Editorial style guide
Last updated:
18 August 2025
Writing as UAL
To ensure your communication reflects UAL as a competitive but supportive environment and encourages readers to engage with us, follow these tips:
- Content should be short, simple and smart. Consider your audience and the best format to present your message.
- Create messages and stories that are warm, approachable and engaging.
- Reflect UAL’s creativity and credibility in all communications.
- Be clear and straightforward. Some information we deal with is complex but how we communicate it doesn’t have to be.
- Use plain English and avoid jargon and unnecessarily technical language.
- Use everyday words wherever possible and always write with our international audience in mind.
- Don’t use unexplained acronyms and abbreviations.
- While they may not be suitable for some formal communications, use contractions such as ‘you’re’ or ‘we’ll’ where possible.
- Try to avoid the passive voice — rather than "students will be required to bring identification", try "you'll need to bring ID with you".
Across UAL, we use standard British English spelling and grammar. If you need to look up any specific spellings, refer to Collins English Dictionary.
Naming
University of the Arts London (our name)
Never use 'the' in front of our name.
Example: Staff at University of the Arts London believe that the world needs creativity.
When communicating internally, to staff and students, we are UAL. Always write UAL in upper case.
Example: UAL will close from Thursday 25 December and re-open on Friday 2 January 2026.
Externally, use the acronym 'UAL' once you’ve established its meaning by using our full name.
Example: University of the Arts London (UAL) is number 2 in the world for Art and Design. UAL draws together 6 world-renowned Colleges.
Colleges
UAL is made up of 6 Colleges. Their names are:
- Camberwell College of Arts (Camberwell).
- Central Saint Martins (CSM).
- Chelsea College of Arts (Chelsea).
- London College of Communication (LCC).
- London College of Fashion (LCF).
- Wimbledon College of Arts (Wimbledon).
When writing about our Colleges:
- Make sure they’re listed in alphabetical order whether you’re using the full name or acronym/abbreviation.
- You can use the relevant acronym or abbreviation once you’ve established its meaning by using the College’s full name.
- Make sure the College’s relationship to UAL is made clear, but don’t use UAL as a possessive noun.
- Capitalise the word ‘College(s)’ when referring to our Colleges without using their names.
Example: London College of Communication (LCC), UAL, is a world leader in creative communications education. The College is in Elephant and Castle, South London.
UAL School of Pre-degree Studies
When writing about the UAL School of Pre-degree Studies:
- Capitalise the ‘p’ and use a lower case ‘d’ in 'Pre-degree' when using the name.
- Use lower case letters when referring to ‘pre-degree’ as a study level or Course.
Institutes
We have 4 Institutes, their names are:
- AKO Storytelling Insitute (AKO).
- UAL Creative Computing Institute (UAL CCI).
- UAL Decolonising Arts Institute.
- UAL Fashion Textiles and Technology Institute (UAL FTTI).
Apart from AKO Storytelling Institute, UAL is part of the Institute’s name and should always be used.
When writing about our Institutes:
- Make sure they’re listed in alphabetical order whether you’re using the full name or acronym/abbreviation.
- You can use the relevant acronym or abbreviation once you’ve established its meaning by using the Insitute’s full name.
- Capitalise the word ‘Institute(s)’ when referring to our Institutes without using their names.
Example: UAL Fashion Textiles and Technology Institute (UAL FTTI) delivers sustainable innovation across the entire fashion and textiles value chain. UAL FTTI has locations at several of the University’s Colleges and the Insitute...
Research centres
We have 5 Research centres, their names are:
- Afterall.
- Centre for Fashion Curation (CfFC).
- Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF).
- Creative Research in Sound Arts Practice (CRiSAP).
- Research Centre for Transnational Art, Identity and Nation (TrAIN).
When writing about our Research centres:
- Establish their connection to UAL in writing.
- Make sure they’re listed in alphabetical order.
- You can use the relevant acronym or abbreviation once you’ve established its meaning by using the Research centre's full name.
Example: Creative Research in Sound Arts Practice (CRiSAP) is a research centre at University of the Arts London.
Addresses
Postal addresses should be written in the following format:
College/building name
Street address
London postcode
Example:
University of the Arts London
272 High Holborn
London WC1V 7EY
Courses and departments
As proper nouns, names of all courses and departments should be written in title case (capital letters at the start of each word).
Courses should include reference to their degree type and, when listed together, be alphabetical by course title.
Example: BA (Hons) Textile Design.
Example: Digital & Technology.
Degree types
We offer the following degree types at UAL:
- Bachelor of Arts — BA.
- Bachelor of Arts with Honours — BA (Hons).
- Bachelor of Science — BSc.
- Bachelor of Science with Honours — BSc (Hons).
- Certificate of Higher Education — CertHE.
- Graduate Diploma.
- Master of Architecture — M ARCH.
- Master of Arts — MA.
- Master of Business Administration — MBA.
- Master of Research Arts — MRes Arts.
- Postgraduate Certificate — PgCert.
- UAL Diploma.
- UAL Foundation Diploma.
Example: MSc Cosmetic Enterprise and Innovation.
