Chapman Email Signature

As part of the unified Chapman brand, faculty and staff should use the simple email signature below in all professional email communications, on all devices. An email signature serves as an easily recognizable source of contact information for an individual and their organization. Being consistent in how we present ourselves to the world will not only help in unifying the brand but also in creating a consistent expectation for recipients.

Signature Order:

Full Name (Pronouns)
Position Title
Department Name
Division / School Name (if needed)
Chapman University
One University Drive, Orange, CA 92866
(555) 555-5555
(555) 555-5555 mobile (if needed)
Chapman.edu
—
Supplementary resources and messages go here.
Ex: How to pronounce my name

Example (from Outlook):

chapman email signature

Style Notes

When setting this up for yourself, please follow these guides:

  • Font: Arial
  • Font size: 12pt (size is flexible per device if sizing looks off)
  • Font color: All black besides “Chapman University” in a Cardinal Red (Hex=#A50034, RGB=165,0,52, or close) – if you are having trouble finding the color option in your email client, you can style then copy/paste from Word.
  • [Your Name] and [Chapman University] in bold
  • Pronouns are optional
  • No images embedded, including logos – when images are used, they often come through as attachments on different email clients
  • Use Orange or Rinker campus’ main address
  • No label needed for your office phone number, but supplementary numbers (mobile, fax) should have the label afterward in lowercase letters
  • Hyperlink the url [Chapman.edu] to the website
  • If you would like to identify your pronouns as well, this can be added below your name
    • ex. Pronouns: she her hers

FAQs

Why so simplistic?

You will notice the design is minimalistic. This is intentional since more complicated email signatures often show differently or break for users on different devices or email clients. It also helps with accessibility, so all parties are able to read your information clearly. Additionally, for an organization with so many individuals, complicated designs are harder to replicate for our internal consistency efforts.

Can I use my department’s URL instead of the main Chapman website URL?

While the main website url is preferred, if you wish to link to your specific website within the Chapman domain, you may do so, but you must make sure that the url is not unruly or too long. To help you shorten your longer urls, we have a form to request a url shortcut.

Example:

  • Bad: https://www.chapman.edu/students/health-and-safety/disability-services/index.aspx
  • Good: Chapman.edu/disabilities

Can I list my department name and my division/school name?

If needed for clarity,  you can use a second line to indicate your division or school name below your department name.

Example:

Admission
Fowler School of Law

Can I embed images?

We highly recommend staying away from embedded images, like logos, social icons, and other design elements. Often times for the receiver of your emails that are not on the same platform or email client as you, the images comes through as an attachment. This can be viewed as negative and unprofessional and we want to avoid that scenario.

Can I add additional text or a message below the signature?

While we want the main contact area to be consistent for everyone, if you need to have additional information below the signature, you may. Please handle this by putting a line below the website URL in your signature and then starting your additional information below that. Please keep this additional information short and professional.

Example:

…
(555) 555-5555 mobile
(555) 555-5555 fax
Chapman.edu

—

All information in this email is considered private. Please do not share with others.

Can I put my email address in the signature?

As a general redundancy rule since your email messages will have your email address connected, we suggest not having your personal email address attached to your signature. This will help with keeping the size of the signature at a reasonable length.

Can I change the address to my specific location?

We ask that you keep the Chapman address consistent in the email signature since all mail goes through the main addresses. Rinker campus staff and faculty can match their business card address. If you are trying to help people identify your location on a map, we recommend putting that information directly in the email content if relevant.

Can I add additional links like to my personal blog or my social accounts?

In the main signature, we ask that you keep the links to just the main Chapman website. Also, we definitely do not want your professional email signature to be pointing to a personal site or social accounts. Linking to other Chapman social accounts is fine, but below the main email signature.