Brand Standards
Communicating with Consistency
Even little things can affect our brand and help elevate our communication. Here are a few tips and strategies we can all use to add consistency and brand strength.
Writing Style and Brand Voice
Be conversational. A conversational tone helps us connect with our audience. Write like people talk. Avoid corporate jargon. Be sure to maintain good grammar while doing so.
For example: instead of saying, “Bolton & Menk offers unparalleled work ethic, which yields the highest quality results,” we might say, “We’ll work hard for you, and we’ll do a good job.”
Instead of “Your project objectives are our top priority,” we might say, “We really do care.”
Use shorter sentences. Keep writing simple and easy to understand. Break longer sentences into shorter ones by replacing commas with periods.
Don’t SHOUT. Text in capital letters and exclamation points can be perceived more harshly than intended. Avoid using all capital letters and limit the use of exclamation points.
Use contractions. It’s okay to use contractions in more casual communication and marketing efforts. Business communication and official documents are a different story.
NOTE: use of contractions in proposals should be balanced to ensure a professional, yet friendly tone. Example: We’re committed to finding the right solutions for you.
Use personal pronouns like we, our, you, and your. Talking in first person makes us sound more friendly (less corporate).
Keep it short. Most people don’t like to read a lot of text—especially in marketing materials. Be your own critic and trim out unnecessary information that doesn’t add to the core message.
Give just enough information to get your message across and offer a way to learn more if needed (e.g. “Learn more at Bolton-Menk.com” or “Call ______” for more information).
Use bulleted lists as a way to communicate multiple points or help simplify more complex thoughts. Bulleted lists tend to be perceived as simple summaries and are typically read at a higher rate than longer paragraphs. Use colons only when the introduction is a complete sentence.
Use only one space after periods in all text. Modern fonts are designed to give an appropriate amount of space after periods.
Use space between paragraphs and don’t indent the first line.
Use Bolton & Menk, Inc. the first time. Use Bolton & Menk thereafter, not Bolton and Menk. Do not use BMI in any type of correspondence, general marketing copy, or proposals. [NOTE: BMI is used as an abbreviation in some legal documents.]
Write in active voice when possible. In active voice, the subject is performing the action. Examples can be found in the Other Notes section.
Paragraph Justification
When writing more than a few lines, use left justification with ragged right paragraph styles.
Use centered text sparingly for layout or design purposes only.
Avoid right justified and fully justified paragraph styles as they can create awkward spacing and make reading more difficult.
Use space between paragraphs and don’t indent the first line.
Guiding Principles
Built on our brand pillars, our guiding principles reflect the way we do business. They specify what our clients can expect from us and differentiate us from the competition. In our communication, each of these guiding principles must be supported by detailed examples of performance.
- A consultant you can trust
- A consultant with proven expertise
- A consultant worth their fee
- A creative and innovative consultant
- A consultant who will work with you
- A consultant with proven partnerships
- A consultant with local knowledge
- A consultant who watches your bottom line
- A consultant who builds community support
- A proactive consultant
- A consultant with an award-winning résumé
Remember these words of wisdom from George Orwell’s, Politics and the English Language (Horizon, 1946):
- Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech that you are used to seeing in print
- Never use a long word where a short one will do [use versus utilize]
- If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out
- Never use the passive where you can use the active
- Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent
- Break any of these rules sooner than say anything barbarous
Reminder: This is a style guide. When writing, consider your target audience. Defer to client conventions for oddities in style and word treatments as specified in any client request. Ex. If the RFP refers to a city street as North 5th Street, use that rather than the recommended N 5th Street. If the target audience needs and can understand technical details, provide them. If not, make sure your main points are communicated in a way your grandfather can understand. Break the rules for marketing drama in call-outs, headlines, or ads.
Bottom line—consider your reader first.
Abbreviations
Do not use abbreviations in proposals or technical reports. For example, spell out street, avenue, etc. EXCEPTION: abbreviations may be used in headings and tables, where space is limited. If abbreviations are necessary, be consistent and use them throughout the table. You may abbreviate directions when referring to roads. For example, N 2nd Street [N, S, E, W, NE, NW, SE, SW].
