How we sound

Example in marketing

For a campaign to prospective students, use the following tone tailoring your language to the target audience:

Confident. Emotive. Clear.

Example in technical documents

For an annual report, use the following tone tailoring your language to the target audience:

Confident. Engaging. Clear.

Example on social media

For a post on LinkedIn, use the following tone tailoring your language to the target audience:

Concise. Engaging. Approachable.

General

List our identities in alphabetical order.
Use acronyms or abbreviations once you've used an identity or title's full name or established more context.
Make the College or Institute's connection to UAL clear in writing. Never use UAL as a possessive noun (Example: Camberwell College of Arts, UAL instead of UAL's Camberwell College of Arts).

University of the Arts London (our name)

Never use 'the' in front of our name.
Internally, when communicating to staff and students, we are UAL. Always write UAL in upper case.

Example: University of the Arts London (UAL) is number 2 in the world for Art and Design. UAL draws together 6 world-renowned Colleges.

Colleges

UAL is made up of 6 Colleges:

Camberwell College of Arts (Camberwell).
Central Saint Martins (CSM).
Chelsea College of Arts (Chelsea).
London College of Communication (LCC).
London College of Fashion (LCF).
Wimbledon College of Arts (Wimbledon).

When writing about our Colleges:

Capitalise the word ‘College(s)’ when referring to our Colleges without using their names.
Don't use the acroynm 'CCW' externally. Refer to them each by their individual, official name (Camberwell College of Arts, Chelsea College of Arts and Wimbledon College of Arts).

Example: London College of Communication (LCC), UAL, is a world leader in creative communications education. The College is in Elephant and Castle, South London.

UAL School of Pre-degree Studies

Capitalise the ‘p’ and use a lower case ‘d’ in 'Pre-degree' when using the name.
Use lower case letters when referring to ‘pre-degree’ as a study level or course.

Institutes

We have 4 Institutes:

AKO Storytelling Insitute (AKO).
UAL Creative Computing Institute (UAL CCI).
UAL Decolonising Arts Institute.
UAL Fashion Textiles and Technology Institute (UAL FTTI).

Always use UAL as part of the Institute's name, except for AKO Storytelling Institute.

When writing about our Institutes, capitalise the word 'Institute(s)' when referring to our Institutes without using their names.

Example: UAL Fashion Textiles and Technology Institute (UAL FTTI) delivers sustainable innovation across the entire fashion and textiles value chain. UAL FTTI has locations at several of the University’s Colleges and the Institute...

Research centres

We have 5 Research centres:

UAL Afterall Research Centre (Afterall).
Centre for Fashion Curation (CfFC).
Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF).
Creative Research in Sound Arts Practice (CRiSAP).
Research Centre for Transnational Art, Identity and Nation (TrAIN).

UAL Shows

When referring to our degree Shows, always capitalise ‘Shows’.
Use the College acronym to specify what Show you’re referring to.

Example: Explore the CSM Shows.

UAL Showcase

UAL Showcase is separate from our Shows.

Never use ‘the’ before ‘UAL Showcase’.
Replace 'UAL' with the College acronym to specify what Showcase you're referring to.
For all external naming, always use 'UAL Showcase' in full.

Example: Discover a wealth of remarkable work by recent graduates on UAL Showcase.

Writing online

Use simple, clear language that can be understood by all. Consider people whose first language isn’t English.
See why we avoid using 'please' and 'thank you' in online content (UAL login required).
Use camel case when writing email addresses and hashtags (e.g. #UniversityOfTheArtsLondon).
Only use underlined text for links such as webpages and email addresses.
Don't use italics as they can be difficult to read by users with dyslexia and visual impairments. Use single quotation marks when referencing a heading or title. (Example: ‘TRANSCESTRY: 10 years of the Museum of Transology’ is the latest exhibition at Lethaby Gallery).
Don't use all caps, unless writing acronyms (e.g. CSM). If you want to convey shouting or excitement, use an exclamation mark.
On digital buttons, use few words that make it clear what the action will achieve or what you want the audience to do.
On social media, don't use emojis to replace words and use them sparingly to avoid misinterpretation. Use them to break up text.

