Brand guidelines

This guide provides the foundation from which to create TC Energy branded materials. It is intended to ensure that our brand shows up in a cohesive way, but also offers professional designers the flexibility to use their discretion to continue to find new and engaging ways of using brand elements to tell our story.

Our Voice

Our voice is made up of the words we choose to say, across content and contexts — and how we say them. The language we use — and the tone in which we use it — will work synergistically to create a consistent and compelling TC Energy Brand voice.

Our voice is thoughtful, approachable and optimistic.

Thoughtful: We understand the challenges our world faces, and we are always in search of solutions. As such, we are open-minded, curious, and engaged.

Approachable: Our work can be complex and technical, but we should always strive for a conversational tone. We never want to intimidate or create confusion with insider jargon.
When TC Energy speaks, it must be crisp, clear and able to create a comfortable dialogue with anyone.

Optimistic: The business we are in is the business of possibility. We believe big challenges create even bigger opportunities. And that when we do our jobs to the best of our ability, the world is better for it.

Use case examples

Ad copy 1

What if we could capture carbon before it’s emitted?

Pump hydro power up to keep costs down? And re-route natural gas to where it’s needed most?

We’ve got answers.

Ad copy 2

How might we deliver Natural Gas when and where it’s needed most?

By analyzing system wide data and modeling millions of scenarios to re-route in real time.

Energy problem solved.

Logos

Although by itself our logo is not a brand, it is an at-a-glance snapshot designed to trigger recognition of who TC Energy is and what we represent. Part of any logo’s strength and effectiveness comes from its consistent repetition.

Download logos

Brand logo

Full logo. This version should be used in most instances to ensure brand recognition, as long as space permits.

Emblem

Maximizes legibility and recognizability in smaller spaces. It also serves as a visual shortcut to the brand in a modern way to build memory structures to consumers.

Minimum clear space

It is important that the space around the TC Energy logo or emblem is not encroached upon in order to provide breathing room for the logo to stand out.

Emblem component

Using the width of one of the two emblem components will ensure that the safe space is always relative to the size of the logo.

Minimum size

The full logo should always be legible, so it should never be less than the minimum size. If it is not possible to avoid such a small size, use the emblem instead.

Digital

Use the emblem when you are unable to make the width of the full logo at least 150px.

Print

Use the emblem when you are unable to make the width of the full logo at least 1.125in.

Logo colours

Our logo must always be presented in a single colour.

TCE Blue

This is the preference when placing our logo on very light backgrounds.

White

This is the preference when placing our logo on dark backgrounds or photos.

TCE black

Use this for greyscale design or print.

Incorrect usage

Avoid using the logo in these ways.

Do not stretch or skew the logo or emblem

Do not use low-contrast colour combinations

Do not rotate the logo on an angle

Do not outline the logo

Do not change the placement of the emblem

Do not overlap logo elements

Variations

We operate in three countries – Canada, the United States and Mexico, so it is important that we use the most appropriate logo for each audience.

English

The default variation for audiences with an English language preference or when the audience language preference is unknown. Used primarily in the U.S. and the English-speaking parts of Canada.

Spanish

The default variation for audiences with a Spanish language preference. Used primarily in Mexico.

French

The default variation for audiences with a French language preference. Used primarily in French-speaking Canada.

Voir les directives du logo français

Ver las pautas del logotipo en español

Colour

Primary Palette

Blue is a sign of stability and reliability. It also projects an image of security and a sense of orderly professionalism. The vibrancy of TCE Blue gives the brand a touch of modernity and newness that stands out and differentiates itself from the sea of sameness in the category.

TCE blue

#0D64EF
R13 G100 B239
PANTONE 285C
C82 M55 Y4 K0

Note: Pantone should be used in all instances where possible

TCE black

#191919
R25 G25 B25
PANTONE Process Black C
C73 M67 Y65 K79

White

#FFFFFF
R255 G255 B255
PANTONE White
C0 M0 Y0 K0

Secondary Palette

Our secondary colour palette is to be used sparingly to enhance and compliment the primary colous used. These colours are particularly useful for background textures and bringing attention to a specific part of the design and should always be used very intentionally.

Turquoise

#3FCFD5
R63 G207 B213
PANTONE 3115
C61 M0 Y22 K0

Lime

#C1F50E
R193 G245 B14
PANTONE 380C
C29 M0 Y100 K0

Dark blue

#002366
R0 G35 B102
PANTONE 294C
C100 M93 Y29 K25

light blue

#89CFF0
R137 G207 B240
PANTONE 292C
C42 M3 Y1 K0

Tertiary Palette

To be used for digital only with graphs and charts if it is not possible to present data clearly with primary and secondary colours.

