Email Signature Standards

Email signature standards

• A standard, consistent, and clean email signature will present a more professional appearance for our brand.
• The signature is designed to maximize contact information while also promoting external websites to those who receive our messages.
• Email signatures should reflect a professional and consistent appearance for conducting university business through email.
• The following are guidelines for setting up an email signature.

Less is more

• Your signature should not be longer than 10 lines.
• Go wider rather than longer, and use pipes (|) to separate components.
• Use two spaces in between content and any pipes.

Images & logos are a no-no

• Do not use images or logos within the email signature.
• Images can come across as attachments and appear chaotic.
• Many email clients and mobile devices block the appearance 
of images.
• Images can also increase the size of an email inbox exponentially. 
• For those with inbox size limits, this can be problematic.

Legibility

• Use a simple 12pt standard font (preferred) or your email client’s default font.
• Non-standard typefaces and HTML may not translate well across email clients.
• Use plain text—in lieu of rich text—to ensure the signature is compatible with all email clients and devices.
• Do not use colors, special fonts, bold, italics, and graphics such 
as clipart, gifs, or emoticons.

Quotes

• Refraining from the use of quotes or epigraphs is best practice for professional communications.
• It is important to avoid the potential confusion of external audiences assuming a particular statement represents the university’s official slogan, ideology, or brand promise.

Sample Signature

Ellen Ryder
Vice President
Office of Marketing Communications
University of San Francisco 2130 Fulton St | San Francisco, CA 94117
415.422.2558 | 415.422.1234 mobile
eryder@usfca.edu | usfca.edu
CHANGE THE WORLD FROM HERE