View in browser

This month’s updates are designed to make your work easier and more effective. We’re highlighting a simple accessibility tool you can use right away in web and digital design, sharing refreshed AI Guidance for campus communicators, and including a quick note on how to efficiently route Brand Review requests (using the Asana form). We’re also spotlighting strong work from the Enrollment Management Fall 2025 Recruitment Brochure and helping spread the word on All Campus Commencement student speakers and singer applications. As always, if you’ve got a standout project to share, send it our way — we’d love to feature more campus creativity.

With the April 24, 2026, compliance date approaching for the Department of Justice’s Americans with Disabilities Act Title II rule on accessible web content and mobile apps, many teams are taking a fresh look at day-to-day design decisions. One small but high-impact place to start is color contrast. The brand website includes an interactive Accessible Brand Color Combinations chart that helps you quickly confirm whether a text and background pairing meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards for readability.

Ample color contrast is key for legibility. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2) recommend a type/background contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal sized text to meet Level AA requirements. 

Ample color contrast makes content easier to read for everyone — and it’s especially important for buttons, links, headlines and any text that sits on top of color or photography. WCAG 2 recommends a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal-sized text to meet Level AA requirements.

How the chart works:

If you’re building webpages, email layouts, digital signage or social graphics, this is a quick way to pressure test color choices early — and avoid fixes later.

For broader electronic accessibility guidance and resources, visit accessibility.ucsd.edu.

In fall 2025, Enrollment Management launched a dynamic suite of recruitment brochures to support prospective first-year and transfer students, families, and counselors throughout the college search process. The printed Admissions Guide and an eye-catching die-cut piece were distributed at more than 1,300 college fairs and recruitment events nationwide, and a full collection of additional brochures was made available digitally for easy access and sharing. Together, these materials showcased the university’s academic excellence, vibrant campus community, and student support resources, contributing to more than 164,000 applications for fall 2026 admission.

We’re asking campus partners to help identify exceptional students to apply to be an All Campus Commencement 2026 student speaker. These roles are a signature part of commencement and a meaningful opportunity to elevate student voices from across UC San Diego.

We’re looking for students who are strong communicators, thoughtful storytellers and reflective of the breadth of experiences across campus. The application closes April 23.

Share your recent campaign or project for a chance to be featured in the next issue of Inside the Brand and inspire other campus teams.

Updated AI Guidance for Campus Communicators: refreshed resources to support responsible and effective use of generative AI tools. 

Volunteers needed for Triton Days 2026: Sign up by March 22 to help welcome admitted students. Email sep@ucsd.edu.

Using the Marketing and Brand Review form is the quickest way to receive a response. It routes your request into Asana, where multiple reviewers can see it, track it, and keep the process moving smoothly.