The Defense Department Brand Guide was developed to ensure a shared visual experience that reinforces DOD’s identity and core priorities. The foundation of the department’s brand is the DOD Mission Statement:The Department of Defense provides the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation’s security.
The Pentagon logo, created in 2018, was designed to give a modern look and feel to the iconic geometric shape that has become a symbol of both military power and the Defense Department. The word “pentagon” as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary refers not only to the geometric polygon of five angles and five sides, but also, when capitalized, to U.S. military leadership and the DOD headquarters itself. Like the DOD Seal, the DOD logo is protected by law from unauthorized use. Authorized users may employ the logo in these instances: the official Defense.gov website, news releases and other DOD print, broadcast or electronic communications products.
The DOD seal was first authorized for official use on Aug. 22, 1949, by Defense Secretary Louis Johnson, when the National Military Establishment was redesignated the Department of Defense. The design of the seal and its symbolism is described in Appendix VI Joint Army and Air Force Bulletin No. 23: “An American eagle is displayed facing to the right. Wings are horizontal. The eagle grasps three crossed arrows and bears on its breast a shield whose lower two-thirds carries alternating white and red stripes and whose upper third is blue. Above the eagle is an arc of thirteen stars with alternating rays. Below the eagle is a wreath of laurel extending to the eagle's right and wreath of olive extending to the eagle's left. On an encircling band is the inscription ‘Department of Defense’ and ‘United States of America.’ The American bald eagle, long associated with symbolism representing the United States of America and its military establishment, has been selected as an emblem of strength. In facing to the right, the field of honor is indicated. The eagle is defending the United States, represented by the Shield of thirteen pieces. The thirteen pieces are joined together by the blue chief, representing the Congress. The rays and stars above the eagle signify glory, while the three arrows are collectively symbolic of the three component parts of the Department of Defense. The laurel stands for honors received in combat defending the peace represented by the olive branch. When the seal is displayed in color, the background is to be of medium blue with the eagle and wreath in natural colors and the arrows, stars, and rays of gold. The encircling band is to be dark blue with gold edges and letters in white.”
The key components of DOD's visual brand identity — logos, typography and colors — should be used consistently across all platforms and media to reinforce and protect the brand. Three items are critical to proper DOD visual branding: The DOD/Pentagon logo, which is the official, approved combination of the Pentagon symbol and wordmark. Typography, which consists of an approved family of typefaces for both digital and print content. Color palette, which consists of the approved palette and usage of specific colors.
Voice is the character of the brand and does not change. The DOD voice is straightforward, informational and authoritative. To best convey the DOD voice, communicators should speak and write in a clear, accurate, concise and authoritative, though not necessarily formal, manner.
Applying the DOD voice and tone consistently in all communications is an essential part of reinforcing the brand: Use Active Voice - avoid passive voice. Write/Speak Clearly – use complete concise sentences; refer to the Official DOD Plain Language Website at https://www.esd.whs.mil/DD/plainlanguage/ as needed. Use Plain English - avoid slang, jargon or acronyms. Write With Authority – DOD is the country’s expert in defense and security. Associated Press Style: For consistency in word usage throughout copy, products and department communications, DOD communicators should refer to the Associated Press Stylebook, the reader-friendly industry standard in journalism and public affairs writing. (See https://www.apstylebook.com/.) Be sure to cross-check word usage with separate, relevant DOD style guides for exceptions to AP Stylebook rules.
“U.S. Department of Defense” and “Department of Defense” refer to the proper name and legal entity of this cabinet-level government department. Reserve these for use in formal and official correspondence, documents, reports and testimony. In all other cases, use “Defense Department” on first reference. The correct acronym for “Defense Department” is “DOD” with a capitalized “O” in the center; use on second reference after “Defense Department” or when the stand-alone acronym suffices depending upon use. Do NOT use “DoD.”
The logo may be used, in keeping with brand standards, in all DOD communications across all media platforms.
The DOD seal’s use is restricted to official DOD top leader correspondence, legal documents, reports, memoranda, ceremonial booklets, certificates and awards.
Exception: Currently the Primary logo is being used smaller in the banner of the defense.gov website. This is the only place the logo may be used smaller than the defined rules outlines above.
The rules outlined above must be followed in all circumstances unless given explicit permission to do otherwise.
The above avoidances are not all-inclusive. If you are unsure whether your use of the DOD logo is in conjunction with the DOD brand, please click here to fill out the contact form.
