Logo

The emblem consists of a blue ribbon with, at its lower end, a stylised version of the national coat of arms, specially designed for the Dutch government. The national coat of arms is always white. The logo as a whole symbolises a central government that acts with authority without being authoritarian, is recognisable and focuses on substance. A central government that is not domineering, but understands the balance between regulating, guiding and creating space.

To the right of the emblem is the wordmark of the central government body that is sending the message. The wordmark makes it immediately clear who the sender is. This helps to make government recognisable and accessible.

• The emblem must always be used in its complete form: the blue ribbon containing the white, stylised national coat of arms. The coat of arms may never be used without the ribbon.
• The logo normally appears at the top of the page and bleeds off the edge.
• To make sure the name of the sending body is clearly legible, the logo requires a ‘natural space’. So the upper part of the page, where the logo appears, should contain no distracting details. If you want to place the logo over a photograph, make sure that the emblem and wordmark are surrounded by a detail-free space at least as wide as the ribbon.

Go to the logobank to download the logos for your organisation. It is possible you need an account to do this. Please note that you can only download logos for the organisation for which you have an account.

If you don’t have an account but you need a logo, contact your identity coordinator. Your visual identity coordinator will send you the logo as soon as possible.

Central government applies three levels of sender status: ‘mother’, ‘daughter’ and ‘granddaughter’. Other forms of sender status also exist, reflecting various types of cooperation with external parties. The type of cooperation determines the logo to be used. 

Which version of the central government logo should I use?

		Communications by one government body: use the ribbon with the wordmark at the top.
		Communications by at least two government bodies: use only the ribbon at the top, and add the government  bodies’ names in a logical place  (e.g. under publication details).
		Communications by one government body*, supported by an external party: use the ribbon with the wordmark at the top, and add the external party’s logo in a logical place (e.g. under publication details or at the bottom of the letter).
		Communications by at least two government bodies*, supported by an external party: use only the ribbon at the top, and add the government bodies' names and the external party's logo in a logical place (e.g. under publication details).
		Communications by an external party*, supported by one government body: use the ribbon with the wordmark for use in third-party  media in the space indicated by the external party.
		Communications by an external party*, supported by at least two government bodies: use the ribbon with the central government wordmark for use in third-party media in the space indicated by the external party.
		Communications by government body and one or more external parties, all on an equal basis: use a new style.

* This party is an initiator, determines policy and/or bears financial responsibility.

The cabinet has decided which types of organisation may use the central government visual identity and which may not. The key factor is ministerial responsibility: ‘All organisations that fall directly under ministerial responsibility are part of central government and should therefore use the central government visual identity.’ This includes all ministries, inspectorates, agencies, implementing organisations, and advisory and employee participation bodies. The legislature (the High Councils of State) and judiciary do not use the central government visual identity. This is because the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government are separate in the Netherlands.

Daughter:
Ministries
Research bureaus
Autonomous administrative authorities established since 2011
Government commissioners
 

Granddaughter:
Services and agencies
Inspectorates
Implementing organisations
Advisory and employee participation bodies
Independent committees, research councils, and advisory boards and councils

Not authorised to use central government visual identity:
Non-profit foundations and associations
Autonomous administrative authorities established before 2012
Bodies falling under the Advisory Bodies Framework Act
The legislature and judiciary

The logos are available in 11 template files, each suitable for a different type of communication.

Each file is available in two versions: one with the wordmark in black (the positive version) and one with the wordmark in white (the reverse version). The positive version should be used when the background is light. The reverse version should be used when the background is dark.  

The logo files are also available in two file formats:

Logos for paper-based communications (output on a printer):

• Adobe Illustrator EPS. These are vector files, developed in CMYK. The conversion to Pantone is included in the logo file. 
• Logos for on-screen communications (output on screen): Adobe Photoshop SVG. These are pixel files, developed in RGB. These files can be used only for screen-based applications.

Positive and reverse logos:

 

Specially customised logo files are available for Word templates and PowerPoint presentations. Logos for Word templates contain only the sender’s wordmark, because the emblem already appears on the printed stationery. Logos for PowerPoint presentations are wider, so that they can easily be inserted into a slide.

Wordmark and presentation logos:

Parties not authorised to use the central government visual identity can use compact versions of the logos for both paper-based and online communications. These logos are also available in two versions: positive and reverse. 

The logo must be at least 35 pixels wide to make it easily legible. In shorter communications, only the wordmark should be used. The logos are available in both EPS and PNG formats.

In some cases you only need to use the emblem. For instance, if the emblem and wordmark appear separately. Or if the communication concerns cooperation between multiple central government bodies.