Abbreviate states in résumé project lists.
Do not use periods for professional or certification suffixes (PE, LS, AICP, PTOE).
Do not capitalize mph (miles per hour) and include a space between a numeral and the abbreviation.
Ex. 35 mph
Abbreviate middle names when used in résumés. Include a period after the middle initial.
Ex. Bradley C. DeWolf
Acronyms
Spell out the full name on first reference followed by the acronym in parentheses. Acronyms may be used after that. If subsequent mentions of the subject come several pages after the first mention, you may need to repeat the full name.
Ex. If Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (AMICE) is mentioned on the first page and not again until page 12, you may need to refresh the memory of your reader. If your reader(s) are familiar with the acronym, it is not necessary.
Ex. In 2015, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) reported 363 unsafe bridges on rural Minnesota roads. In 2016, MnDOT announced a $45 million rural bridge repair fund approved by the governor.
To make an acronym plural, just add s (no apostrophe).
epresentatives from 16 DOTs attended the conference.
Do not use periods with acronyms.
Ex. PE, not P.E.; CSAH, not C.S.A.H.
Ampersands
Avoid using ampersands (&) in general text, headings, or subheadings—use “and” instead. An ampersand may be used in charts or tables where space is tight, or when it’s part of a company name or report title.
NOTE: Always use the ampersand in Bolton & Menk, Inc. and Bolton & Menk
Capitalization
After a Colon
Do not capitalize the word after a colon in a sentence.
Ex. I’m about to list several things: one, two, and three.
Do capitalize the first word in bulleted lists.
Proper Names
Capitalize proper names. Use lower case for general reference to a city or county.
Ex. The City of Mankato hires Bolton & Menk for all its civil engineering projects.
Ex. We will work with city staff to identify priorities for the Riverfront Renewal Project.
Ex. Blue Earth County promotes Bolton & Menk engineers at every opportunity.
Ex. As project manager, Dillon will keep county engineers up-to-date on the progress and ensure the project stays on schedule.
Place Names
When listing more than one place, the term should be capitalized if it is recognized as part of the proper name.
Ex. The Cities of Mankato, North Mankato, and Minneapolis are in Minnesota.
Ex. Bolton & Menk assisted Le Sueur, Wright, and Hennepin Counties to secure funding for several roadway projects.
Ex. Residents are reporting record high water levels on Lakes Huron and Erie.
Geographic Regions
When describing a geographic region, the adjective before the proper noun (such as “northwest” or “southeast”) should be lowercase and followed by a capitalized proper noun to specify the location.
Ex. southeast Minnesota
Ex. midwest U.S.
The name of a region should only be capitalized if it is part of a proper name.
Ex. Midwest Business Development
Ex. Southeast Culture Committee
Department Names
Common names of departments (work groups) are lowercase.
Ex. Many recreation department staff support the park renovations.
Official department names are capitalized.
Ex. The Department of Recreation, Parks, and Trails serves 12,000 people each year.
Capitalize MnDOT State Aid when using the formal name. Do not capitalize state aid when describing a subject or when talking about the funding mechanism.
Ex. We will coordinate with the State Aid Office throughout the project.
Ex. Jordan has worked on several state aid projects and thoroughly understands state aid plan requirements.
Job Titles
Job titles are capitalized as part of a proper noun; otherwise, they’re lowercase.
Ex. The emcee introduced President Brad DeWolf at the annual party.
Ex. Our president, Brad DeWolf, attended the event.
Ex. The staff is excited to meet Jesse, the new survey technician.
Ex. The role of the project manager is to …
Headings and Subheadings
Capitalize important words (everything but articles, conjunctions, and prepositions) in headings and subheadings.
Seasons
Seasons (winter, spring, summer, fall) should be lowercase, unless you are talking about a specific season.
Ex. The project was constructed last summer.
Ex. The project will be constructed in Spring 2021.
Contractions
Use contractions (it’s, you’re, they’re, she’s) in your writing to make the tone conversational.
