The Yale logo embodies Yale’s “identity” and assures audiences of a publication’s strong connection to the university. The Yale logo features a direct and confident “Yale” set in a modified version of the Yale typeface. It is carefully proportioned to work at small and moderate sizes in all publications—web and print. Please follow guidelines for use to ensure that the logo retains its impact as the official mark of the university.
Yale Logo & Wordmarks
Uses
The Yale logo should be included on all publications of the university—web and print—to affirm the publication’s status as emanating from Yale.
The Yale logo should be used in all situations that call for the official mark of the university. For example, it should be used as the mark of the university in publications and at public events that visually represent Yale as a sponsor.
Only with the approval of the Director of Marketing and Trademark Licensing may the Yale logo or wordmarks be used in non-Yale publications or event displays.
Placement
When used in a Yale publication, the Yale logo does not need to be a prominent display element. It can function at small to moderate sizes to “brand” a publication as a Yale product. The Yale logo functions best when placed on the back cover of a print document, or at the foot of a print or webpage.
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| Last page of print document | Bottom of website |
Scale
In print, the Yale logo should be large enough to ensure legibility and a proper hierarchical relationship to other typographic elements. On the web, the Yale logo should be no smaller than the version shown in the footer of this page.
Do not horizontally or vertically scale the Yale logo.
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| Do not scale horizontally | Do not scale vertically |
Alignment
When appearing below text, the Yale logo is most comfortable aligned so that the left arm of the “Y” (at the point where it meets the serif) aligns with the left edge of the text.
When appearing above text, the Yale logo is most comfortable aligned so that the lower left serif of the “Y” aligns with the left edge of the text.
Clearance
Always reserve a cushion of open space around the Yale logo. The height of the “Y” is approximately the minimum amount of clearance to provide.
The Yale logo should not be used as a foundation from which to construct new logos. Departments and programs interested in developing new marks must contact the Office of the University Printer.
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| Leave a clear zone around the logo |
Never “build around the logo” |
Color & background
The Yale logo may only be shown in black, white, Yale Blue, or Yale Gray. Specifications for Yale Blue and Yale Gray can be found on the Colors page of this site.
The preferred background colors for a white “drop-out” Yale logo are black, Yale Blue, and Yale Gray.
Other background colors are permissible. If using a background color other than black, Yale Blue, or Yale Gray, the Yale logo must appear in white against a dark background or black against a light background.
Maintain contrast between the background and the logo to ensure legibility. Never print it against or dropped out of a “busy” background that compromises its visibility.
The logo may be printed against or dropped out of a photographic image only if it remains highly visible and legible.
Wordmark structure
Every Yale academic or administrative organization can benefit from Yale’s new identity system. This system calls for “branding” visual communications/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:
Logo + “extension” (organization name) = wordmark
The typography of the extension varies according to the role of a Yale organization:
Small-cap entities
For schools, administrative divisions, programs, or organizations that report directly to the President through his Council of Deans and Directors. For example:
Italic entities (form one)
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.
Italic entities (form two)
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.
Yale College
Yale College and its subentities may use the following logo in lieu of the Yale logo:
This logo 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 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.
Wordmark use
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; and 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 “Web” 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 should not be designed or used at this time. Please see the heading below, “A note about creating custom logos” for further information about Yale’s guidelines regarding the use of nonstandard branding.
Wordmark creation
Because specific typefaces, sizing, and spacing are required, all wordmarks must be set in type either by Yale Printing & Publishing Services or the Office of the University Printer.
Wordmark colors
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.
A note about using multiple logos
While it’s common practice to display groups of logos in print and web communications, it is Yale’s practice to avoid the visual clutter and “commercialism” of this method of recognizing multiple sponsorship in its publications, letterhead, and business cards. For example, when several Yale organizations have sponsored an event, only the wordmark of the primary Yale sponsor may be used in the collateral materials. The names of the other sponsors should be listed in text. If one sponsoring organization does not rise above the others, only the Yale logo—without an organizational extension—may be used, with all participants listed in text. The same rules apply to collaborations and partnerships with non-Yale commercial and academic entities. All entities involved should be listed in text, but generally speaking only the Yale logo or a Yale wordmark may be used.
Only with the approval of the Director of Marketing and Trademark Licensing may the Yale logo or wordmarks appear in non-Yale publications. When such use is approved, the Yale logo or wordmarks may appear alongside others in those publications or event settings.
There are potentially many instances in which this policy may require mediation. Please contact John Gambell, University Printer if you have questions.
A note about creating custom logos
We see hundreds of logos in the course of a day, each representing a different business entity, product, or service. The result of this visual barrage is that many of us assume that every program, product, or service of Yale must also have its own logo—its own “brand.”
This is not so. Despite the vast array of Yale’s activities and “products,” the strongest, most recognizable brand that Yale organizations can project is that of Yale University itself. That brand is outlined in this website.
These guidelines allow wide discretion in expressing the unique qualities of Yale’s many entities to their many audiences. The use of the Yale logo, the Yale typeface, and Yale colors provides a foundation for organizational identity—along with a strong connection to Yale University—without constraining the range of graphic possibilities that may be applied to content.
Instances where it might be appropriate to create and use nonstandard logos:
> To delineate temporary initiatives—for instance, fundraising campaigns or institutional celebrations.
> To distinguish for legal and organizational purposes Yale-affiliated commercial initiatives from the activities of the university per se.
> To “brand” projects or organizations that comprise alliances of a Yale organization and one or more non-Yale organizations, such as the International Alliance of Research Universities.
Logos often appear to be the result of a moment’s effort. However, the most effective and memorable ones are almost invariably the result of a process of research, professional design, administrative review, and implementation. This process can be expensive and time consuming, and it should be reserved for those situations listed above in which having a custom logo warrants the investment.
New logos should be undertaken only in consultation with the Office of the University Printer.