Stationery

While Yale design and identity (i.e., branding) standards allow almost unlimited flexibility in the design of print and online publication projects, the design of letterhead, envelopes, and business cards is limited to specific templates.

Yale’s decision to a adopt a university-wide stationery design has many advantages, from support of Yale’s institutional identity to significant long-term financial savings in administration, design, and production of stationery items.

Letterhead, envelopes, and business cards with the Yale logo and wordmarks are exclusively produced by Yale Printing & Publishing Services (known as YPPS). This is to ensure design and editorial consistency as the system is adopted university-wide. YPPS has streamlined the design and production processes for print and digital letterhead and business cards, ensuring both economy and timeliness in the fulfillment of stationery orders. Organizations within the university are asked to consult with YPPS to develop coordinated stationery suites and bulk business card orders. For digital stationery, “lockup” files in MS Word format—corresponding to the typography and layout of the printed form of Yale letterhead—are produced. Please note that digital stationery is intended for e-mail and other electronic communication only; all print communication requires official printed Yale letterhead.

Official Yale letterhead is printed on high-quality, 100% postconsumer recycled paper watermarked with the new Yale logo. Second sheets, envelopes, business cards, notepads, and other related materials are available in matching—but non-watermarked—stock. Blank sheets of watermarked Yale stock are not available for purchase.

Yale letterhead and business cards are printed by offset lithography in one color only—Yale Blue. In certain cases, stationery and cards may be printed by other means or in additional colors at additional cost. Please contact Jason England at Yale Printing & Publishing Services or John Gambell and Maura Gianakos at the Office of the University Printer for further information about color and printing alternatives for letterhead and business cards.

Stationery design

The following guidelines apply to both print and digital letterhead as well as to business cards.

The Yale stationery system combines a “wordmark” (the Yale logo plus a small-cap or italic extension) and a single column of contact information set in a format approved by Campus Mail and the U.S. Postal Service. Additional lists of names (board members or advisers, for instance) may appear on stationery. A brief slogan, service line, or description of a collaborative venture may also be used on letterhead when set according to the template. Only one Yale logo or wordmark may appear on a letterhead or business card.

With approval of the appropriate dean, master, or director, a Yale shield may also appear on stationery. These are sized and positioned according to the approved template, in the lower right area of the letterhead sheet. They may appear on business cards when the specific card template and quantity of text permits. Note that the shield will be printed in Yale Blue only; printing a shield in color requires permission of the Office of the University Printer and entails an additional charge.

If a professional school wishes to use its shield in a manner that is not in accord with the approved template, or if it wishes to incorporate a different mark, it may, in consultation with the University Printer, create and use a modest variant of the Yale stationery template. Such an approved variant must be used consistently by the school for all print and digital stationery.

Except as noted above, emblems or logos other than the new Yale logo, wordmarks, and Yale shields may not appear on Yale stationery. Legacy logos may be used in other publications, but the new Yale logo or appropriate wordmark must also appear in these publications according to the guidelines.

Users of Yale letterhead are encouraged to employ the Yale typeface for the content of all paper correspondence; Times Roman or Courier (typewriter type) are also acceptable.

Examples of letterhead

Template for schools, departments, and organizations that are represented in the President’s Council of Deans and Directors.
Standard template for Yale departments, programs, offices, and organizations. This template reflects the reporting relationship to a “small-cap” organization.
Alternative template for departments, programs, or offices whose dean or director determines that a subentity is appropriately a “stand-alone” organization for the purposes of stationery. This example also shows how a line of explanation may be placed at the bottom of the page to describe the services of an organization or explain, for example, a joint venture or a program that has multiple departmental affiliations. This explanatory line or two of type may be used in conjunction with any of the stationery templates.
Alternative template illustrating how a school, residential college, or Yale University shield may be used with the new Yale stationery. Please note that only a single shield may appear on any stationery item. The shield will customarily be printed in one color, Yale Blue. In some instances, multicolor shields may be used, with permission of the Office of the University Printer.

Business card templates

Yale business card templates may be viewed on the YPPS business card online-ordering page.