Lists
Edit items in list so they are all in the same tense and format. Don’t use periods after list items, even if they form complete sentences. Similarly, don’t use semicolons or “and” after list items. Only use a colon to introduce the list if the introduction is a complete sentence.
Ex. There are many strategies you may employ to grow your business:
- Invest in relationship-building
- Position communication as part of your core strategy
- Develop a plan
Numerical Formatting
In proposals and other technical text, use numerals for expression of physical quantities: distances, lengths, areas, volumes, masses, pressures, percentage, etc.
Ex.
45 miles
3.5 cubic feet
21 acres
3 percent
In other uses, spell out numbers less than 10.
Spell out casual expressions.
Ex. A picture is worth a thousand words, but a really good one is worth a thousand dollars.
When a sentence contains one or more numbers greater than nine that are related to a smaller number, use numerals for all of them.
Ex. The results were the same in 3, 12, and 18 trials.
Ex. The contractor tested 8 devices in May, 12 in June, and 9 in July.
Spell out the first of two adjacent numbers unless the first one requires three or more words.
Ex.
ten 5-kW arrays
thirty-two 4-cm devices
135 16-cm collectors
Avoid starting a sentence with a number. If you do need to begin a sentence with a number, spell it out.
Ex. Ninety-eight percent of all engineers consider the marketing group vital to the company growth.
In a table or title, you may use No. 7. Do not use #7.
Use “feet” (plural) or “foot” (singular) as a noun/unit of measure. Use the singular “foot” preceded by a hyphen to describe a noun.
Ex. The T-hangar door clearance is 45 feet wide and 14 feet tall.
Ex. The city constructed a 90-foot by 80-foot bay hangar.
Dates
Ex. The proposal is due Friday, September 1, 2023, at 4:00 p.m.
Ex. We saw a 50 percent growth in survey work in August 2022 and 30 percent growth in October 2022.
Ordinal Numbers
Ordinal numbers (adjectives describing the numerical position of something) should always be written out.
EXCEPTION: 6th Street, 183rd Avenue; use superscript when writing street names.
Ex. For the sixth year in a row, Bolton & Menk is one of the Star Tribune’s Top 200 Workplaces in Minnesota. This year, we are thirteenth on the list.
Percent
Write out the word “percent” instead of using the “%” symbol. Include a space between the numeral and the word.
EXCEPTIONS: MnDOT may request graduated submittal of a design plan, i.e. 30% plan submittal; 60% plan submittal; 95% plan submittal. Use the “%”symbol when writing about these plans.
The % symbol may also be used in tables where space is limited. There is no space between the numeral and the symbol [14% flow increase]. Be consistent throughout the table.
Ex. The survey results showed that 70 percent of marketers wear Converse sneakers. Sixty percent of marketers also wear Ray-bans.
Ex. Bolton & Menk will complete the 30% plans on schedule.
Phone Numbers
719-430-0124, not (719) 430-0124
Time
Use lowercase a.m. or p.m. with periods in between. Include a space between the time and the a.m. or p.m. If the time is an exact hour, the “:00” can be omitted.
Ex. 9 a.m.
Ex. 9:15 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.
Exception: When writing about traffic counts, use capitalized AM and PM without punctuation.
Ex. The team collected traffic counts for peak AM and PM travel times.
Puncuation
Apostrophes
In general, only use an apostrophe when you need to form the possessive of a word—not the plural. The exception to this is the possessive of it, which is “its.”
Ex. The new CFO’s office has its own entrance.
Ex. The team met for happy hour after a hard day’s work.
Ex. Laura’s new Bolton & Menk style guide was damaged by the rain.
If the word ends in s, just add an apostrophe to form the possessive.
Ex. The planners’ favorite part of the new community park is the local splash pad.
Colons
Use a colon to introduce a list only if the introduction is a full sentence. This applies to both bulleted lists and linear text.
Ex. Bolton & Menk employs professionals with a wide range of expertise:
- Land use planning
- Transportation engineering
- Water resource management
- Graphic design
Ex. We employ experts in
- Land use planning
- Transportation engineering
- Water resource management
- Graphic design
- Marketing wizardry
Commas
Use the serial (Oxford) comma before the “and” and “or” in lists.
