Brand & Copy Standards

When representing Altium internally and externally, having a unified voice is essential. This voice begins with uniformity in our copy, from advertising to technical documentation. While content always varies according to audience and purpose, there are simple ways to create professional, uniform content, starting with how words are spelled, cased, abbreviated, and punctuated.

In general, our copy treatments are dictated by the Chicago Manual of Style.

• To ensure content is easy to read and understand, we use short paragraphs and bulleted lists in copy whenever possible.
• The first letter of the first word in a bulleted list should always be capped (sentence cased).
• Bullets should not include end punctuation, unless they are also complete sentences.
• When determining if words should use capital letters or hyphens, we defer to how words are spelled in common usage (e.g., email, internet, workflow).
• Trademark symbols only need to be used at first instance.
• Trademark symbols should be listed flush right to the last letter of the product name/trademarked phrase and superscript, in no more than 8 point font (e.g., Altium®).
• Abbreviations must be spelled out at first usage with the abbreviation in parentheses (e.g., Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS), Printed Circuit Board (PCB), etc.)
• ALL CAPS should only be used for abbreviations (PCB, etc.)
• Italics should be used very sparingly, for publication titles mainly (e.g., PCB Design magazine).
• To add emphasis to words and phrases, we use boldface only; boldface is also used for titles and subtitles.
• In titles and subtitles, the first letter of each word (except conjunctions and prepositions of four letters or fewer) should be capitalized.
• Quotation marks should be limited to speaker quotes in printed matter (e.g., subject matter expert, not “subject matter expert”).
• Apostrophes should be used for contractions and possessives only (e.g., 2000s, not 2000’s).

Altium Limited, a part of the Renesas Group and headquartered in San Diego, California, is a global software company accelerating the pace of electronics innovation. Altium delivers digital solutions that maximize productivity in electronics design, connect all stakeholders throughout the creation process, provide seamless access to component sources and intelligence, and manage the entire electronics lifecycle. The Altium ecosystem speeds the realization of electronics-based products across multiple industries and every size company. Learn more at altium.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram.

ACTIVEBOM®, ActiveRoute®, A365™, Altium 365®, Altium Concord™, Altium Concord Pro™, Altium Designer®, AD™, Altium NEXUS®, Altium OnTrack™, Altium Vault®, Autotrax®, BOM Portal℠, Camtastic®, Ciiva™, CIIVA SMARTPARTS®, CircuitMaker®, CircuitStudio®, Common Parts Library™, Concord™, Concord Pro®, Draftsman®, Dream, Design, Deliver®, DXP™, Easytrax®, EE Concierge®, Fearless HDI™, Geppetto®, Learn, Connect, Get Inspired™, NanoBoard®, NATIVE 3D™, OCTOMYZE®, Octopart®, OnTrack™, Overo®, P-CAD®, PCBWORKS®, PDN Analyzer™, Protel®, Situs®, SmartParts™, Upverter®, X2®, XSignals® and their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Altium LLC or its affiliated companies.

All other registered or unregistered trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners and no trademark rights to the same are claimed.

Currencies need to reflect the local price and local symbol. Please see example below:

Product Names and Brand Names

• Please leave product names and brand names in English.

Software Interface Is Only Available in English

• All technical terminology related to user interface needs to be left in English.
• Technical content that needs to stay in English is color coded (pink) in the original English content and needs to be left in English.

Design and Localization

• Please make sure to adapt the font and size to the language/character.
• Please make sure to keep the layout to fit the localized languages and not break characters.
• Please keep color schemes in mind; what works in the US might not work globally or in certain regions.

Localization Instructions

• Please do not use the same capitalization as in the source text.
• Please keep the translation as close as possible to the source, but make any necessary adjustments to ensure the content feels natural in the target language without altering the core message.
• Logos and color schemes must remain unchanged.
• Please be aware of character limits, such as those in banners and CTA buttons.
• The same formatting should be followed.
• Use regional salutations for all customer-facing content, for example, “Sehr geehrter Herr” in German.
• Postal addresses should be replaced with the local distributor’s address.
• Telephone numbers should be replaced with the local distributor’s number.
• For abbreviations and acronyms, please refer to the glossary.
• Units of measurement must follow the standards of the target country.
• Punctuation must follow the standards of the target country.
• Use of uppercase and lowercase should follow the glossary; otherwise, apply the standard rules of the target country.