The marks, logos and mascot of Crossing Christians School are trademarks and cannot be altered. Crossings Christian School asserts ownership over its name, trademarks, slogans, logos, mascot and any combination that refers to or is associated with CCS.
Electronic files of official logos, wordmarks and nomenclatures are available on this site, or can be obtained by contacting the Development office.
Logos may be sized appropriately for use. Care should be taken that the proportions are not altered. Also, color changes are not allowed. All logos and marks must be reproduced from official artwork available from this site or the Development office.
Marks and logos are available on this site as Color, Spot Color, Gray Scale and Monochrome files.
Color files utilize both Primary and Accent Colors and are suitable for full color printed material, online use and some screen printing uses. Mainly they are best for high resolution RGB or CMYK processes.
Spot Color files only utilize the Primary Colors and are suitable for embroidery, screen printing (where limiting colors reduces cost) or imprinting. Use these file in any process where each color must be applied (and often paid for) but where color is required.
Gray Scale files utilize both the Primary and Accent grays plus black and white. These files are suitable for digital printing in B&W where color is unavailable or unneeded. If a document will be reproduce in B&W it is better to use these files rather than convert the Color or Spot Color files to B&W.
Monochrome files are single color representations of the marks. These are best suited for screen printing, embroidery or imprint when only a single color is available. When using these files it is not necessary that the mark be black or white. CCS Red and CCS Gray are also acceptable. Reproducing the marks in a color not found in the CCS Color Pallet is a Level 2 usage and requires approval from the Development Office.
Minimum Live Space
The area surrounding logo or mark must be equal to or greater than ¼x, where x is the total width of the logo (see diagram below). The logo must not be placed next to distracting design elements and must not become part of a larger pattern or design element.
Color Combinations For Word Marks
Word Marks should be displayed in one of the Primary Colors (Red, Gray, Black, White) and can be outlined in either the Primary Colors or the Accent Colors. Outline thickness should be 4% of Cap Height (total height of Word Mark.) The following images identify which color combinations are allowed on light and dark backgrounds:
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Using the correct file type
The file type you use in a design can greatly impact the finished product or display. There are two primary forms of digital artwork.
Raster Files (bitmaps) are maps of pixels (bits) in an xy coordinate grid with a color value for each pixel. Raster files are typically used for photographs and photo realistic art.
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Since this is a grid map, scaling up requires “making up” the pixels to fill in and scaling down requires “averaging” the pixels that are collapsing. Neither works flawlessly, but scaling up is MUCH worse.
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| Original Image 600 x 600 | Reduced to 100 x 100 |
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| Enlarged back to 600 x 600 | Degradation seen at 200% |
Also, since a certain amount of file space is needed to record each pixel, the bigger the graphic, the larger the file. This has led to many types of file compression.
JPEG files are Raster files following the Joint Photographic Experts Group compression formulas. Designed to save and transmit large photographic files in smaller file sizes, jpeg uses “lossy compression” to reduce file size up to 10:1 with little loss in image quality. However, there is SOME loss and colors do get messed up. Therefore, we never use JPEG as an original file type. JPEG files assign a value to EVERY pixel, so there is a background of some kind.
TIFF files are Raster files that follow the Tagged Image File Format. This is another tagging and compression scheme that was/is more popular with graphic artists than JPEG is. Tiff allows for a pixel to have no value or a percentage of opacity (neither are allowed in JPEG) so images can be overlaid and even “see-through” in design layouts.
Vector Files are sets of instructions that tell how to draw the design saved as points, lines, curves and shapes defined by mathematical expressions. These objects can be assigned line weights, colors and fills. Vector files are typically used for graphic art and line drawings (things like logos.) Because the elements are being drawn by the program that is interpreting the file, the scale does not matter and images can be scaled up or down without any loss of image quality. The same file (and file size) can produce a 1 inch square image or a 1 mile square image. The drawback is that complex colors, shading and image depth are very difficult to create.
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| Vector Image (blue dots are points on lines) |
Vector Image (enlarged 1600%) |
Raster Image (enlarged 1600%) |
AI files are vector files produced by Adobe Illustrator. The .ai format is proprietary, however, it is a widely used format and will import into most mid to high end graphic design applications. CCS Marks and Logos are designed and maintained in Adobe Illustrator and the primary original file type is .ai. If this file type is useable for the application it should be the first choice.
EPS files are vector files saved as Encapsulated PostScript. This is a PostScript document with additional restrictions which is intended to be usable as a graphics file format. In other words, EPS files are more-or-less self-contained, reasonably predictable PostScript documents that describe an image or drawing and can be placed within another PostScript document. Simply, an EPS file is a PostScript program, saved as a single file that includes a low-resolution preview “encapsulated” inside of it, allowing some programs to display a preview on the screen.
PDF, or Portable Document Format, is a file format used to present documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. Each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout flat document, including the text, fonts, graphics, and other information needed to display it. PDF is the preffered format for saving and transmitting finished documents and designs to printers and production points. PDF can also be used to carry the vector image information from one program to another.
Selecting the right file type and using the correct color system has a significant impact on the look of the finished product. Take time in your design process to identify what the final output will be and design for that size and type. If multiple uses are likely, design for the larger and more complex use, then simplify and/or reduce the finished design for other uses
For example:
An event needs a large poster, a letter size flyer, a mailable note card and an event shirt. Design for the poster, full size 300 dpi CMYK graphics, then reduce the graphics for the letter size and note card. If a logo or primary design is indicated, that design should be vector and then the original file can be imported into the other designs at the necessary size and converted to the local color system.