Cerulean

#20799E
R32 G121 B158

Vista blue

#8097C1
R128 G151 B193

Light green

#80E271
R128 G226 B113

Celestial blue

#2699E2
R38 G153 B226

Mint

#67AD7E
R103 G173 B126

Polynesian blue

#194A8C
R25 G74 B140

Weighting

Our primary colours should make up the largest percentage of our branded materials, with other colours used for background elements, accents or calls to action. This does not necessarily mean that every piece of creative needs to follow this weighting, but that collectively, this should be a fairly accurate representation of the weighting of the colours used.

Accessibility Contrast

There must always be sufficient contrast between text and the background it’s placed on. The following combinations pass WCAG 2.0 accessibility standards, so can be considered safe to use.

White on TCE Blue

TCE Blue on White

White on TCE Black

TCE Black on White

Turquoise on TCE Black

TCE Black on Turquoise

Lime on TCE Black

TCE Black on Lime

Typography

Primary Font

An open and inviting typeface family. Its slightly rounded corners have a warm and welcoming feel that’s clean and modern. Terrific for headlines that stand out and body copy that’s highly legible.

Weights: Regular, Semibold and Bold

Praxis Next

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz0123456789!#&@$%*(),.

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz0123456789!#&@$%*(),.

Use case examples

Headlines

We are Energy Problem Solvers

Body copy

At TC Energy, we ask questions that lead to solutions for the world’s biggest energy problems. Like, how do we dynamically move natural gas to where it’s needed most? How do we capture carbon before it’s even emitted? And how do we help transition North America to cleaner, more sustainable energy?

Secondary Font

A powerful and meticulously crafted typeface Inspired by the aesthetics of robotics and machines. It’s a font suited for the future of technology which is reminiscent of the goals at TCEnergy. Its unique qualities grabs your attention and is a perfect contrast to the open and inviting qualities of Praxis Next.

Medium and Ultrabold (uppercase only)

PP Neue Machina

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789!#&@$%*(),.

Use case examples

Subhead

Natural gas pipelines

Callouts with underline

Delivering the energy people need, every day

Stats

25%

Microsoft Font

Rolling out fonts to thousands of machines and servers across our company is both difficult and cost prohibitive. We therefore recommend using Aptos for everyday use in applications such as Microsoft Office.

Light, Regular and Bold

Aptos

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz0123456789!#&@$%*(),.

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz0123456789!#&@$%*(),.

Use case examples

Headlines

Net Zero by 2050

Body copy

Net zero means achieving an overall balance where our operations have eliminated Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions on a net basis by 2050. This means we have removed or offset emissions through abatement activities and/or the use of carbon credits.

Iconography

Icon Style

Born from the brand’s emblem, we want to create a set of icons that are unique to TC Energy. Implementing subtle cues to strengthen brand awareness, we’ll incorporate the same angled cut found in the brand’s emblem into the rings that house the icons. The icons themselves use a basic single line, single colour, hollow icon style with rounded corners.

Emblem cut

We establish a cropping area for our icon’s frame by using the angles between the gaps in the TC Energy Emblem.

Frame

After drawing an outlined circle, we remove two of the areas (top and bottom) that fall into the crop area.

Line thickness

Line thickness of icons should always be consistent. At a size of 100px x 100px, the icon should have a 3px stroke and the frame a 5px stroke. Strokes must then be outlined to ensure that the icons scale up and down while maintaining the same line thickness relative to the icon size.

Sample set

Since it is impossible to account for all content that we would like an icon to represent, we will continue to build this library as new categories or items arise. Use these as a guide when creating new icons.

Natural Gas

Power

Nuclear

Safety

Environment

Government

Indigenous

Finance

Legal

Innovation

Security

Photography

Lifestyle

Lifestyle photography should feel determined, solution oriented, emotional, playful and as authentic as possible. Incorporating interesting angles and perspectives while showing depth supports our Energy Problem Solvers narrative. Overly posed shots should be avoided.

Landscape

Landscape photography should provide a sense of vast scale and depth that represent humans using energy. Taken from unique perspectives and angles. It should be rich and saturated. Avoid tropes such as models looking off into the distance.

Crop

We apply a crop to images that’s truly distinctive for the brand. Giving the brand a technical and sleek look that’s striking and stands out in the category. This must be used intentionally in a way that makes sense for the surrounding content.

Graphic Elements

Dot Grid

The dot grid provides an additional design device, allowing designers to build consistent visual indicators to compliment the creative’s messaging.

Topography

Our pipelines traverse thousands of kilometers over three countries, and the terrain and geology are part of the fabric of our business. We use topography patterns as a subtle nod to these.

Waves and Particles

While abstract in nature, these elements represent the fluidity and ever-changing nature of our business. The particle style speaks to the numerous components that come together to form a complete solution.