Ex. We specialize in idea generation, content creation, distribution, and ROI optimization.
Ex. There will never be anyone better at idea generation, content creation, or distribution.
Omit the comma in sentences with comparative phrases using conjunctions (but/also from/to) and in a series with several conjunctions (and, to).
Ex. We will survey your land from coastal seas to rugged mountains to arid deserts.
Use a comma if the subject changes in the second phrase. Omit the comma if the subject does not change.
Ex. Nick designs beautiful proposals, Ashley does too.
Ex. Kelly organizes conference presentations and manages the Bolton & Menk swag store.
Ex. Lacey does a great job managing the Open Asset photo library but still takes daily walks.
Use a comma to isolate a non-defining phrase or subordinate clause.
Ex. Kendra, the new girl, recently gained access to the Bolton & Menk garage.
Ex. Lacey patiently answers questions for Carol, all day long.
Comma use with “including”
Do not use a comma with a defining phrase (this just means the phrase is important for the reader to fully understand the writer’s point):
Ex. He has a lot of experience including traffic signage, striping, and dancing in the streets.
Use a comma with non-defining phrase (information not critical to reader understanding):
Ex. He has a lot of traffic design experience, including signage, striping, and dancing in the streets.
Include a comma after a name when it is followed by a suffix. When including more than one suffix, use a comma between each one.
Ex. John Smith, PE, PTOE
Dashes
Em dashes (—) are the width of a lowercase “m.” Use an em dash with no space to indicate added emphasis, a pause, or a change of thought.
Ex. Brian has a history of successfully working with two current city staff members—Katy Gehler and John Schmeling—in their previous positions.
En dashes (–) are the width of a lowercase “n.” Use en dash with no spaces in a number range or spread. Use “to” when possible.
Ex. 2014–2015 or Numbers 11 to 25 are from the second experiment.
Hyphens
Hyphenate compound adjectives—two adjectives that modify the same subject.
Ex. Lacey is a super-fast learner when it comes to file management.
Use a hyphen between a numeral and the noun it describes. If using two numerals, there is a space after the first numeral and hyphen.
Ex. four-lane
Ex. four- to three-lane conversion
Do not hyphenate a prefix and a compound word. However, a hyphen may be used if the prefix results in two consecutive “a”s or “i”s.
Ex. preconstruction, NOT pre-construction
Ex. multimodal, NOT multi-modal
Ex. multi-agency
Periods
Do not use periods in professional certification suffixes (PE, LS, AICP, PTOE).
Use only one space after periods in all text. Modern fonts are designed to give an appropriate amount of space after periods.
Quotation Marks
Periods and commas go inside of quotation marks.
Ex. “The team did a great job with this project,” said the mayor.
Unlike periods and commas, colons and semicolons follow quotation marks.
Ex. MnDOT is divided into different regions or “districts”; there are eight in total.
Semicolon
Semicolons can be used to link two related independent clauses (complete sentences) or to add clarity to list items separated by a comma.
Ex. Bolton & Menk has the best marketing team; they never miss a deadline.
Ex. We have many areas of expertise: civil engineering, including wastewater treatment; planning, including transportation, land use, and parks; and GIS mapping for townships, cities, and counties.
Word Choice
Between vs. among
Use between with two people or things and among with three or more people or things.
Communication vs. communications
Communication is something that we do daily. We prepare communication tools. We communicate on social media. Bolton & Menk uses advanced public involvement techniques to communicate with stakeholders.
Communications is a term that defines the act of mass communications—fiber optics, radio transmission, etc. Verizon provides business communications services.
Communication is human; communications is technology.
Effect vs. affect
Affect is a verb 99 percent of the time; effect is a noun 99 percent of the time.
To affect means to produce a change or influence something.
Ex. How will the new lift station affect wastewater citywide?
An effect is a change that has occurred.
Ex. The effect of the new lift station will be negligible.
Insure, ensure, and assure
To insure means to protect against financial loss.
