template as they only work for those within the council’s network. You can find colleagues on Teams by typing in their name. 

The email signature template uses Calibri, our chosen system font, for optimum accessibility. This is now the default font set across the council’s email network. Please do not change the font. 

We have set the font size of the name to 12pt and use bold to add emphasis. The rest of the copy is set to 11pt, the minimum recommended size. You can increase the font size, but your name should always be 1pt size bigger and in bold. 

Do not re-size the council’s logo. 

What if the service l work in has a different logo? 

If the service you work in has its own logo, contact the Design Studio​ to request your service’s logo supplied for email signature use. 

All our services’ brand identities use Calibri as their system font, so only the logo will need to change. 

Adding awards and accreditations 

We recommend listing your awards and accreditations as text. Adding hyperlinks to the organisations’ websites, if available. 

You can add a logo if it adds value, such as our Ofsted rating. Limit to no more than three logos, each logo must be no bigger than 150 pixels (40mm). 

Adding a campaign banner 

You can add one campaign banner at a time to your email signature for the period that the campaign is running. 

To add a campaign banner, within the ‘Edit signature’ box you can click on the icon of a picture. The image file should be no more than 360 pixel (95mm) wide and using a height that is suitable and in perspective. Always use a png file. 

Why we recommend minimising the use of imagery in your email signature ​

​​Images add to your email’s file size, meaning more storage space is needed. The fewer images we use the less energy we need to send, store and receive emails.  

People may also have images disabled in their mailboxes to save data or the speed of their internet connection. 

So, please consider the use of images in your email signature carefully. 

Adding my working hours 

We recommend adding your working hours to your out of office. This is where this type of information is most applicable for people to kn​ow. ​

Step 3: add to your Outlook’s signatures 

Either: 

• create a ‘New Email’, select ‘Signature’ in the toolbar, ‘Signatures…’ at the bottom of the dropdown menu 
• select ‘File’ in the top bar, ‘Options’ in the bottom left panel, ‘Mail’ on the left panel in the pop-up box and the ‘Signatures…’ button on the right 

A pop-up box will appear, select your current email signature, or if you don’t have one select ‘New’. 

Copy and paste your customised email signature into the ‘Edit signature’ box. 

Step 4: ch​eck for accessibility 

Check all image assets have alt text by clicking on the image file, right click and select ‘Picture’ and then the ‘Alt text’ tab in the pop-up menu. ​

​Check all hyperlinks by highlighting the link and clicking on the icon of a global and chain.​