V1.

0 | March 2017

BRAND GUIDELINES
MARCH 2017
CONTENTS
THE DENNIS BRAND
Our Brand Philosophy 2
Our History
Our Vision
3
4 BRAND
PHILOSOPHY
Our Why 5
Our How 7
Our People 8
Our Tone 9 These Dennis brand guidelines are designed for you to use when
creating information about Dennis as a company. They showcase
Approved Wording 10 our logos, values, vision and approach. In essence, they are suite
Our Cultural Values 11 of visual and text assets for us all to use to represent Dennis, to
Our Commitment 14 current and future employees, to our clients and to the industry
as a whole.
The Dennis Family 16
The launch of our brand identity is an important part of positioning
THE FINE DETAIL Dennis as the most dynamic media company in the UK. It’s about
Our Logos 21 one brand and one voice, delivering and strengthening our
consistency and professionalism in the market.
What Not To Do 22
What To Stop 23 You will find a folder on the Dennis Handbook that contains all of
Clear Zones 24 the new brand assets for you to use.
Duel Branding 25
Our Strapline & When To Use It 26
Our Font 29
Our Brand Colours 31
OUR
HISTORY
Dennis was started by publishing mogul and entrepreneur Felix Dennis in
London’s Fitzrovia in 1973, with its first magazine: Kung Fu Monthly.
Dennis used the success of its first title to find the next big thing: computers.
Under Felix’s guidance, Dennis launched a series of computer titles including
Hi-fi Choice, PC Pro and Personal Computer World magazines. These titles
quickly cemented Dennis as the leading technology publisher in the UK.

In 1995, Dennis launched Maxim, a title that began on the back of a beer mat and
became the world’s biggest-selling men’s lifestyle magazine and global brand.
In 1996, Dennis acquired what is now the company's flagship brand: The Week.
Over the following years Dennis published some of the biggest titles on the
newsstand from all sectors – from Mac User, Stuff and Metal Hammer, to Viz,
Bizarre and Poker Player.

Today, Dennis is one of the most dynamic media companies in the UK. As the
sixth largest consumer magazine publisher, Dennis has transformed its business
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speakers for
iPhone and
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from its traditional print publishing roots to a true multi-platform, award-winning

media company, with a turnover of over £100m.

For everything Apple, since 1985

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Factory suicides.
Conflict minerals.
Faulty products.
Privacy breaches.
Toxic materials.
HOW EVIL
The company’s portfolio of over 30 brands operates in four areas of excellence: IS APPLE?
Current Affairs, Technology, Automotive and Lifestyle, reaching over 50 million
unique users and selling over 2.5 million magazines every month.

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OUR
VISION
“Our vision is to be the most dynamic media
company in the UK. We are dedicated to
growing Britain’s best-loved media brands,
restlessly innovating across different platforms
to bring our audience new sources of
inspiration, information and entertainment.”

Our vision and values come from all of us.

They existed already, unwritten, in the way
we work, how we communicate and how
we think.

What we have done is express those beliefs

in words, focusing on what makes Dennis
truly unique and Brilliantly different from
other organisations.
OUR
WHY
“To inspire, inform and entertain people.
With this singular focus, Dennis has been
able to create multi-award-winning brands
today which inspire, inform and entertain
the audiences of tomorrow.”

This explains our purpose and what

makes our company valuable to the
world around us, drilling down into
why Dennis really matters.
WE THINK WE ARE

Brilliantly different...
OUR
HOW
We’re proud that Dennis is a Brilliantly different
media business.

Brilliantly different means coming first wherever

you innovate.

Brilliantly different means having a long-term

charitable purpose.

Brilliantly different means building a vibrant

business around our customers in our four key
markets: Automotive, Current Affairs, Lifestyle
and Technology.

Brilliantly different means working closely together

but being individually bold.

Brilliantly different means a restless dedication to

adapting to whatever happens in our landscape.

Brilliantly different means being creative to our

fingertips and professional to the core.
OUR
PEOPLE
Our people are what make Dennis the
most dynamic media company in the UK.
Every team at Dennis embodies the spirit
of our founder, Felix Dennis. It’s a maverick
independence, powered by restless energy
to be the best and be part of the next
success that everyone’s talking about.

As a business we are ambitious, bold and

creative. We champion individual success
while building a collective network of skills to
serve both readers and clients – and create
social ties that bring all our people together.
We give people the opportunity to blaze their
own trail and the freedom to think differently.

