The GW4 Alliance brings together four of the most research-intensive and innovative universities in the UK; the universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do and it makes us greater together than the sum of our parts.
Our brand helps us convey our values through our logo, colours, font, photography and how we sound. By following this toolkit and the GW4 brand guide, you can help demonstrate our values and ensure our identity is cohesive across various channels and applications.
GW4 Communications Toolkit 2025
Please use the GW4 Communications Toolkit (download link above) alongside the full GW4 Brand Guidelines, which can be found on the GW4 SharePoint External Hub: GW4 Brand Guidelines.
Use of GW4 brand and style guide – an overview
Our name
Refer to the ‘GW4 Alliance’ in the first instance, then ‘GW4’ may be used, or where GW4 is used as an adjective, as in the phrase ‘GW4-funded’. Do not use the terms ‘Great Western 4’ or ‘Great West Alliance’.
If you need to refer to our member institutions individually, these should always be listed in alphabetical order both in text and visually (e.g. university logos): University of Bath, University of Bristol, Cardiff University, and University of Exeter.
Please note and use the correct names of each university i.e. University of Bristol, not Bristol University.
Credit and communications protocol
The GW4 Alliance must be fully acknowledged in all outputs of GW4-funded research (for example Generator Fund or Development Award research communities, Crucible seed funded projects and other GW4 funded activities).
A support by-line (template below) should be included in outputs of GW4-funded research communities or projects. For example: journal articles, presentations, hosted events, websites, online content, published documents and materials. Project members should also notify a member of the GW4 team (for example GW4 Communications Manager, Building Communities Manager) or a university Programme Manager of any announcements or findings.
Support by-line: This project has been funded and supported by the GW4 Alliance of four leading research-intensive universities: Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter.
Where possible a link to the GW4 Alliance website should also be included.
If required, the GW4 Communications team can develop a central press release and will work with each local university communications department to customise this accordingly. The press release will be published on the GW4 website, and at associated institutional university websites. The GW4 Communications Managers will also lead on press distribution in liaison with the local communications departments. If you are working on a non-GW4 funded project but would like to use the GW4 brand to support this, please contact the GW4 Communications Managers (contact details at the end of this document).
Logo
Please refer to the ‘Our Logo’ section of the GW4 Brand Guidelines for full information and guidance on using the GW4 logo and branding. GW4 Brand Guidelines – logo section.
To ensure that impact is never lost, our logo should never be altered, distorted or positioned inappropriately. It should always maintain the set arrangement and dimensions as shown in the guidelines, and should always have clear space on all sides. This is to ensure that the logo’s visual clarity and effectiveness remains.
Always use a high res version of the GW4 logo (can be downloaded from the GW4 SharePoint). Never stretch or distort this logo, and do not make it too small.
Use the black or navy logo on light backgrounds, and the white logo only on dark backgrounds. (Do not create a blue/black background box on a white page to add on the white logo). You can place the logo in front of images, but it should remain clearly visible and should be on the least busy part of that image.
Font
Tenorite is our brand typeface and should be used for all print and digital assets produced.
Colour palette
Expertise Navy and Innovation Blue are our two primary colours. These colours should be used across all communications including print and digital applications.
GW4 Primary Navy: Hex code #1a2e4d
GW4 Primary Blue: Hex code #2e58c9
Our secondary palette consists of five supporting colours (see toolkit/branding guidelines) that can be used in combination with the primary palette. They should not be used solely in combination with each other.
To ensure accessibility for all our audiences, it is crucial when working with type and colour to use combinations that have a strong visual contrast. Please follow the accessible colour combinations in the full GW4 Branding Guidelines, so we can create colour combinations that are accessible to everyone.
Contact
If you have any questions or require any further information please email: comms@gw4.ac.uk