Ex. Bolton & Menk is insured against liability.
To ensure means to make certain or to confirm.
Ex. Track your ROI to ensure your success.
To assure means to promise. (We assure a person.)
Ex. I can assure you that we will work hard and we will do a good job.
Fewer/less/more than/over
Although more can be used for both countable (e.g. more stars) and uncountable (e.g. more rain) nouns, fewer must be used for countable nouns (e.g. fewer steps, fewer staff members, fewer days) and less for uncountable nouns (e.g. less rain, less information).
That/which
That is used for defining or restrictive clauses:
Ex. Bolton & Menk has prepared a significant number of comprehensive Stormwater Management Plans (SWMPs) that include citywide stormwater modeling, issues identification, and project planning.
Which is used in non-defining or nonrestrictive clauses. This clause is not essential to the meaning of the sentence and can be taken out without changing the meaning.
Ex. All SWMPs must comply with Minnesota Rule 8410, which includes mandatory sections. (A non-defining clause is general; it provides additional information, and the use of a comma is often important.)
Published Works
Italicize the titles of books, paintings, and sculptures.
Ex. Marshall’s Music by Greg Wimmer is a mural located at the corner of 4th and Main Streets.
Ex. The installation of the sculpture, Glass Bowl by Nick Lewis, greatly improved the office aesthetic.
Titles of photographs, videos, articles, or sections of a larger work should be placed inside quotation marks.
Ex. The latest “What’s the Fact?” video provided helpful information about land surveying.
Other Notes
- Use since only when referencing time, not as a synonym of because.
- Use although rather than though.
- Replace done, as in the project was done, with performed or completed.
- Avoid a lot of; define the amount more precisely or use many.
- Avoid get and got. Here are some options: obtain/obtained, acquired, procured, gained, secured.
- As a result of or because of are preferred to due to.
- Hopefully should be avoided.
- Avoid redundancies in text.
Ex. In addition to developing key GIS data for revealing patterns, trends, and relationships, we also provide graphical analysis to assist in informed decision making. “In addition” and “also” say the same thing. Remove “also” in the second part of the sentence. - Avoid slang and jargon. Write in plain English.
- Write positively. Use positive language rather than negative language.
- Use location, not office. Ex. Bolton & Menk’s Mankato location
- Capitalize first and last names in email format.
Inclusive Language
We believe all people should live in safe, sustainable, and beautiful communities. When we say all people, we mean all people—people from a variety of cultures, with a variety of beliefs, from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds. It is important to use appropriate and inclusive language when talking about various groups of people. (The following guidance is referenced from the Hennepin County Writing Guide).
- Use African American (if you know for certain a person is American and not another nationality) or Black (any person of African descent). If you are writing for a specific community, use the term they prefer.
- Describing someone with a disability—use the phrase persons with disabilities or disabled as an adjective, but not a noun (e.g., use disabled people, not the disabled)
- Diverse describes something made up of many different elements. Communities can be described as diverse, but not one individual person.
- Latino, Latina—When possible be more specific (e.g., Colombian, Mexican American, Puerto Rican). Current recommendation is to use these terms rather than Hispanic.
- Use Native American or American Indian, but follow subject’s preference and use a more specific name (such as Lakota Sioux or Navajo) where possible.
- White—Note capitalization. This term is preferred over Caucasian.
Personal Pronouns
Use personal pronouns like we, our, you, and your. Talking in first person makes us sound more friendly and personable (less corporate).
If you are unsure about which personal pronoun a person uses (such as he/him, she/her, and they/them), it is OK to ask them. Avoid making assumptions about a person’s gender identity based on their pronouns (and vice versa). In addition, avoid making assumptions about a person’s pronouns based on their first name. In most cases, refer to a coworker or client by their first name.
Ex. An email/cover letter being sent to Alex Anderson should begin with the greeting “Dear Alex,” not “Dear Mr./Ms. Anderson.”
“They” can be used as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun. If you cannot determine a person’s pronouns, use the singular pronoun “they” or rewrite the sentence in a way that does not require personal pronouns.
Ex. The project manager will explain how they plan to complete the project.