We create brands that people want to work

on and a culture that people want to work in.
Practically, this means balancing efficiency
with creativity, long-term strategy with
adaptability, professionalism with fun, and
collaboration with individual direction.
OUR
TONE
An important way of empowering our content is by
being aware of our corporate voice and tone.

We like to frame this as our ‘Kitchen Table Voice’.

We want our voice to be friendly, familiar, down-

to-earth and straightforward. It’s usually informal
and jargon-free. We want to encourage a sense of
humour, so feel free to be funny and warm with the
words you use.

• Factual, not fabricated

• Fun, not silly
• Confident but not arrogant
• Smart but not complicated
• Informal but not lazy
• Expert but not righteous
• Welcoming but not over-familiar
APPROVED
DENNIS WORDING
When talking about Dennis please use this and only this wording.
Do not alter or edit it in any way.
OVERALL VISION
Our vision is to be the most dynamic media
company in the UK.
IN BRIEF
We just need to capture our core aim
We are dedicated to growing Britain’s
best-loved media brands, restlessly
innovating across different platforms to
bring our audience new sources of
inspiration, information and entertainment.
IN 30 WORDS
When we need a little more detail
As a business we are ambitious, bold and
creative. We champion individual success
while building a collective network of skills to
OUR STRAPLINE: Brilliantly different...
Dennis is a brilliantly different media business -
creative to its fingertips and professional to the core.
serve both readers and clients – and create professionalism with fun, and collaboration
social ties that bring all our people together. with individual direction. This is the catalyst
We give people the opportunity to blaze their that powers our competitive advantage.
own trail and the freedom to think differently.
At Dennis, growth is rooted in more than the
IN 100 WORDS bottom line. Fulfilling the dreams of the late
When we need to talk about our itch & scratch Felix Dennis, we are proud to work for the
Our people are what make Dennis the most benefit of The Heart of England Forest, an
dynamic media company in the UK. We create exciting and ambitious charity aiming to plant
brands that people want to work on and a and preserve the largest native broadleaf
culture that people want to work in. Practically, forest in England.
this means balancing efficiency with creativity,
long-term strategy with adaptability,
OUR CULTURAL
VALUES
Seemingly opposite values = Brilliantly different… (when combined)

EFFICIENT AND INNOVATIVE

LONG-TERM AND AGILE
PROFESSIONAL AND FUN
COLLABORATIVE AND INDIVIDUALLY BOLD
OUR CULTURAL
VALUES

A lot of companies talk about their values, but at Dennis we simply live by them.

It’s certainly true that in a modern media company you can’t just be strong in one area, but that
to truly thrive as a media company you need to be capable in a wide range of disciplines.

EFFICIENCY AND INNOVATION LONG-TERM AND AGILE

We place innovation at our very core. We are always
looking at new ways to engage customers or further
our business.
When we innovate, we consider how we can create or
adapt a brand to meet an emerging need. How will it fit
into our customer's day? How can we inspire, entertain or
inform them? We answer this before we think about the
platform or business model.
We are always striving to do more, for less. We run our
businesses as efficiently as possible, creating more time
and cash to innovate. It is a virtuous circle that has fuelled
the company for many years. It has allowed us to grow
strongly (every year for the past decade) at a time when
many media owners are shrinking.
At Dennis, our profits go to creating and planting the
Heart of England of Forest. This is an ambitious, charitable
project to plant a 30,000-acre native broadleaf forest in
Warwickshire. The Charity has a very long-term goal; oak
trees are not fast-growing.
So as a company we are imbued with an incredibly long-
term and meaningful purpose. Yet at Dennis we value
agility above almost all else. We realise that to be still
be relevant in the 21st century, we need to be fleeter of
foot than our competitors. To do this we adopt an agile
approach, not just to our digital products but to our print
ventures too.
OUR CULTURAL
VALUES
PROFESSIONAL AND FUN
We pride ourselves on feedback from all our customers
and, most importantly, our staff. We do simple things like
call back when we say we will, answer an email and solve
problems as often as they crop up. And we listen, because
we like our staff to tell us what they think. We want all our
output – be it our brands or our communications – to look
and feel professional.
But we always retain our sense of fun. We still like to play as
hard as anyone else and we pride ourselves on our vibrant
and healthy social culture. Again, it is no accident that these
are rules that Felix Dennis lived his life by, and they are now
as much part of our DNA as our other values.
COLLABORATIVE AND INDIVIDUALLY BOLD
We realise that being agile means working tightly together.
Some of the projects we work on as a company involve over
50 people at any one time, often spread throughout various
parts of the country.
To balance this, we also celebrate being bold. This stems
from our roots, where our founder Felix Dennis always
stated, "It was far easier to just do it and apologise later."
This ethos, which encourages all Dennis staffers to make
bold decisions (often ones that swim against the tide), is
something we celebrate.
OUR
COMMITMENT
Growth is rooted in more than the bottom line. Fulfilling
the dreams of the late Felix Dennis, we are proud to work
for the benefit of The Heart of England Forest, an exciting
and ambitious charity aiming to plant and preserve the
largest native broadleaf forest in England. It's planting
tomorrow’s great native woodland, with the help of
everyone and open to anyone, one tree at a time.

