OIT Brand System

At VA’s Office of Information and Technology (OIT), our four core principles lay the foundation of our culture: transparency, accountability, innovation, and teamwork. The way we express these principles through design creates a positive, memorable impression of our brand — a world-class IT organization that keeps the Veteran at the core of all we do.

Our new brand system offers a comprehensive “one-stop-shop” for versatile templates, visual assets, and resources that integrate empowerment and accessibility, consistency, and compliance with VA’s design standards and federal regulations under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Our brand doesn’t simply represent what we do, it reflects the world-class IT organization we represent, creates a more consistent look and feel that lends authority, recognition, and trust to everything we produce, and unifies our voice.

The OIT Brand System will:

  • Significantly reduce the review process timeline of products for design consistency and accessibility.
  • Help preserve a consistent presence for the brand across all mediums and applications.
  • Empower teams to apply assets consistently.
  • Increase efficiency by providing a repository of ready-to-use icons, images, and illustrations.
  • Allow for greater flexibility by continuously iterating all assets to meet and exceed the need.
  • Allow for more strategic collaboration across teams.
Veteran in a wheelchair
Veteran with a younf child carring a flag.
Group of VA employees - a man and two women.
A Black veteran.

Veteran images courtesy of the Department of Veterans Affairs. More images are available on VA’s official Flickr account.

General Resources

Applies to all OIT-related content and documents

General Guidelines

Perceptions of the Office of Information and Technology (OIT) brand are an accumulation of impressions formed every time a person engages with our organization.

File Templates

Templates allow for consistency, uniformity, and foundational structure for accessibility across all documents ad presentations.

Asset Library

The asset library is a collection of OIT reusable images, videos, illustrations, and other assets created to help teams streamline the creation of digital and printed products while maintaining a consistent visual language.

Access to the asset library is limited to VA staff with network access

Accessibility

OIT is dedicated to ensuring, to the maximum level possible, that all Veterans, staff members, and other stakeholders are not hindered from accessing information due to physical or technological limitations.

Branding Philosophy and Policies

To ensure a consistent message, branding policies have been established at the U.S. Government, Department of Veterans Affairs, and OIT levels.

AP Styles

An overview of AP styles and a summary of some AP style rules.

Design Resources

Applies to OIT-related documents, presentations, video, and more.

Publications and Layout

Design consistency is one of the main pillars of brand recognition. Whether crafting a presentation, a document, or a multi-page publication, a common design language allows your audience to focus on your message and recognize OIT as the organization that created it.

DigitalVA Logo

The Digital VA logo should always be combined with the official VA OIT signature logo. The DigitalVA logo is not the OIT logo and should not be used in place of the official VA OIT signature logo.

Iconography

Iconography should be informative and functional, conveying ideas that support content rather than abstract forms. Icons should be versatile enough to convey multiple meanings in various contexts.

Illustrations

OIT’s illustration style is specifically crafted to visualize and link the content we communicate to people in a wide variety of environments, allowing flexibility and variance in look while still maintaining a consistent visual tone.

Website Resources

Applies to OIT-related websites and web-based applications

US Web Design System

All VA websites are required to use the US Web Design System (USWDS) principles as their foundation. The USWDS provides principles, guidance, and code to help you design and build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites and digital services.

Web Governance

IT Strategic Communication is responsible for reviewing and approving all OIT-related public content (available outside VA).

VA’s Web Governance Board sets the policy for creating and managing VA’s public web presence.

VA.gov Content Style Guide

The VA.gov content style guide sets the criteria for content creation on the web. All VA website managers are required to use this guide when authoring content.