Image Guidelines

Libraries of government-owned images used in the template (including photos, illustrations, icons, etc.) and style guides of use are located within a common directory on the government of Manitoba servers. The templates contain links to these library folders. If you require access to other images, scripts, guides, etc., contact Manweb at standards@gov.mb.ca.

Images belonging to the department are to be relative to one image directory within the department's website folder. All department headers will reside with Manweb and will be linked to your template.

Location

• All images should be in one directory named "images".
• All images within a directory should be relative.
• Client-side image maps are to be used rather than server-side image maps.
• All standard images should be kept and maintained in a shared resource library in the root of the department/division/branch.

Format

• Image files should be in the GIF or JPG format and should be optimized for speed of loading. Photo images and graphics with gradients use JPG, while GIFs have been reserved for graphics such as logos and banners.
• Graphics should be readable, meaningful and limited in size. Large images potentially increase download time and inhibit the user’s browsing experience. Therefore, image size should not exceed 50 KB and background images should be kept under 5 KB.
• Watermarks should never be used.
• All images are to have meaningful Alt tag descriptions. Ex: use government of Manitoba logo, not picture of government of Manitoba logo. Alt tags should be written in the language of the page; ex: if it is a French page the Alt tag should be in French. Refer to the Accessibility Guidelines for information.
• All template images are created in Photoshop and should be saved as anti-alias= 'crisp.' If you require any of the above images please contact standards@gov.mb.ca.

Banners - Banners should be used to highlight certain areas or events. It is 138 by 38 pixels and should be text only if at all possible. The banner is usually placed in the side bar for maximum visibility.

Above is an example of the banner for use on the government of Manitoba sites. To obtain a blank Photoshop version of the banner, please send your request to ManWeb at standards@gov.mb.ca.

For information on ownership of an image or photo or specific information on the Manitoba visual identity, contact Communications Services Manitoba at webeditor@gov.mb.ca or read the Visual Identity Guidelines at http://www.internal/pdf/CSM_VI Guidelines.pdf.