Remember that not everyone will understand what a specific degree type or its acronym is, so it’s always useful to establish context where possible.
Job titles
When referring to a person’s specific job title, we use title case.
Example: Karen Stanton, Vice-Chancellor
When referring to a job title in general (i.e. not someone’s specific job title), we use sentence case.
Example: This course enables our students to become practicing graphic designers...
Provosts and Executive Deans
When referring to these job titles in a UAL-wide context and it's the first time it's been used, use title case and write the College names out in full.
Example: Kene Igweonu, Provost of London College of Communication and Executive Dean for Impact and Innovation
Once the full context has been established, use the relevant College abbreviation. Their Executive Dean title doesn’t have to be included.
Example: Kene Igweonu, Provost of LCC
Place and building names
As proper nouns, place and building names should use title case (capital letters at the start of each word).
If shortening or abbreviating a place or building name, establish its context or meaning first.
Example: Camberwell; Chelsea; Elephant and Castle; King’s Cross; Stratford; Wimbledon.
Example: ...takes place at Peckham Road at Camberwell College of Arts. Peckham Road is located in Camberwell...
UAL Shows
When referring to our degree Shows, always capitalise ‘Shows’.
Use the College acronym to specify what Show you’re referring to.
Example: Explore the CSM Shows.
UAL Showcase
UAL Showcase is separate from our Shows.
Never use ‘the’ before ‘UAL Showcase’.
For College application, the ‘UAL’ prefix can be replaced with the College/Institute name. If using ‘UAL Showcase’ alongside any in-person College Shows, retain the same naming convention.
For all external naming always use UAL Showcase in full.
Example: Discover a wealth of remarkable work by recent graduates on UAL Showcase.
Styling and phrasing
Active and passive voice
In your writing, try and use the active voice. This is where the subject performs the action in a sentence, rather than the passive voice where the subject receives the action.
The active voice is more approachable and conversational, in line with our brand voice principles.
Example: The lecturer taught the students (active) rather than the students were taught by the lecturer (passive).
There may be some instances, such as in academic writing, where the passive voice will need to be used.
Buttons and call to actions (digital)
When writing for buttons or call to actions (CTAs), use as few words as possible.
Use language that makes it clear what the action of the button will achieve, or what you want the audience to do.
Examples: Discover our prospectus; See more stories.
Capitalisation and sentence case
Use sentence case, including for headings, unless when using title case for proper nouns, see ‘Naming’ and ‘Job titles’.
Avoid capitalising entire words or sentences as it affects accessibility.
Example: Artists, design graduates and curators join Hospital Rooms to discuss designing for wellbeing.
Email addresses
Capitalisation in email addresses does not affect the address itself. Generally, email addresses should be written in lower case.
When an email address is 2 or more words without any punctuation, write them in camel case, where every word has a capital letter as this helps with accessibility.
Example: AcademicSupportAdmin@arts.ac.uk
Headings and subheadings
Headings should be kept as short and literal as possible.
Subheadings should be added to break up content into clear, more manageable sections to help aid understanding.
Idioms
Idioms are a phrase or expression that has a figurative or non-literal meaning.
Avoid using idioms, as they can be difficult for neurodiverse people or second-language English speakers to understand.
Example: If you are getting a cold rather than if you are under the weather.
Sentence and paragraph length
Keep sentences and paragraphs as short as possible as this helps understanding.
If a sentence or paragraph seems too long, consider breaking it down into more digestible sections or themes.
Websites, URLs and hyperlinks
If referring to a website in writing, don’t use "www.".
Example: arts.ac.uk
When writing copy, don’t post a full URL. Instead, hyperlink part of your copy to where you want to send your reader.
Make sure this copy gives context to what and where you are hyperlinking to, so they are accessible to people using screen readers.
When using hyperlinks, don't refer to websites as "the webpage" or "our website" and avoid using link text with "click here" or "here".
Example: Learn more about our brand.
Grammar
Abbreviations
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a full word that can be used in place of a full word.
Use abbreviations in your writing in place of a full word, but make sure to establish context if not clear or commonly used. Especially if specific to UAL or higher education generally.
Example: This is handled by our Senior Course Instructor (Sr Instr). The Sr Instr can help you with...
Acronyms and initialisms
An acronym is where a new word is created from the initial letters of other words.
Examples: TrAIN, NASA, CAPTCHA.
An initialism is a specific form of an acronym, where the word is pronounced as each individual letter.
Examples: UAL, CSM, FTTI.
When using an acronym, establish the full name before using the shortened version.
Example: University of the Arts London (UAL) is in the top 2 universities in the world for Art and Design.
An exception to this is when you’re using an acronym or initialism that is more commonly used than the full name. Avoid confusion by only using the acronym or initialism in these cases.
Examples: BBC, NHS, H&M.
Contractions
A contraction is a shortened word or phrase where letters are removed and replaced by an apostrophe.
Use of contractions depends on the formality of your writing, but generally we encourage their use to keep in line with our tone of voice.
Example: What’s on at London College of Fashion.
Punctuation
And/ampersands
Use the word ‘and’ rather than an ampersand (&) in paragraph text.
