01
Why this brand exists
"Most people in Wicklow have never knowingly met a Toastmaster. They have met someone who wishes they could speak with more confidence — in interviews, presentations, meetings, or in front of their own community. This brand exists to meet that person where they are."
The strategy is to stop leading externally with the word "Toastmasters" — which is not self-explanatory and may not sell the value to new audiences — and to lead instead with a clear public promise: Build confidence for work, life and everything in between.
The official affiliation is retained and honoured: the unaltered TI mark appears in the logo lockup itself, and "A club of Toastmasters International" appears on external materials as endorsement and credibility. But the front door of the brand is local, warm, and immediately understandable.
02
The logo — primary lockup
Build confidence for work, life and everything in between.
Default for posters, Eventbrite headers, LinkedIn banners, presentation title slides, and print.
The lockup is composed of four elements: the official Toastmasters International globe-and-banner mark (unaltered, from the TI Brand Portal), a fine maroon hairline divider, the wordmark in two parts ("WICKLOW" as a spaced-caps eyebrow above "Speaking Club" as the hero), and the tagline centred beneath in Montserrat Italic. The tagline always holds on a single line and is width-fitted to the row above — if the wording ever changes, re-check the fit.
03
Variants and backgrounds
Build confidence for work, life and everything in between.
On cream #F4EFE6
Build confidence for work, life and everything in between.
On Loyal Blue #004165 — reversed. Always the transparent SVG mark; the JPEG version leaves a white box.
Small variant — tagline dropped. Email signatures, website headers, social avatars, anything under ~200px wide.
Build confidence for work, life and everything in between.
Poster variant — 1.5×. A4/A3 posters, pull-up banners, slide title pages.
If space is tight, switch to the small variant with the tagline dropped, never shrunk — below small-variant size the tagline is illegible. The lockup works cleanly either way, and the tagline can revert to plain marketing copy elsewhere on the material.
04
Specifications
| Element | Specification |
|---|
| TI mark | Official full-colour Toastmasters International logo, unaltered, as a transparent vector (SVG) so it sits directly on any approved background with no white box. Source: TI Brand Portal. Primary 92 units wide; small 46; poster 138. Never redrawn, recoloured, or embedded in other elements. |
| WICKLOW | Montserrat SemiBold (600), all caps, tracking +0.22em, #772432. ~50% of hero cap-height. |
| Speaking Club | Montserrat Bold (700), tracking −0.005em, #004165. Primary 34 units; small 17; poster 51. |
| Tagline | "Build confidence for work, life and everything in between." Montserrat Italic (400), #5C6670 on light; cream at 78% on Loyal Blue. Centred, width-fitted to the row above, single line. Sentence case, full stop. Omitted on small variant. |
| Divider | 1px hairline, full lockup height. #772432 on light; cream at 40% opacity on Loyal Blue. |
| Backgrounds | White, cream #F4EFE6, or Loyal Blue #004165 only. |
| Clear space | Around the full lockup ≥ height of "Speaking Club". The TI mark keeps its own clear space per the TI Brand Manual. |
| Fonts | Montserrat (Google Fonts, SIL OFL) — TI's named free stand-in for Gotham. Office fallback: Arial. Outline all text in files sent to print. |
05
Colour palette
True Maroon#772432 · RGB 119·36·50
Pantone 188 · CMYK 12/95/59/54WICKLOW eyebrow, dividers, highlights. Official TI primary.
Loyal Blue#004165 · RGB 0·65·101
Pantone 302 · CMYK 100/43/12/56"Speaking Club", headlines, dark backgrounds. Official TI primary.
Cream#F4EFE6 · RGB 244·239·230Warm backgrounds, reversed type. Supporting background tone (not a TI palette colour — treat as a white-family paper tone).
Cool Gray#A9B2B1 · RGB 169·178·177
Pantone 442 · CMYK 23/7/12/18Optional accent and footers. Official TI primary.
Visual alignment with the parent brand is deliberate: it keeps the system TI-compliant and reassures committee members and existing Toastmasters that this is an evolution, not a departure. The three approved logo backgrounds are white, cream, and Loyal Blue. Tagline text uses a soft slate (#5C6670) on light grounds for a gentler read than full navy.
06
Typography
Everything is set in Montserrat (Google Fonts, SIL Open Font Licence) — the free alternate named in the TI Brand Manual for Gotham. Where Montserrat is unavailable (Office documents, email), fall back to Arial, which the TI manual lists as a tertiary system font. Outline all text in files sent to print.
Display & headlinesMontserrat Bold · 700 · Loyal Blue
Speaking Club
Tagline & quotesMontserrat Italic · 400
Build confidence for work, life and everything in between.
Eyebrows & labelsMontserrat SemiBold · 600 · +0.22em · True Maroon
Wicklow · First & Third Thursdays
Body textMontserrat Regular · 400
Wicklow Speaking Club is a friendly local club where people practise public speaking, presentations, and everyday confidence — in a warm and supportive environment at An Tairseach, Wicklow town.
07
Voice and tone
The voice is warm, confident, and plain — consistent with the TI voice checklist (warm, friendly, clear, professional, universally understandable). We use everyday language rather than insider terms. We talk about practising and building skills rather than mastering or transforming. We say "come along" rather than "attend." We lead with the outcome — confidence — because that is what people are actually looking for when they find us.
We say
"Build confidence for work, life and everything in between."
We don't say
"Master the art of public speaking through our intensive curriculum."
We say
"No experience needed. You can observe, or take part if you wish."
We don't say
"Open to all candidates regardless of prior speaking accreditation."
We say
"Come along on Thursday — we'd love to meet you."
We don't say
"Prospective members are welcome to attend our weekly meeting."
08
Usage rules — the essentials
Keep clear space around the logoLeave at least the height of "Speaking Club" as breathing room on every side of the lockup. Don't crowd it with other elements.
Never alter the TI markThe globe-and-banner must be used as supplied. No recolouring, rotation, effects, or embedding it inside other elements (including the "O" in WICKLOW).
Three backgrounds onlyWhite, cream #F4EFE6, or Loyal Blue #004165. On Loyal Blue, use the transparent SVG mark and the reversed (cream) wordmark. On photography, sit the lockup on a solid colour panel.
Drop the tagline, don't shrink itIf the tagline would wrap or become illegible, switch to the small variant without it. Never set the tagline wider than the lockup.
Use the lockup wholeDon't rearrange or separate the elements, add graphics, shadows, or effects, or recolour anything.
Lead with outcomes, not jargonCommunicate the benefit before the structure. "Build confidence" before "Toastmasters." "Friendly group" before "Pathways."
Honour the affiliation properly"A club of Toastmasters International" appears consistently on external materials. Source production logo files from the TI Brand Portal.
Use Montserrat, or Arial as fallbackNo word art, drop shadows, or other manipulation of type — the TI manual treats these as non-compliant.
09
Compliance status
This system uses TI-sanctioned type (Montserrat, with Arial as office fallback) and the official True Maroon, Loyal Blue and Cool Gray palette. The TI logo is handled per the TI Brand Manual (Version 2.0, Rev. 07/2026), which takes precedence over this guide wherever they conflict.
One item remains at committee discretion: the custom recruitment tagline. TI guidance favours the official tagline and approved phrases ("Where Leaders Are Made", "Find Your Voice", "Find your confidence"); many clubs use recruitment straplines in practice. The tagline can be removed via the small-variant treatment — and revert to plain marketing copy — without affecting the rest of the system.
