Communications (HHD)

To get your achievement shared with the campus community, reach out to CSUN Strategic Communications and Brand Management.

If you have content that would make a good story for either HHD's news, events or social media, or for a pitch to CSUN Newsroom, contact HHD Communications via email.

(CSUN ID login required)

Open this box.com folder and find the HHD College and Department logos.

Open this box.com folder and find the HHD center logos.

HHD logos are available from CSUN Marketing and Communications "Specific Logos"

• If you need vector (.eps) files or high-resolution print-ready files, please contact contact HHD Communications via email.

Stationery: Order through Quick Copies/Reprographics.

Always keep in mind that your materials represent the college and the university. Here's a quality-check list:

• proofread for accuracy of content - fact check thoroughly.
• proofread for grammar and spelling (and have someone else proof it, too).
• take an objective look for appropriate use of images.
• Are there stretched or squeezed images?  Don't let that happen.  Make sure the aspect ratio has not become distorted as you formatted your document.
• Make sure you're using appropriate terminology and using correct titles of courses, programs, options, majors, departments and college/university entities.
• Let common sense be your guide to projecting a presence that is positive and culturally aware.

For best quality, shoot video indoors to avoid background noise, wind on mic, etc.

Lighting: Video and Photo

• Make sure that your subject face is nicely illuminated as evenly as possible.
• For video selfie, if you don’t have video lighting, use natural light from a window in front of you (indirect daylight is best) or set up a lamp (or two) in front of you with a soft “daylight” balanced bulb (~5000k color temperature)

Camera Placement and Framing: Video

• Laptop

• Place laptop camera or webcam is at eye level (or just above).
• Place yourself centered horizontally on the screen, and line up your eyes at the top third of the screen.
• Give yourself enough distance from the camera to avoid cutting off the top of your head or the bottom of your chin.
• When speaking, look at the the camera to better connect with the audience.

• Added notes for Phone or Tablet
  • Place the device on a firm surface.
  • Avoid motion in your frame  - don't have someone hold your device for you and act as camera operator.
  • Be close enough to the device to follow the framing guidelines for laptop video, above.

Video: Sounds

• A large room with some furniture is best, (living room or an office) this will help minimize the amount of echo in the room.
• If you are speaking to the camera or demonstrating something, keep background noise as minimal as possible.
• Avoid wind on the mic.
• Please don't add music to your video unless you have been asked to do so.

Photo and Video Backgrounds

• Choose Natural/Room Backgrounds
• Use an environment where you are lit brighter than your background.
• Avoid harsh light and shadows in the background.
• Avoid lighting “hotspots” from windows with direct sunlight in your background.
• When shooting video, avoid a background where household members or pets can walk behind you.
• Some furniture or decorative items in the background will add interest, depth and personality… however, avoid inappropriate, distracting items and cluttered surfaces.
• For photos, depth of field in the background can be helpful (rather than taking a photo of someone with a wall directly behind them.
• Keep your subject close to the center of the frame.

Clothing

• Wear clothing that will contrast with your background so that you don’t blend into it.
• For video, avoid small prints, stripes or busy patterns to prevent distortion.

Faculty websites: The Faculty Technology Center can help you learn to build your faculty website.

• An additional approach to creating a faculty web presence is to utilize the CSUN faculty app  Since the app lists faculty by default and pulls course information, it's a good idea to populate whether or not you have a faculty website. You can also add a bio, office hours and photo.

The CSUN Strategic Communications and Brand Management Identity Platform.  Includes:

• CSUN Logo and Logo System
• Design Guidelines
• Messaging Guidelines
• Style Guides
• Broadcast Email Info
• Downloads (graphics, templates, etc.)

Notes on the Above and Additional Resources:

Social Media: It is understood that social media at CSUN is representative of the university and so is to be used under the direction of official entities of the university.

Students creating and maintaining social media pages for departments, program areas, or student groups MUST work under the direct supervision of a CSUN faculty or staff member to ensure that continuity is maintained after the student graduates or leaves the position.

Supervising faculty or staff  would be accountable for content and the way the social media is used. For example, if students in a program area within a department wanted a social media presence, they would ask their supervising faculty or staff to serve as the administrator of the social media page, and that faculty member would be responsible for overseeing and reviewing content. 

Also, the supervising faculty or staff would be responsible for removing admins from the social media presence when they leave the program and assigning the roles to new students, keeping the presence alive themselves, or shutting down the social media presence. (We don't want virtual ghost towns out there.)

Department areas that create social media presences need to let their department chair and department web administrator know the pages exist.

Photography, Visual Image and Concept Ideas Release Form

• Photography, Visual Image and Concept Ideas Release Form (You will be required to login to your CSUN account to obtain the form.)

A note about typography/fonts: Most of the fonts associated with CSUN branding are licensed fonts, but the branding platform includes several common fonts, such as Georgia and Helvetica, which you can use for most publications. If you have a need to stylize in such a way that you wish to secure the licensed fonts, please contact CSUN Strategic Communications and Brand Management.

Publishing News and Events When you create your news and events, be sure share them with other relevant campus calendars through the web 2 platform. NOTE: also share via email with CSUN Strategic Communications and Brand Management as they are not working with the same news system as departments and colleges (this was the case as recently as 2025-03).

Q: What if I need Creative Services such as hiring someone to build a website or make marketing materials for my center, program or initiative?

A: CSUN Strategic Communications and Brand Management can provide graphic and web design for a fee.  

Q: How do I get new paper stationery?

A: Stationery featuring CSUN branding can now be ordered directly through Quick Copies/Reprographics. 

Q: Do I have to go through HHD to get my information to University Marketing and Communications?

A: No, but we do need to be in the loop. When sending requests for coverage to Advancement or Marketing & Communications, for any press release, or publication please inform HHD Communications. 

Q: Do I have to get approval from the dean's office before I put out a publication?

A: No, but if you have doubts, contact HHD Communications.

Q: What about Universal Design and ADA compliance?

A: Each department's web publisher keeps department sites up to date and is responsible for keeping the sites user friendly.  If you have questions, the CSUN Universal Design Center has tutorials, information, and the latest news to keep you in compliance.

Q: Can I post a pdf or video without applying Universal Design principles?

A: No. If you don't know how to make your post compliant, the Universal Design Center is ready to assist.

Q: Can I abbreviate the name of the college?

A: For internal audiences, an abbreviation is okay, but use "HHD" rather than "CHHD" to keep use consistent. For external audiences, please write out the name of the college on promotional materials and in webpages for at least the first iteration, i.e., Health and Human Development (HHD).

The credo of the College of Health and Human Development is that we are here “to Enhance, Enrich, and Empower, the Human Experience.”  An optional tagline is the statement, “We are the College of Life.”

CSUN Identity Platform:

Users should always use the CSUN Identity Platform https://www.csun.edu/identity 

A Note about Color:

The official color of the College is forest green. This is the color of commencement tassels and it is sometimes used in-house as an accent color to signify the identity of the college. In any outward facing communications, colors should be selected from the color palette to be found under “Design Guidelines” on the CSUN identity platform: https://www.csun.edu/identity .