Ex. The project manager will explain how the project will be completed.
Please see the email signature standards in this guide for how to include your preferred pronouns to your Bolton & Menk email signature.
Use active voice when possible and appropriate.
Examples from proposals that change passive voice to active:
Passive: There was a focus on public participation and the technical evaluation process.
Active: We focused on public participation and the technical evaluation process.
Passive: The purpose of public participation was to reach an understanding and agreement resulting in an accepted plan for short-term improvements that occurred within a few months of the study and long-term improvements for future implementation.
Active: We worked to reach understanding and agreement through public participation, resulting in an accepted plan for both short- and long-term improvements.
Passive: The multimodal transportation plan was developed by Bolton & Menk, focusing on improving operations of existing vital arterial connections.
Active: Bolton & Menk developed the multimodal transportation plan, focusing on improving operations of existing vital arterial connections.
Passive: The results of the study articulate priorities for new grade separations and will help guide intersections toward strategic investments and right-sized solutions.
Active: Bolton & Menk delivered a study that detailed priorities for new grade separations. It will help guide decision makers faced with balancing strategic investments and right-sized solutions.
Preferred Words
Many words are written different ways by different people. In order create consistency throughout Bolton & Menk, we’ve developed this list of commonly used words in our industry showing how we will use them in written form. When in doubt about a word that’s not listed here, refer to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
aboveground
advisory board; Cook County Advisory Board
AICP
archaeology
ArcGIS
ArcGIS Enterprise
ArcGIS for Server
ArcGIS Online
ArcGIS StoryMaps (when referring to the software)
ARCADY
AutoCAD Map 3D
AutoCAD Plant 3D
Autodesk Civil 3D
Autodesk Revit
Autodesk Storm and Sanitary Analysis
belowground
best management practice/s (BMP/BMPs)
board of directors; board; Scott County Board of Directors
Bolton & Menk, Inc. (use this the first time. Use Bolton & Menk (no ,inc.) thereafter,
• Do not spell out “and” as in: Bolton and Menk.
• Do not use BMI in proposals or general marketing copy.
[NOTE:BMI is used as an abbreviation in some legal documents.]
bump-out
City of Xxxxx; city
city council; council; New York City Council
city staff
citywide
client
Collector for ArcGIS
Complete Streets
computer-aided design (CAD) (NOTE: CADD is computer-aided design and drafting, but we don’t use that here)
consultant
Corridor Modeler
COUNTpro
CRASHiD™
CSAH
CFM
CFedS
client service manager
county; Scott County
county board
county ditch
County Ditch 12
creative studio services; creative studio; Bolton & Menk studios
(“studio” may be used after the first instance)
cross section
decision-making
DroneDeploy
dTIMS
EIT; engineer-in-training
ENVISIONiD™
Esri ArcGIS Platform
Esri GIS
Esri GIS Suite
fall, Fall 2021
federal aid
final plat
force main
full time
GAZER™
Geocortex
GeoCP™
GeoCP 360™
GeoCV™
GeoHECRAS
GEOPAK Drainage
GISP
groundwater
HEC-RAS
HydroCAD
I-35W, I-90
inflow and infiltration (I&I)
in-house
INPUTiD™
inslope
Iowa DOT
JAMAR PetraPro
JAMAR TRAXPro
JPG
judicial ditch
Judicial Ditch 65
kickoff meeting
left turn lane
LiDAR
life cycle
low-interest loan
LSiD™ (use when talking about Bolton & Menk’s proprietary approach to low salt solutions/the specific set of design guidelines; include trademark symbol)
low salt design, low salt solutions (use when talking about the design practice in general)
LSIT; land surveyor-in-training
LS
master plan
(unless referring to the official document)
metro area
(Twin Cities Metro Area; Des Moines Metro Area)
MicroStation
MicroStation GEOPAK
MnDOT
(not necessary to spell out in MOST cases, ESPECIALLY in MnDOT proposals. Consider the reader—best to spell out if review committee includes small cities/counties/anything outside of MN)