The vision that encapsulates our company ethos. An

exciting charity with a long-term business plan to plant
tomorrow’s great native woodland: the largest broadleaf
forest in England. True forward thinking, with positive
environmental and social impact, it’s our lasting legacy for
generations to come.
THE HEART OF
ENGLAND FOREST
Dennis is working for the benefit of The Heart of England Forest.
As founder of the Heart of England Forest, Felix Dennis set out on a journey to create a huge
unbroken woodland of 30,000 acres right in the heart of England – a refuge from the modern
world where people and nature can flourish. Concerned at the lack of native broadleaf trees in
England, Felix planted his first small wood in 1996. He then conceived the idea of establishing
a large native forest and founded the Charity in 2003 to fulfil his mission. It will take decades –

DOS + DON’TS
in fact, we have a 98-year business plan – but the result will transform the lives of millions for
centuries to come.

The planting of tomorrow’s great native woodland has already started. The forest currently
consists of 600 acres of mature woodland and over 3,200 acres of new planting. Our aim is to DO SAY
purchase enough land to plant 300 acres of new woodland each year, and future plans include Dennis is run for the benefit of the
the development of the forest as a visitor destination with woodland walks, nature trails and Heart of England Forest, a charity
recreational pursuits. But for now our energy and focus are centred on getting people to the dedicated to planting tomorrow’s
forest to enjoy and experience it for themselves. great native woodland.

Protecting and investing in our natural environment has never been more important. DON’T SAY
Britain has one of the lowest percentages of native tree cover in Europe, declining wildlife Dennis is owned by the Heart of
and an increasing generation of children who are not connecting with nature. The Heart England Forest Charity.
of England Forest is committed to doing its part in addressing these issues. By replanting
millions of trees, re-establishing a range of natural wildlife habitats and opening up our
woods, footpaths and green spaces for people to enjoy, explore and learn, we are
creating a refuge from the modern world where people and nature can interact.
 THE
DENNIS
FAMILY
WHEN
OTHERS
GO RIGHT,
WE GO LEFT.
This section sets out some simple examples of how we are
Brilliantly different, and how our brands are unique. To help
you illustrate our unique way of working at Dennis, we
have chosen six of our brands to bring this to life. These are
not necessarily the biggest nor the most obvious brands,
but they help illustrate why we’re Brilliantly different.
OUR SIX BRILLIANTLY DIFFERENT BRANDS

BRAND
ASSETS
Each of these brands is Brilliantly
different in its own way. We have
developed wording and assets for
you to use.

When you’re talking about each

of these brands and how they are
Brilliantly different, please only use
the assets and wording found in
the asset library and nothing else.

If you require something else then

please speak to the brand team
and they will be able to assist.
THE FINE DETAIL
MARCH 2017
OUR EXTERNAL BRANDING

LOGOS
The Dennis logo was updated in late 2016. We see this as
very much an evolution and not a revolution. While the
red colour, the Dennis D and tail have remained to keep
a link to our heritage, the two shapes have been tweaked
and reshaped. They still hold similar characteristics to
the originals; however, each element has been changed
to improve legibility when it’s used digitally or in small
sizes. The logo text has also been adjusted to sit on a more
positive incline.

The new logos are constructed from five very specifically-

sized different circles. This harmony and proportions
define not only the size and shape of some of the elements INTERNAL BRANDING
but also their relationships to each other. It’s vital these
proportions are not changed in any way.

The internal branding mark is intended to ONLY be used

on internal communications. It should never be used on
external-facing material.

As we continue to develop and improve the internal B2E

communications this logo mark will be seen more and
more across the company. The tone and content of these
communications will not necessarily be appropriate for
external eyes, and they should therefore stay within the
company walls. Having a different mark should help you
to easily identify which communications are intended for
internal and external use.
WHAT SCALE. Do not play with the scale of
the logo. The proportions of the logos
should not be altered in any way.
ORIENTATION. Do not change the
orientation of the logo by rotating it
in any way.
STROKE. Do not add a stroke
around the logo.

