Your NPR news source
Welcome to our brand.
Born in radio. Matured into media.
Always curious. Always meaningful. Always WBEZ.
WBEZ has been a Chicago iconic brand since 1943. Yet, as we grow into the new world of media in Chicago and beyond, it's important to express what we stand for and present ourselves in a unified way to the world — so that as as we evolve, we are recognized as Chicago's trusted NPR news source.
Use these guidelines to help you understand, communicate and embody WBEZ Chicago.
Opening minds
We are:
WBEZ Chicago is an independent, non-commercial media organization for people who want to be informed with a fact-based take on current topics, devoid of opinion. WBEZ Chicago is a trusted NPR news source, offering the full-story on a broad range of local and national issues and perspectives, so you can make better decisions.
What we believe in
Our Mission
We fulfill our mission at WBEZ by serving as a cornerstone of the public conversation; as a central pillar of our civic community; and by reasserting ourselves as the heart of innovation within public media. We amplify the public conversation by telling stories that matter; stories that provoke thought, entertain, capture emotion and inspire action.
Our Values
We show up every day with passion and purpose.
We ask questions and listen with intent.
We have each other’s backs.
We work hard. We have fun.
We are present in our community.
We leave proud every day.
Our high-impact system
One brand. One identity.
Borrowing from elements of the past and infusing a few new, our identity system is bold and confident, expressing the impact our people and our stories have in our community every day, in Chicago and beyond.
Our logos
A bold and descriptive mark
Our logo is a wordmark, meaning that it is not an icon or graphic, but rather a call sign. We have two primary marks depending on the type of content we are referencing:
Your NPR news source
Chicago’s NPR news station
Note: The Wordmark and Descriptor are not a required lock-up. They may be separated or the Wordmark may be used alone without the Descriptor.
WBEZ Red
Passion, Action, Energy
This is our flagship color. A true red that calls for action, integrity and truth. It reflects our spirit and energy in our community, our unwavering commitment to tell the stories that do not get told. It represents our bias for action. Use our WBEZ Red in all core communications.
Colors
Our core palette is simple and bold - a strong combination that speaks to action, passion and truth.
PMS 185
Pantone Black
WBEZ Red, White and Black are our core brand colors.
(75% Black)
(15% Black)
Medium Gray and Light Gray are our core accent colors.
Traditional meets modern
With our roots in Chicago journalism and our city’s heritage in printing, our fonts reflect the best of traditional lettering design with an infusion of the new.
Typography
We use Google’s Source Sans Pro and Charter ITC to allow for a variety of styles in both print and digital communications. These fonts have been designed and adapted for optimal legibility and ease of use in today’s digital world.
Shorter copy, captions, and sub headlines are typset in the san serif font Source Source® Sans Pro.
Source Sans Pro® is a contemporary sans serif font available at Google Fonts. It was Adobe's first open source typeface family designed by Paul D. Hunt. We use this sans serif font for short descriptions, sub headlines, infographics, captions and disclaimer or legal text, and when the creative requires a more current, digital feel.
Our headlines, pull quotes and long-form copy are typeset in the serif font Charter ITC.
The serif font, Charter ITC is a modern version of a traditional editorial font. We primarily use light, regular, semibold and bold versions in regular and italics.
Our logo and some sub-brand logos are set in Trade Gothic Condensed Bold.
If you’d like to explore using Trade Gothic for a sub-brand please reach out to:
Victor Lim
Sr. Manager, Growth Marketing
312.893.2927
vlim@wbez.org