municipal aid
multidisciplinary
multimodal
multipurpose
multiuse
No Loss
nonpoint source
off-site
oftentimes
on-site (on-site supervision; located on-site)
OpenRoads Designer
Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS
opinion of probable costs
PE
PDF
photogrammetry
Pix4D
point source
PowerGEOPAK
preliminary plat
project management plan (PMP)
project management team (PMT)
project memorandum
(lowercase when talking about an informal, unofficial, or internal report; do not shorten to “project memo”)
Project Memorandum (capitalize when talking about the title of a formal, required document that must be submitted to clients/agencies for a project; do not shorten to “Project Memo”)
PTOE
punch list
purpose and need statement
raster
remote sensing
résumé
right-of-way
right turn lane
riprap
Robotic Total Stations [Trimble]
runoff
Runway 14/32
Saint Paul, Saint Peter
(abbreviate all other city names beginning with “Saint” to “St.” ex. St. Cloud)
SewerCAD
SignCAD
Site Modeler
smart cities, smart city
Southeast (capitalize when used as part of a proper name, ex. Southeast Culture Committee)
southeast (lowercase when used as an adjective to describe a geographic region, ex. southeast Minnesota)
spring, Spring 2021
SQL Server
start-up
state aid
StormCAD
stormwater
Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP)
storm sewer
street and utility improvements
Street & Utility Improvements (in bulleted list on résumé)
StreetLight InSight®
subconsultant
summer, Summer 2021
Survey123
Synchro and SimTraffic
TerraSync
TerraFlex
through lane
timeline
time frame
turnkey
Trimble GPS
Trimble Pathfinder Office
TH
T-hangar
UAV
underground structure
(NOTE: do not use “manhole”)
Upper Midwest (proper noun describing the region of the country including MN, ND, SD, WI, MI, and sometimes others)
vector
versus or vs.
WaterCAD
water main
wayfinding
well house
winter, Winter 2021
work-sharing
XPSWMM
Email Signature
Consistency in email signatures across all Bolton & Menk work groups delivers a visually cohesive, branded look and feel. Just as our business cards follow a standardized approach, email signatures should be consistent.
Follow these guidelines for setting up your email signature:
Firstname Lastname
Title
Bolton & Menk, Inc
Street Address
City, ST Zip
Phone: 123-456-7890 ext. 1234
Mobile: 123-456-7890
Bolton-Menk.com
Calibri Bold, 12pt, Black
Calibri, 12pt, Black
Calibri Bold, 12pt, Green
Calibri, 12pt, Black
Calibri, 12pt, Black
Calibri, 12pt, Black
Calibri, 12pt, Black
Calibri Bold, 12pt. Green
OPTIONAL ADDITIONS:
Between mobile number and web address:
[email protected] – Calibri, 12pt., Black
Between name and title:
Personal pronouns – Calibri, 12pt., Black
(i.e. he, him, his; she, her, hers; they, them, theirs)
COLORS:
• Black
• Green R:0, G:105, B:56 (hex#: 006938)
FONT:
Calibri should be set as the font for email body text. It was selected because it closely resembles DIN—the official brand typeface of Bolton & Menk—and it is typically the default font setting in Microsoft Outlook.
SIZE:
When composing emails, leave the font at the default size (typically 11 or 12).
AVOIDING COMMON EMAIL MISTAKES
Because of technical limitations and user preferences on the recipient’s end, the following should NOT be included when composing emails to people outside the company:
- Logos
- Graphics
- Background colors or images
- Email templates/stationery
- Additional fonts (e.g. a script font for your name)
- Personal quotes, slogans, tag lines, etc.
EXCEPTIONS
The following graphics may be included below your email signature:
Marketing and Graphics Typeface
DIN OT is the standard Marketing and Creative Studio typeface.
12pt is ideal, 10pt minimum.
Powerpoint Presentations
All font sizes and styles in the PowerPoint templates are set at recommended sizes and should not be changed. The heading, subhead and body sizes were chosen to promote easy reading for the end user. Consistency and legibility are keys to effective presentations.
PowerPoint templates are available on the garage under the Business Development > Presentations and Articles
