Every Yale academic or administrative organization can benefit from Yale’s identity system. This system calls for branding visual communications and publications with the Yale logo or the particular wordmark of the organization.
Yale wordmarks adhere to strict typographic specifications and are derived by extending the Yale logo with the name of a Yale organization:
Because specific typefaces, sizing, and spacing are required, all wordmarks must be designed and created either by the Office of the University Printer or Yale Printing & Publishing Services.
The typography of the extension varies according to the role of a Yale organization:
For schools, administrative divisions, programs, or organizations that report directly to the president through the Yale Cabinet.
Example of a school entity
Example of an administrative entity
For organizations, labs, and offices that do not report directly to the president, when the relevant dean or director specifies that the small-cap wordmark appear on publications above the name of the subentity.
Example of italic entities (form one)
For organizations, labs, and offices that do not report directly to the president, when the dean or director specifies that the subentity may appear as a “stand-alone” italic extension after the Yale logo.
Example of italic entities (form two)
Yale College, Yale Alumni, and their subentities may use the following logos in lieu of the Yale logo:
These logos may be used alone or, with the dean’s approval, with extensions to create wordmarks following the basic structures outlined above for creating wordmarks using the Yale logo. All wordmarks created using the Yale College logo should be set in type by the Office of the University Printer.
Yale wordmarks in various file formats are typeset and provided upon request by the Office of the University Printer or Yale Printing & Publishing Services.
A Yale logo or a Yale wordmark should appear on every Yale publication. Generally speaking, one appearance is sufficient for any one print, web, or moving-image piece; it would be visually redundant to use both an organization’s wordmark and a Yale logo on any given page. A wordmark may be used as titling, but its primary purpose is to serve as a uniform identifier and logo for a Yale organization. As such, it can be set quite small, and it works effectively as a “brand stamp” applied on the back cover of a publication.
Wordmarks are not recommended for use on websites. Instead, it is recommended to include the Yale logo in the lower left corner of all webpages. See the Websites section of this site for recommended usage of the Yale logo on Yale websites.
A wordmark should not be used in close proximity to a legacy logo or shield, the mark of another organization, or in any arrangement that creates the appearance of a compound logo.
Legacy logos or school and residential college shields may be used decoratively or transitionally on publications that are marked with the Yale logo as specified here, but these older marks should not be featured in a way that dilutes or confuses the primacy of the Yale logo or wordmarks. Custom logos for Yale organizations are generally not permitted and should not be designed or used at this time. Please see the custom logos page for further information about Yale’s guidelines regarding the use of nonstandard branding.
The standard color for rendition of the Yale logo and wordmarks in print and digital formats is Yale Blue. For all official Yale stationery and business cards, Yale Blue only is specified; alternative colors require permission of the Office of the University Printer. For display use in print and on the web, the wordmarks are effectively rendered in Yale Blue (for the logo) with Pantone 645 (for the extension) as shown in the examples above.