Websites, URLs and hyperlinks

If referring to a website in writing, don’t use "www." (e.g. arts.ac.uk).
Don't spell out a full URL when writing copy. Instead, hyperlink part of your copy to where you want to send your reader.
Give context to what and where you are hyperlinking to.
When using hyperlinks, don't refer to websites as "the webpage" or "our website".
Don't use link text with "click here" or "here".

Example: Learn more about our brand.

Capitalisation and sentence case

Use sentence case in most instances. Only use title case for proper nouns, such as names, events, titles, places and buildings.
Don't capitalise entire words or sentences.

Example: LCF’s East Bank campus shortlisted for prestigious Stirling Prize.

Alignment, spacing and orientation

Align text to the left in digital and print applications.
Use 1.0, 1.5 or 2.0 line spacing.
Don't split words over 2 lines.
Don't use vertical or diagonal text that may impact legibility.

Abbreviations and acronyms

Use abbreviations in place of a full word, but establish context first if not commonly used, especially if specific to UAL or higher education.

Example: This is handled by our Executive Board (EB). EB meet every other Wednesday....

When using an acronym, establish the full name before using the shortened version.

Example: Central Saint Martins is located at King's Cross (KX).

Idioms

Avoid using idioms, as they can be difficult for neurodiverse people or second-language English speakers to understand.

Example: Say 'If you are getting a cold', not 'if you are under the weather'.

Dashes

There are 3 types of dashes in writing: hyphens (-), em dashes (a long dash —) and en dashes (a short dash –).

Use hyphens to join words that have a combined meaning or are linked in the grammar of a sentence.

Example: UAL School of Pre-degree Studies.

Don't use em dashes to avoid associations with AI.

Use en dashes between figures to show range, see ‘Dates’ and ‘Times’ below.

Examples: 10–11.30am; 6 February–24 April 2025.

Bullet points

Use square bullet points where possible, reflecting the squares in our logo and brandmark.

If using bullet points to list a series of things, start each bullet point with a capital letter and end each bullet point with a full stop.

Example:

Logos.
Brandmark.
Typefaces.
Colour.
Imagery.

If using bullet points to break down a sentence, start each bullet point with a lower-case letter and finish the last bullet point with a full stop.

Example:

When using the UAL logo, it:

should be used in our primary colours, black and white
shouldn’t be stretched, rotated or rearranged
should sit in the top or bottom left-hand corner.

Ampersands

Use the word ‘and’ rather than an ampersand (&) in paragraph text.

In some instances, such as email signatures, headings and lists, an ampersand can be used in standalone names and titles if they need to be shortened. Avoid ampersands in page titles and URLs.

Examples: Digital & Technology, Head of Brand & Strategy.

Guiding principles

Our language ensures that everyone in our community feels acknowledged, respected and included. Our guidelines help us avoid perpetuating negative concepts and take a holistic, inclusive approach as language is constantly evolving.

Be specific: Consider what information is relevant to avoid generalising or excluding particular lived experiences.
Be led by the person: Where possible, ask how a person would like to be referred to rather than assume.
Focus on continuous learning: Commit to ongoing learning as appropriate language evolves.
Apologise for mistakes: Acknowledge the impact and apologise. Be open to feedback, correct mistakes and further your learning.
Write with respect and sensitivity: Be aware of exclusionary language to keep all writing respectful to our diverse community.

Disability and neurodiversity

UAL subscribes to the social model of disability, which states that people are disabled by environmental, procedural and attitudinal barriers rather than their condition or impairment:

Use 'disabled people' and 'non-disabled people' rather than 'people with disabilities'.
Use 'condition' or 'impairment' rather than 'disability'.
Use neutral language, rather than language that assumes negative experiences, e.g. 'suffers with'.
Avoid using language that suggests overcoming a condition or that presents disability or neurodivergence as a 'superpower'.