The rules outlined above must be followed in all circumstances unless given explicit permission to do otherwise.
If you are unsure whether your use of the DOD seal is in conjunction with the DOD brand, please click here to fill out the contact form.
When Referencing Hashtags in Sentence Copy When referring to a DOD brand hashtag in written copy, please adhere to the following rules: Please make sure to use the hashtag (#) adjacent to the first letter in the hashtag. Please do not add any spaces between the hashtag symbol (#) and the first letter in the hashtag. (Should display as “#Hashtag”) The first letter in each word within the hashtag should be uppercase, with the remaining letters being lowercase. (Example: #KnowYourMil)
The rules outlined above must be followed in all circumstances unless given explicit permission to do otherwise.
The above avoidances are not all-inclusive. If you are unsure whether your use of the #KnowYourMil word mark is in conjunction with the DOD brand, please click here to fill out the contact form.
The rules outlined above must be followed in all circumstances unless given explicit permission to do otherwise.
The above avoidances are not all-inclusive. If you are unsure whether your use of the #KnowYourMil word mark is in conjunction with the DOD brand, please click here to fill out the contact form.
The rules outlined above must be followed in all circumstances unless given explicit permission to do otherwise.
The above avoidances are not all-inclusive. If you are unsure whether your use of the Connect brand element is in conjunction with the DOD brand, please click here to fill out the contact form.
Type Hierarchy Consistent typography allows audiences to recognize content from the DOD. Large headlines should use Oswald Regular or Lato Bold set in title case (upper and lowercase), while subheads should use Lato Bold. DOD content (story or press products) headlines should be Crimson Text Regular while subtitles should use Crimson Text Bold. Large blocks of copy should use Lato Regular sentence case. Primary For use on: Website Landing Pages, Promotional Materials, etc. This is an Example of a Standard Headline This is an Example of a Subheadline This is an example of body copy. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi iaculis sed ipsum quis sagittis. Nullam eget placerat purus. Vivamus facilisis felis ac eros congue rutrum. Integer non leo placerat, placerat ex at, condimentum purus. Sed ut massa non nunc rhoncus pretium ut non arcu. Ut in vulputate nulla, ut luctus magna. Alternate For use in: Website Content, News Content, Press Products, etc. This is an Example of a Standard Headline This is an Example of a Subheadline This is an example of body copy. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi iaculis sed ipsum quis sagittis. Nullam eget placerat purus. Vivamus facilisis felis ac eros congue rutrum. Integer non leo placerat, placerat ex at, condimentum purus. Sed ut massa non nunc rhoncus pretium ut non arcu. Ut in vulputate nulla, ut luctus magna.
This is an Example of a Standard Headline This is an Example of a Subheadline This is an example of body copy. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi iaculis sed ipsum quis sagittis. Nullam eget placerat purus. Vivamus facilisis felis ac eros congue rutrum. Integer non leo placerat, placerat ex at, condimentum purus. Sed ut massa non nunc rhoncus pretium ut non arcu. Ut in vulputate nulla, ut luctus magna.
Type Color Our primary font color across titles and body text is #333333 DOD Grey. This should be used against white and grey backgrounds. Our secondary font color is #355e93 DOD Blue. This should be used sparingly and should only be used for stylized headings. Our tertiary font color is #ffffff White and should only be used when placing text on dark backgrounds. DOD Grey HEX: #333333 RGB: (51,51,51) CMYK: (0,0,0,80) DOD Blue HEX: #355E93 RGB: (53,94,147) CMYK: (64,36,0,42) White HEX: #ffffff RGB: (255,255,255) CMYK: (0,0,0,0)
The above avoidances are not all-inclusive. If you are unsure whether your use of the DOD logo is in conjunction with the DOD brand, please click here to fill out the contact form.
This is body copy. (p). This is what an inline link will look like. "The world changed when you were about 5 years old, and we've been at war now for almost 16 years," he said. "Today, there are more than 100,000 airmen standing watch around the world. Many are directly supporting combat operations and are joined by thousands more soldiers, sailors and Marines." This is the start of the next paragraph. The general stressed that the priority for the new officers changed today with their commissioning oath. "The focus is not on you any more. It is not about your GPA, your MPA or your PEA," he said, referring to their grade point, military performance and physical education averages. "It's not about the superintendent's pin on your uniform, and it's not about your accomplishments on the athletic field.
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