In some instances, such as email signatures, headings and lists, an ampersand can be used in standalone names and titles if they need to be shortened. Avoid ampersands in page titles and URLs.
Examples: Digital & Technology, Head of Brand & Strategy.
Brackets and parentheses
Use standard round brackets in most cases. If part of the sentence is inside brackets, use a full stop outside the brackets.
Example: Our graduates have gone on to work in a variety of roles (including designers, designer-makers, researchers, buyers and stylists).
If a full sentence is inside the brackets, use a full stop inside the brackets.
Example: (UAL has been named as The Times and Sunday Times Specialist University of the Year.)
Use square brackets if you need to add any additional brackets or if you need to add an interpolation (a note from the writer) into a quote.
Example: (University of the Arts London [UAL] has been named as The Times and Sunday Times Specialist University of the Year.)
Bullet points
Use square bullet points where possible, reflecting the squares in our logo and brandmark.
If using bullet points to list a series of things, start each bullet point with a capital letter and end each bullet point with a full stop.
Example:
- Logos.
- Brandmark.
- Typefaces.
- Colour.
- Imagery.
If using bullet points to break down a sentence, start each bullet point with a lower-case letter and finish the last bullet point with a full stop.
Example:
When using the UAL logo, it:
- should be used in our primary colours, black and white
- shouldn’t be stretched, rotated or rearranged
- should sit in the top or bottom left-hand corner.
Colons and semicolons
Use colons to introduce a list.
Example: There are 4 things that make up our verbal identity: our brand narrative, messaging pillars, tone of voice and editorial style guide.
Use semicolons to separate items in a list of longer points/sentences.
Example: There are 4 things that make up our verbal identity: our brand narrative, which outlines who we are; our messaging pillars, that help guide your content; our tone of voice, which helps you speak like UAL; and our editorial style guide, which gives us a house style.
Commas and Oxford commas
Use commas to separate lists or to break up a sentence and add breathing room. If you find yourself using several commas in one sentence, consider breaking this up into multiple, shorter sentences (see ‘Sentences and paragraphs’).
Example: Diasporic Films is a series of free screenings every Tuesday at LCC, depicting diaspora communities or made by diaspora filmmakers.
We don’t use the Oxford comma (the comma placed before ‘and’ in a list).
Example: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea College of Arts, London College of Communication, London College of Fashion and Wimbledon College of Arts.
For longer lists, see our guidance on semicolons above.
Dashes
There are 3 types of dashes found in writing: hyphens (-), em dashes (a long dash —) and en dashes (a short dash –).
Use hyphens to join words to show they have a combined meaning or are linked in the grammar of a sentence.
Example: UAL School of Pre-degree Studies.
Use em dashes to break up longer sentences or add emphasis to a specific part of a sentence.
Example: Through drawings and collages, new gate designs were produced and displayed locally — on fences, doors, walls, in shops, markets and bus stops.
Use en dashes between figures to show range, see ‘Dates’ and ‘Times’ below.
Examples: 10–11.30am; 6 February–24 April 2025.
Exclamation marks
Use exclamation marks sparingly to add emphasis to something positive. Don’t use more than one at a time.
Example: Congratulations to our final year students!
Quotes and quotation marks
Use double quotation marks when you’re directly referencing something said or written by another person.
Use single quotation marks (inverted commas) for any quotes within other quotes.
Example: Professor Smith said: “Some of the students described the field trip as a ‘life-changing’ experience.”
Use single quotation marks when referencing a heading or title in a digital context.
Example: ‘TRANSCESTRY: 10 years of the Museum of Transology’ is the latest exhibition at Lethaby Gallery, Central Saint Martins.
Numerical
Numbers
Write all numbers as digits, as this makes them easier to read on screen.
Example: 1; 10; 11; 150; 227.
Write all numbers over 1,000 with a comma:
Example: 1,000; 25,000; 150,000.
Write all numbers over 1 million as a digit and word:
Example: 1 million; 2 billion.
Dates
Write dates as D(D) Month YYYY without the ‘th’, ‘rd’ and ‘st’ suffixes.
Example: 8 July 2024.
In cases where you need to include the day of the week, add it at the start.
Example: Tuesday 2 November – Thursday 4 November 2025.
Academic years should be written as 20XX/XX.
Example: 2024/25.
Money
Use the relevant currency symbol and add the specific currency acronym if extra context is needed.
Examples: £1.87; €5 million; $50,000 (AUD).
Phone numbers
Write both landline and mobile phone numbers with an international dialling code.
Examples: +44 (0)20 7514 6000; +44 (0)71234 56789; +1 212 456 7890.
Times
Use the 12-hour clock with ‘am’ or ‘pm’ to distinguish the time of day.
Only add minutes if something doesn’t start on the hour, separating them from the hours with a full stop.
Examples: 10am; 2.30pm; 5–6.45pm.
Rankings
Write out any ranking below 10 and use digits for any numbers above. Avoid using ‘st’, ‘nd’ ‘rd’ and ‘th’ suffixes.
Example: We are ranked second in the world for art and design and placed 40 overall in the Complete University Guide.
Wayfinding
Use digits rather than ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, etc.) when referring to floor numbers.
Example: Floor 10.