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Email Standards

To standardize email protocol, the availability of contact information and adherence to accessibility guidelines, email clients should be configured according to the following criteria.

Body Text

Email body text should be set in Verdana, 11pt, RGB 0/0/0 (#000000). Email clients that describe text sizes in pixels (e.g. Apple Mail) should be set in 15px.

Outlook for Windows

On the File tab, choose Options > Mail . Under Compose messages , choose Stationery and Fonts . On the Personal Stationery tab, under New mail messages or Replying or forwarding messages , choose Font . In the Font box, choose the font, style, size, and color that you want to use. You can see a preview of your changes as you make them. Choose OK  three times to return to Outlook.

Outlook for Mac

Change the default font by going to Outlook > Preferences > Fonts . In the Default fonts for composing messages section click the Font button next to each composition style—new mail messages, replying or forwarding messages, and composing and reading text messages. On the Font tab, choose the default Font, Font style, Size, Color and Effects.

Email Signatures

Copy/paste the following template into the Signature field in your email client’s settings. Then, modify the content to reflect your personal information.
See Formatting your Email Signature for additional guidance or if you lose any of the formatting when copying/pasting this template.
See Sample Email Signatures for information regarding the use of preferred pronouns, alumni class years, social media links and persistent messaging.

Full Name
Title
Department Name

T 315.443.1111   M 315.443.2222   F 315.443.3333
email@syr.edu

Address, Syracuse, NY 13244
syracuse.edu

Syracuse University

Information Structure

  • Job titles and departments should be comma separated for those with dual appointments or multiple areas of responsibility.
  • The T / M / F abbreviations should be removed from signatures that include only one phone number.
  • While it is necessary to make distinctions between telephone numbers and fax numbers, it is no longer necessary to call special attention to an email or Internet address.
  • Abbreviations should always be used for street addresses: Rm. (Room), Ste. (Suite), Ave. (Avenue), St. (Street), Pl. (Place), Rd. (Road), N., S., E., W. (North, South, East, West).
  • The link to syracuse.edu may be replaced with a more specific division/department URL.
  • Modern email clients add hyperlinks to URLs and email addresses automatically. It is not necessary to add these links manually.

Additional Guidelines

In addition to fonts, colors, sizing, and content, the following guidelines should also be considered:
  • Avoid the use of background images and background colors. Keep it simple and use a white background to ensure accessibility.
  • Avoid including inspirational quotes, unless they speak to an approved University campaign.
  • Only include contact information relevant to your position.
  • Use your common sense. Your signature does not need to be included in every message, especially when it is a part of an ongoing conversation.