Federal Identity Program

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The "Canada" wordmark on the Canadarm Canada arm.jpg
The "Canada" wordmark on the Canadarm

The Federal Identity Program (FIP, French : Programme de coordination de l'image de marque, PCIM) is the Government of Canada's corporate identity program. The purpose of the FIP is to provide to the public a consistent and unified image for federal government projects and activities. [1] Other objectives of the program include facilitating public access to federal programs and services, promoting the equal status of the two official languages, and achieving better management of the federal identity. [2] Managed by the Treasury Board Secretariat, this program, and the government's communication policy, help to shape the public image of the government. In general, logos or, in the parlance of the policy, visual identifiers used by government departments other than those specified in the FIP must be approved by the Treasury Board. [3]

Contents

Background

The origin of the Federal Identity Program can be traced back to 1921 when King George V proclaimed the Royal Coat of Arms, making red and white the official colours of Canada. In 1965, Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed the Canadian flag, and the maple leaf became an official symbol of Canada.

In 1969, the Official Languages Act was established to ensure the equality of English and French in all federal jurisdictions. That same year, the Task Force on Government Information found that the Canadian government was conveying a confused image to the populace through a hodge-podge of symbology and typefaces (fonts). In 1970, the FIP was created to standardize a corporate identity for the Canadian government. [2]

Applications

An RCAF CF-188 with the Canada wordmark CF-18 Hornet (14565184883).jpg
An RCAF CF-188 with the Canada wordmark

The Federal Identity Program covers approximately 160 institutions and over 20,000 facilities across Canada and worldwide. [4] Individual departments or agencies can manage their own corporate identity and decide the fields of application based on their mandate and operating needs. The corporate identity can be used either externally in communication with the public, or internally with government employees. [5] Among the applications are stationery, forms, vehicular markings, signage, advertising, published material, electronic communications, audio-visual productions, candy, expositions, personnel identification, awards, plaques, packaging, buildings, labelling, and identification of equipment. [4]

Components

There are two basic components of the Federal Identity Program: the Canada wordmark and the corporate signature with one of the two national symbols and a bilingual title, all of which are rendered consistently.

Official and signage colours, including the national colours of Canada, are specified in the design standard as RGB values, CMYK colors, and Pantone Color Matching System numbers. [6]

Canada wordmark

Canada wordmark.svg

The Canada wordmark is mandatory on virtually all of the applications mentioned above. Established in 1972, the Canada wordmark is essentially a logo for the government of Canada: it consists of the word "Canada" written in a serif font, a modified version of Baskerville, with a Canadian flag over the final 'a'. In a 1999 study commissioned by the federal government, 77% of respondents remembered seeing the Canada wordmark at some point in the past. [7] Television viewers may be familiar with the logo from seeing it in the credits of Canadian television programs, where it is used to indicate government funding or tax credits.

Corporate signatures

There exist two basic types of FIP corporate signatures, each having a bilingual title and one of two official symbols. The title, referred to as an applied title, is used in all communications with the public. [8] Creating or changing an applied title must be approved by the department minister and the President of the Treasury Board. [9] The title is rendered in one of three typefaces of the sans serif Helvetica family, selected for its simplicity and modernity.

Government of Canada signature.svg
Government of Canada signature1 old.svg

Use of other symbols

Other symbols can be used together with the FIP symbols, except on standard applications such as stationery, signage and vehicle markings. [2]

Exemptions

Certain federal entities were listed as exempt from FIP in the 1990 FIP Policy: [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logo</span> Graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition

A logo is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or to include the text of the name that it represents as in a wordmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms</span> Heraldic design on a shield, surcoat or tabard

A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon, surcoat, or tabard. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its whole consists of a shield, supporters, a crest, and a motto. A coat of arms is traditionally unique to the armiger. The term "coat of arms" itself, describing in modern times just the heraldic design, originates from the description of the entire medieval chainmail "surcoat" garment used in combat or preparation for the latter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Canada</span> National flag

The National Flag of Canada, often simply referred to as the Canadian flag or, unofficially, as the maple leaf flag or l'Unifolié, consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of 1∶2∶1, in which is featured a stylized, red, 11-pointed maple leaf charged in the centre. It is the first flag to have been adopted by both houses of Parliament and officially proclaimed by the Canadian monarch as the country's official national flag. The flag has become the predominant and most recognizable national symbol of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of Canada</span>

The coat of arms of Canada, also known as the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada or, formally, as the Arms of His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, is the arms of dominion of the Canadian monarch and, thus, also the official coat of arms of Canada. In use since 1921, it is closely modelled after the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, with French and distinctive Canadian elements replacing or added to those derived from the British version.

