One system. Five series. Every publication.
PAHO's publication templates already carry a strong, recognizable identity. What has been missing is a single master specification that holds the whole system together, so every new report, guideline or manual starts from the same values and arrives at the same standard, regardless of who lays it out.
What this guide is
A master brand system read directly from the five production InDesign templates and the 25 cover spreads in the cover working file — not from a summary. Every color, text style, margin and cover geometry here was extracted from the source files and checked against the 2021 Publications Style Guide. Where the two disagreed, the templates were treated as authoritative and the difference was recorded in the template audit.
Why it matters
Six technical areas across five series means thirty valid cover combinations. A system with fixed rules produces all of them correctly; a set of loose templates produces drift. With named styles, fixed geometry and one recoloring rule, a compliant cover and chapter opener take minutes — and the style names match PAHO's own InDesign paragraph styles, so nothing needs remapping on hand-off.
The diagonal plane
A flat plane with a single straight edge that rises from left to right by about three-quarters of an inch across the page — roughly five degrees. It is the one shape that appears on every PAHO cover, and holding its angle constant is what makes five very different series read as one publisher.
Flagship. Full-bleed photograph. Two overlay planes at 59% black leave a clear diagonal window. The lower edge reaches 3.42 in at the right.
High Profile. Full-bleed photograph with a translucent PAHO Blue plane at the foot; the area label boxed at the top. Edge 2.7 → 3.45 in.
Regular Technical. Photograph in the upper field, white plane below. Edge 5.7 → 6.5 in. Mid-level head in the area color.
Guidelines & Manuals. White upper field, area-color field below. Same angle; the left end dips into a short concave curve — the only curve in the system.
Color
PAHO Blue leads. Everything else is structural: a deep navy for chapter numbers and dark fields, a sky blue for chapter-opener heads, one warm accent, and six technical-area colors that live on the outside of the book. Values are the confirmed swatches from the InDesign files. Select a swatch to copy its hex value.
Primary palette
Tints and fills
| Use | Value |
|---|---|
| Text boxes and pull-quote panels | 10% tint of PAHO Blue |
| Flagship cover overlay planes | Black at 59% opacity, two planes |
| High Profile cover plane | Translucent PAHO Blue over the photograph (template swatch C80 M20 Y0 K0 at 60%) |
| Table column-head row | Solid PAHO Blue with white all-caps text — the one place the signature color appears as a fill inside body pages |
| High Profile text boxes | Full-bleed Navy field, text in Box paper |
| Guidelines numbered boxes | Deep field, white number |
Technical-area palette
Each technical area owns one color. Changing a publication's area recolors exactly five elements — and nothing else. This is what keeps thirty cover combinations looking like one family.
| # | Element the area color drives | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boxed area label — Frutiger 65 Bold 9 pt, all caps, tracking +25, white on the color | Front and back cover, spine block |
| 2 | Mid-level head — Frutiger 65 Bold 40/44 | Technical and Guidelines covers |
| 3 | Lower color field under the diagonal | Guidelines and Manuals covers |
| 4 | Back-cover color bar | High Profile, Technical, Guidelines — not Flagship |
| 5 | Spine field or spine text | All series except Flagship |
Typography
Frutiger is the PAHO and WHO logotype face and remains the only production typeface across the system. Arial is the sanctioned fallback where Frutiger is unavailable. The width axis does real work: condensed weights carry chapter numbers, box heads and cover titles that must survive Spanish and Portuguese text expansion without tightening tracking.
This guide is set in Istok Web, an open-source stand-in for Frutiger. Production files use Frutiger LT Std.