NOT TO DO
Because the logo is the brand’s primary visual
representation, its integrity should be respected
at all times and in all places. Please do not stretch,
condense, augment or distort its form at any time.

The illustrations to the right describe some (but CROP. Do not crop the logo in any way. TRANSPARENCY. Do not lay any CONTRAST. The logos should always be
not all) of the more common misunderstandings kind of transparency over the logo. placed in locations that are not too complex
and inappropriate uses of our logo. to allow them to be viewed clearly.

Please use only approved electronic art when

reproducing the Dennis logo.

BRAND TEAM

PROPORTIONS. Do not change the ADDITIONS. Do not add additional CONVERTS. Do not convert the logo
proportions of the logo. content to the logo. into something else. It should always
be a circle and only a circle.
WHAT
TO STOP
Due to the directional change to become a
single Dennis, with one voice and one tone,
all internal sub-brand logos will stop being
used immediately. These departments will
still exist inside Dennis; however, they will no
longer have their own unique branding. All
departments inside Dennis will now carry the
main Dennis logo.

Should a department be client-facing, have

services which they sell to a third party and
only if there is a legitimate business case need
for a logo, one will be designed for them by the
Commercial Design department.
CLEAR EXTERNAL BRANDING INTERNAL BRANDING

ZONES
To ensure the Dennis logo is
presented in the best possible
manner, a minimum buffer zone
of clear space should always be
maintained around the perimeter
of the logo.

This area should be free of any

type. And where possible, it should
be free of any graphic element.

As a scale for both logos, the “D” around the edges is 40% of the overall logo size.
DUAL
BRANDING X
On occasion there will be the need to use both
the Dennis Logo and The Heart of England
forest logo in unison. When doing so, please
use this approved wording to explain the
relationship between the two.
“Dennis is run for the benefit of The Heart of
England Forest, a registered charity dedicated
to planting tomorrow’s great native woodland
one tree at a time.”
X
The height of The Heart of England Forest logo is defined by the height of the Dennis logo. The distance from
the tip of the stem to the bottom of the leaf must be the same as the height of the Dennis logo. This ratio makes
the Dennis logo slightly larger because the context will be from the Dennis point of view. If the point of view is
from The Heart of England Forest, then this relationship should be altered. Please refer to The Heart of England
Guidelines for this ratio.
The narrowest gap between the two
logos is defined by the clear zones for
X each logo. This gap can be increased and
text elements can be positioned between
the two logos.
However, it must be clear that the two
logo and text elements are one large
element, not three separate ones.
OUR
STRAPLINE Brilliantly different...
The diagram to the right describes how the
logo and the wordmark should properly align
with each other. The “Brilliantly different...” text
should only ever be used in black or white,
depending on the background colour.

CLEAR ZONE
The logo should always be surrounded by a
generous amount of white space. The white
space is defined by the width of logo, as
represented by “ ” in the diagrams below.
This “ ” is taken from the main logo and
its scale will alter according to its size in
application; thus the clear zone will alter too.

Brilliantly different...
WHEN TO USE
THIS LOGO
Option A Option B

Brilliantly different...

Brilliantly different...
It should also only be used in conjunction with the six Brilliantly different brand
examples or to demonstrate how or why Dennis is Brilliantly different.
NO: Brilliantly Different
YES: Brilliantly different...
When using it in text, it’s important you write it correctly. “Brilliantly" should have a
capital B, different has a lower-case 'd' and different has 3 dots at the end (...) when
used outside of body text. It should also always be italicised when written in text.
 Brilliantly

WHAT Brilliantly
different...

NOT TO DO different...
STACK. Do not play with the text elements of the logo. The ‘Brilliantly different’ strapline should always appear on one line, never two.
Because the strapline is part of the brand’s
visual representation, its integrity should
be respected at all times, in all places. These
guidelines are specific to the strapline and are
in addition to the details on page 19.

The illustrations to the right describe

some (but not all) of the more common Brilliantly
different... Brilliantly different...
misunderstandings and inappropriate uses
of our logo.

Please use only approved electronic art when

reproducing the Dennis logo.

RE-ORDER. Do not change the order of the logo elements. The strapline should never appear before the Dennis logo.

Brilliantly different... Brilliantly different...