Global Affairs Canada is the department of the Government of Canada that manages Canada's diplomatic and consular relations, promotes Canadian international trade, and leads Canada's international development and humanitarian assistance. It is also responsible for maintaining Canadian government offices abroad with diplomatic and consular status on behalf of all government departments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maple leaf</span> Leaf of the maple tree; national symbol of Canada

The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is most widely recognized as the national symbol of Canada.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is the administrative branch of the Treasury Board of Canada and a central agency of the Government of Canada. The role of the Secretariat is to support the Treasury Board and to provide advice to Treasury Board members in the management and administration of the government.

The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage, is the department of the Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to initiatives that promote and support "Canadian identity and values, cultural development, and heritage."

Manitoba Finance is the department of finance for the Canadian province of Manitoba.

Raymond Larabie is a Canadian designer of TrueType and OpenType computer fonts. He owns Typodermic Fonts, which distributes both commercially licensed and shareware/freeware fonts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of the BBC</span>

The coat of arms of the BBC was adopted in March 1927 to represent the purpose and values of the corporation. It is seldom used nowadays except for ceremonial purposes.

The Treasury Boardof Canada is the Cabinet committee of the Privy Council of Canada which oversees the spending and operation of the Government of Canada and is the principal employer of the core public service. The committee is supported by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, its administrative branch and a department within the government itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotis</span> Font superfamily; humanist sans-serif typeface

Rotis is a typeface developed in 1988 by Otl Aicher, a German graphic designer and typographer. In Rotis, Aicher explores an attempt at maximum legibility through a highly unified yet varied typeface family that ranges from full serif, glyphic, and sans-serif. The four basic Rotis variants are:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National symbols of Canada</span> Overview of the national symbols of Canada

Over the course of centuries, a multitude of national symbols and material items have arisen as uniquely Canadian or possessing uniquely Canadian characteristics. These symbols and items represent the culture of Canada—protectionism of that culture, identity, values, nationalism, and the heritage of its inhabitants.

The Public Service of Canada is the civilian workforce of the Government of Canada's departments, agencies, and other public bodies.

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The House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) is a standing committee of the House of Commons of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National colours of Canada</span>

The national colours of Canada are red and white, the former being symbolic of England and the latter of France, the colours having been used representatively by those countries in the past. The maple is one of the national symbols and red is both the first leaf colour after spring budding and the autumn colour of maple leaves. The colours are most prominently evident on the national flag of Canada and it has been said they were declared the country's official colours when King George V proclaimed his Canadian coat of arms in 1921. However, there is no mention of national colours in the proclamation. Similarly, the creation of Queen Elizabeth II's royal standard in 1962 is also considered to be when red and white were unofficially set as the national colours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heraldry of McGill University</span>

The coat of arms of McGill University is the official emblem of the university and derives from a heraldic device assumed during the lifetime of the university's founder, James McGill. The first iteration was designed in 1906 by Percy Nobbs, then director of the McGill School of Architecture. The design subsequently varied for decades after until the university's current coat of arms, largely resembling the original design, was finally adopted by the Board of Governors in 1975. Today, the university has approved multiple logos across its faculties and departments, including a separate coat of arms used by the Macdonald Campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Double Arrow</span> Logo used by British Rail and successor organisations

The British Rail Double Arrow is a logo that was created for British Rail (BR), the then state-owned operator of Britain's railway network, in 1965. It has remained in use as part of the National Rail brand used for Britain's passenger rail services after the disbanding of British Rail, having been officially renamed as the National Rail Double Arrow and more recently being updated and reworked for continued use under the name Rail Symbol 2.

References

  1. Via Rail would later incorporate the Canada wordmark in its logo.
  1. Nimijean, Richard (May 2005). "Articulating the 'Canadian Way': Canada(TM) and the Political Manipulation of the Canadian Identity". British Journal of Canadian Studies. 18 (1): 26–52. doi:10.3828/bjcs.18.1.2.
  2. 1 2 3 "Federal Identity Program Manual". Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. 2015-09-02.
  3. "Top areas of interest for federal identity". Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. 2016-05-12.
  4. 1 2 "Signage - Application". Public Services and Procurement Canada. 2018-10-22.
  5. Way, Alan (Summer 1993). "The Government of CANADA'S Federal Identity Program". Design Management Journal. 4 (3): 55–62.
  6. "Colour: Design Standard for the Federal Identity Program". www.canada.ca. 2021-12-13. ISBN   978-0-660-42507-8 . Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  7. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Canada Wordmark Study Archived 2013-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Policy on Communications and Federal Identity". Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. 2016-05-09.
  9. "Creating and changing an applied title". Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. 2018-07-06.
  10. Institutions not subject to the Federal Identity Program, 1990 Policy Reference