Cover and furniture styles
| Style name | Weight | Size / lead | Color |
|---|---|---|---|
| flagship head bold | 87 Extra Black Cond | 67 / 62 | White |
| flagship year | 45 Light | 57 / 62 | White |
| flagship head 1 | 55 Roman | 29 | White |
| flagship italic subhead | 56 Italic | 26 / 35 | White |
| high profile main head | 65 Bold | 50 / 55 | White or Navy |
| mid level head | 65 Bold | 40 / 44 | Area color or white |
| subhead | 55 Roman | 16 / 22 | Black or white |
| subhead white small | 55 Roman | 12 / 17 | White |
| boxed head | 65 Bold, caps, +25 | 9 | White on area color |
| back cover text | 55 Roman | 11 / 15 | Black or white |
| spine text | 65 Bold, +25 | 8 – 10 | Per series |
| master – folio | 67 Bold Cond | 10 | Black |
| master – footer | 45 Light, caps | 10 | Black |
Text styles by series
The same named styles carry different values by series — a deliberate tuning of density and tone. The names are the hand-off contract: they match the InDesign paragraph styles exactly.
| Style | Flagship | High Profile | Regular Technical | Guidelines | Guidance & Manuals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| chapter number | 55 Roman 20 + 108, Blue | 55 Roman 17/21, Deep | 57 Cond 17/21, Deep | 57 Cond 17/21, Deep | 55 Roman 36, Blue |
| chapter opener head | 55 Roman 48/53, Sky | — (section head) | — (section head) | 57 Cond 30/36, Sky | 55 Roman 36/40, Blue |
| head – section | 55 Roman 40/40, Blue | 65 Bold 34/43, Blue | 67 Bold Cond 32/40, Blue | 55 Roman 36/40, Blue | 55 Roman 36/40, Blue |
| body text | 45 Light 10/16 | 45 Light 10/15 | 45 Light 9.5/14 | 45 Light 9/14 | 45 Light 10/16, drop cap |
| head – subhead 1 | 65 Bold 14/16, Blue, +5 | 65 Bold 14/15, +5 | 65 Bold /14, +5 | 65 Bold /14, Blue, +5 | 65 Bold 14/16, Black |
| head – subhead 2 | 12, Orange | 12, Blue | 11, Blue | 10.5, Black | 12, Blue |
| head – subhead 3 | 65 Bold 11/16, Black | 56 Italic 11/16, 90% K | 56 Italic 11/16, 90% K | 66 Bold Italic 10/16, 90% K | 56 Italic 11/16, 90% K |
| box | 47 Light Cond 10/16 on 10% Blue | 57 Cond 10.5/14 in Box paper on Navy; number 67 Bold Cond 11 white | 47 Light Cond 9.5/13; head 67 Bold Cond 9 caps | 47 Light Cond 10/16; numbered on Deep | 47 Light Cond 10/16 on 10% Blue |
| head – figure / table | 65 Bold 11/15, tracking +5. Figure number 65 Bold 9 in Blue; table number in Orange; box number in Navy. Column heads 65 Bold 7/10 caps, white on Blue. Table text 55 Roman 8/12. | ||||
| pull quote | 65 Bold 13/21 in a 10% Blue panel | ||||
| annex | annex – name 55 Roman 20 in Navy; sub1 65 Bold 14/15; sub2 65 Bold 9.5 in Grey 60; text 45 Light 9.5/13 | ||||
| notes | footnotes 45 Light 7; source 45 Light 7; photo credit 55 Roman 7 at 60% K, right-aligned; references 55 Roman 8/11; glossary 45 Light 8/11 | ||||
Figure/table heads and number character styles in all five files are currently set in Univers 65 Bold — a legacy carry-over. The master system specifies Frutiger 65 Bold; the templates should be normalized to match.
Cover system
Series and technical area are two independent axes. Choose a series to set the architecture; choose an area to set the color. The configurator below shows exactly what moves — and, more importantly, what does not.
Regular Technical, Health Systems & Services. Back cover, 0.3125 in spine, front cover.
Series
Technical area
The system in production
Covers from the current templates — one gesture across four series. Select any image to enlarge it.
Interiors
US Letter, 0.125 in bleed, facing pages. Margins are set per series to match reading intent: generous on Flagship and Guidelines, tightest on Regular Technical. Flagship is the only two-column template. The values are exact master-page settings.
Flagship. 2 columns, gutter 0.4375 in.