Neurodiversity vs neurodivergence

'Neurodivergent' describes someone whose brain processes information or experiences in a way that 'diverges' from what is 'typical'.
'Neurodiverse' and 'neurodiversity' refer to a range of neurodivergent people or profiles within a group or community.

Example: I work closely with a neurodivergent colleague in a neurodiverse team.

Declare vs disclose

The word 'disclose' can often be associated with revealing a secret and imply shame or a hidden problem.
Use 'declare' as a formal term to describe the voluntary sharing of disability status. In less formal contexts, use ‘share’ instead.

Unseen conditions and impairments

Use 'unseen condition/impairment' to describe a condition which may not be immediately apparent.
'Invisible' or 'hidden' can suggest that people are trying to hide their condition and doesn't acknowledge that many conditions are noticeable with the appropriate attention.

Language preferences

Some groups may prefer:

'Autistic person' instead of 'person with autism'.
'Autism' instead of 'autism spectrum disorder', 'autism spectrum condition' or 'Asperger's syndrome'.
'Deaf' and/or 'hard of hearing' instead of 'hearing impaired'.

Staff members can access the ‘Disability Inclusion’ training module on Learning Space.

Race and ethnicity (B.A.M.E)

We use B.A.M.E. (each letter said separately) when referring to people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups. When using the term, you can include the following footnote disclaimer:

"We note that this language is contested and different terminology is used in different contexts and places. However, as the Higher Education sector, HESA and Census data uses the terminology B.A.M.E., we will continue to use this language at UAL. Please note that we will be considering our language and terminology on an ongoing basis. We will continue to reflect on sector language and best practice.”

Don't use ‘BAME’ (pronounced as a single word), as this homogenises diverse lived experiences.
Use ‘Black, Asian and minority ethnic’ before using the acronym ‘B.A.M.E.’ to acknowledge the constituent groups.
You may encounter other terms such as ‘Global Majority’, ‘racially minoritised person’ and ‘Person of Colour (PoC)’. These are also contested and there is no consensus on the correct term to use. However, Global Majority is frequently used and preferred.
Use capitals when referring to ethnic minority communities, e.g. ‘Black culture’ and ‘East and South-East Asian Heritage Month'.
Refer to specific groups when reporting on data or analysing student and staff experience, e.g. people from Black Caribbean and Pakistani backgrounds access these services at a lower rate.

Staff members can access the 'Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Foundation' training module on Learning Space which includes a module on Anti-Racism.

Numbers

Write all numbers as digits.

Example: 1; 10; 11; 150; 227.

Write all numbers over 1,000 with a comma.

Example: 1,000; 25,000; 150,000.

Write all numbers over 1 million as a digit and word.

Example: 1 million; 2 billion.

Dates

Write dates as D(D) Month YYYY without the ‘th’, ‘rd’ and ‘st’ suffixes. Adapt the format for international audiences.

Example: 8 July 2024.

In cases where you need to include the day of the week, add it at the start.

Example: Tuesday 2 November – Thursday 4 November 2025.

Academic years should be written as 20XX/XX.

Example: 2024/25.

Times

Use the 12-hour clock with ‘am’ or ‘pm’ to distinguish the time of day.

Only add minutes if something doesn’t start on the hour, separating them from the hours with a full stop.

Examples: 10am; 2.30pm; 5–6.45pm.

Rankings

Write out any ranking below 10 and use digits for any numbers above. Don't use ‘st’, ‘nd’ ‘rd’ and ‘th’ suffixes.

Example: We are ranked second in the world for art and design and placed 40 overall in the Complete University Guide.

Wayfinding

Use digits rather than ordinal numbers (1^st, 2^nd, etc.) when referring to floor numbers.

Example: Floor 10.