RE-COLOUR. Do not change the colour of the strapline. The strapline should only be used in black or white; it should never be used in colour.
MAIN FONT FAMILY - LATO

Light
Lato is a sans-serif typeface 10 WEIGHTS
family created in summer 2010 by
Warsaw-based designer Łukasz Hairline
Dziedzic (“Lato” means “Summer” in
Polish). In December 2010 the Lato Hairline Italic
family was published under the
open-source Open Font License by Light
his foundry tyPoland, with support

Regular
from Google. Light Italic
In 2013–2014, the family was Regular
greatly extended to cover more
than 3,000 glyphs per style. In the Italic
process, the metrics and kerning
of the family were revised and four Bold
additional weights were created.
Bold Italic
The semi-rounded details of
Black

Black
the letters give Lato a feeling of
warmth, while the strong structure
provides stability and seriousness. Black Italic
Łukasz himself describes the
typeface as, “Male and female,
serious but friendly. With the
feeling of the Summer.”

Lato consists of nine weights (plus

corresponding italics), including
a beautiful Hairline style. The
Hairline should, of course, be used
only in very large sizes.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ‘?’“!”(%)[#]{@}/&<-+÷×=>®©$€£¥¢:;,.*
LATO USAGE

MAIN HEADLINES SHOULD

BE IN LATO BLACK AND IN
UPPER CASE. THE LEADING
SHOULD BE NICE AND
TIGHT LIKE THIS.
Subheads should be in Lato bold and be
lower case, similar to this.
Body copy should be Lato Regular and this is the correct size ratio to the other text.
Sunt ra sed evendae volectota ex et voluptam harupis assit alis excest que repti
odipsunti renist, volo qui ducia con non cus culpa nihicit asped esti aboreni digendi
psandempor maximet et pliquat emporiberem ditatibus sollorporepeDoluptae. Et quod
mos sum vellori nemperem que corescilia vent quo blanistiuria sus posa quod quis
ad es dus ditiur secerro eveles eium comnisciiste lacerum ilit eos am nonempossin re
premquam rent ratemque pa que pre illa veniet.
OUR
BRAND
COLOURS
 CMYK: 0 | 100 | 100 | 0
RGB: 255 | 0 | 0
WEB: # FF0000
PANTONE: Red 032 C

HERO
COLOUR
Our hero colour is Red – bright red, as red as
it gets. It’s attention-grabbing, stands out well
and evokes a strong emotional response. As
such, we encourage you to balance it with
complementary bright, warm and playful colours
to help show our diversity and enthusiasm.

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%
 CMYK: 5 | 7 | 90 | 0 RGB: 250 | 223 | 24 WEB: # FADF18 PANTONE: 107C

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%

INFORMAL
MESSAGES
CMYK: 10 | 10 | 15 | 0 RGB: 234 | 227 | 218 WEB: # EAE3DA PANTONE: WARM GRAY 1 C

As our hero colour is Red, we have paired it

with some bright and breezy colours. These
colours aim to stimulate feelings of optimism,
balance and growth. The green has been
taken from the Heart of England Forest colour
palette to help link us together. 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%

These colours are used on our company

compliment slips, business cards and address
labels. These are often the first touch points CMYK: 50 | 5 | 100 | 20 RGB: 128 | 160 | 28 WEB: # 80A01C
PANTONE: 370 C
with new people, and as such, they should be
warm and welcoming.

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%
 CMYK: 100 | 65 | 40 | 40 RGB: 0 | 61 | 86 WEB: # 003D56 PANTONE: 303 C

FORMAL
MESSAGES 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%
To help balance these vivid bright and breezy
colours, we have introduced some more formal
colours. These are intended for more formal
messages and should be used in more serious
CMYK: 80 | 100 | 15 | 5 RGB: 89 | 38 | 115 WEB: # 592673 PANTONE: 2623 C
situations or to carry a more serious message.
They aim to stimulate feelings of trust, order
and success.

These colours are used on our company

letterheads, which often carry formal
messaging. They can also be found on business
cards and address labels.

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%
CIRCLES IN
APPLICATION
Circles are graphic elements, so they must be treated in
that way – sometimes literally and sometimes figuratively.
A design should be enhanced by them instead of being
restricted by them.

On occasion, due to legibility, they might not be

appropriate to use; however, in many of these cases, using
them on a very large scale and as a curve instead of a literal
circle should get around this issue.

Jerina
Hardy
PR &
Communications
Director

T: +44(0)207 907 6607

M: +44(0)7968 531 473
e: jerina_hardy@dennis.co.uk

31-32 Alfred Place,

Fitzrovia, London.
WC1E 7DP

T: +44(0)207 907 6607

e: hello@dennis.co.uk
www.dennis.co.uk