High Profile. 1 column; deep foot for the footer band.
Regular Technical. 1 column; highest text density.
Guidelines. 1 column; body 9/14.
Guidance & Manuals. 1 column; body 10/16 with drop caps.
Openers, tables, figures and boxes
Back cover and spine
The back cover carries the area color as a bar at the top, the spine repeats the area label in a small block, and the barcode sits inside the same margins as the logo. The Flagship breaks the pattern deliberately: a solid Deep field, white text, no bar.
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Cover spread | 17.3125 × 11 in — back 8.5, spine 0.3125, front 8.5 — plus 0.125 in bleed. Spine width is nominal and scales with page count and stock; the spine styles and color logic do not change. |
| Back-cover text | Frutiger 55 Roman 11/15, black on light fields, white on dark. |
| Color bar | Area color at the top of the back cover carrying the all-caps area label; mirrored on the front. Not used on Flagship. |
| Spine field | Area color on Technical and Guidelines, or matched to the cover. A small block at the top repeats the area label in 65 Bold 8 caps, tracking +25. |
| Spine text | Flagship 65 Bold 8 white; High Profile 65 Bold 10 in PMS 2925; Technical and Guidelines 65 Bold 10 white. Centered, reading top to bottom. |
| Barcode | Bottom right of the back cover, inside the 0.84 in and 0.75 in margins. |
| Logo | Bottom left of back and front, 0.85 in from the left trim and 0.75 in from the bottom trim. The back cover adds the URL. |
What the templates showed
Reading the production files rather than the guide surfaced eight points where the documented system and the deployed system had drifted apart. Each is resolved below so the master specification reflects what is actually on press.
| Element | Style Guide (2021) | Production templates → master system |
|---|---|---|
| The brand gesture | Described as a "swoosh"; read as a curved band | A flat diagonal plane — one straight edge rising about 0.75 in across the page (about 5°). Only the Guidelines preset adds a short concave curve at the left end. Now defined as a single component with four presets. |
| Spine width | 0.34 in | 0.3125 in — the cover working file is 17.3125 × 11 in. Spine text styles per series confirmed. |
| Technical-area Pantones | Health Systems & Services and Health Emergencies both listed as PMS 2582 | Confirmed from the cover style names: Health Systems & Services is PMS 1495, Health Emergencies is PMS 3265. Noncommunicable Diseases keeps 2582. |
| Chapter-opener head color | Not specified; reads as black | C74 M21 Y0 K0, a sky blue, on Flagship and Guidelines. Added as the Sky token. |
| Chapter number color | Not specified | C100 M60 Y48 K50 in every series. Added as the Deep token; also the Technical cover field and Flagship back cover. |
| Body text | One size implied | Differs by series and is preserved: 10/16, 10/15, 9.5/14, 9/14, 10/16. |
| Interior margins | Partial, per-page callouts | Exact master-page values for all five series, including the Flagship two-column grid with its 0.4375 in gutter. |
| Legacy typeface | — | Univers 65 Bold survives in figure/table heads and number styles in all five templates. Flagged for normalization to Frutiger 65 Bold. |
From specification to working system
The master brand is documented. Turning it into a tool the publications team uses every day is a short, staged effort — each phase produces something usable on its own.
Lock the foundations
- Confirm the two process colors against a Pantone bridge: Deep and the High Profile plane tint
- Confirm Frutiger LT Std licensing and distribution to the layout team
- Sign off on the eight audit resolutions
Normalize the templates
- Replace Univers 65 Bold with Frutiger 65 Bold in all five INDD files
- Align swatch names across files; add Sky and Deep as named swatches
- Re-export IDML and archive v13 as the master set
Build the design system
- Diagonal-plane component with four presets
- Cover generator: series × technical area × language
- Interior page kits per series: opener, body, table/figure, box/pull-quote
Publish the brand book
- Full PAHO Publications Brand Book in English, Spanish and Portuguese
- Quick-start card for external designers
- Compliance checklist for pre-press review