As a large, multi-faceted institution, Washington University is composed of many academic and administrative units, divisions, centers and programs, each with a distinct audience and identity.
Do not attempt to create artwork for your own identity marks. Please contact MarComm to discuss the feasibility of developing a mark for your unit.
School of Medicine logos and lockups can be found on the Medicine Marketing & Communications.
Unit Lockups Levels
Level 1 Lockup
Official university logo
Level 2 Lockup
Schools and approved university-wide divisions
Level 3 Lockup
Centers or programs, typically part of a school or other unit
Logo colors and backgrounds
On a dark background, a reverse version of the logo is required, with the wordmark in white. Note that the reverse versions of the logo include a white outline around the three-color shield.
One-color versions of the logo are also available for applications when full-color printing of the logo is not possible. The one-color logo may only appear in black or our gray (on a light-colored background) or reversed to white (on a dark background). Our red or green are acceptable colors for the one-color logo on merchandise only.
Full-Color Reverse
One-Color Positive
One-Color Reverse
Clear space
When using any approved version of the logo, it is important that the area surrounding the logo remain free of type or imagery, so that nothing competes with the logo for the viewer’s attention. To ensure this, each approved version of the logo must never appear closer than the height and width of the shield to the edge of the paper or to any other typography or artwork. This clear space may necessarily be reduced when placing the logo on a website, but designers should still take care to separate the logo from other page contents, such as in a header bar.
One line
Two-line Horizontal
Two-line Centered
Three-line Centered
Logo don’ts
Washington University logos, including logo “lockups,” must always be reproduced from approved artwork and can never be altered. The examples show various unapproved uses.
Motion Graphics: Our official logo marks should not be animated — no flying, flipping, zooming, breaking apart or building. In video or multimedia applications, the logo should simply dissolve on or off screen as a unit.
General guidelines
The logo should appear on either the front or back of any printed communication and on every web page or electronic communication.
In most cases, it does not need to be prominently displayed. It is an identifying element, not a design device. It should occupy a position in the layout hierarchy that serves as a signature. It should not be the main focus. It should be large enough to be legible and proportionate to the design, but no larger.
The layout examples shown apply also for Level 2 and Level 3 lockups.
No more than one university lockup should appear on the same page — for example, if a page includes a school logo (Level 2 lockup) or center logo (Level 3 lockup), it is redundant to place a university logo in the same layout.
For situations that require co-branding or partnering of two or more university units the “one-logo” rule applies. Use the highest-level logo that applies to all entities and list the separate units in ordinary type.
Use care to provide separation between logos when creating any layout that requires using the university logo (or any university lockup) and any other logo in the same design (such as a partnership, sponsorship or other affiliation).
Although the logo architecture for schools, centers, departments and other permanent university entities is outlined here and should be maintained, there may be occasional instances when the development of a unique logo may be appropriate.
The development of a non-standard logo should only be undertaken in consultation with and approval by MarComm.
Some instances when unique logos may be considered:
To identify initiatives or events that have a defined end date — for instance, a capital campaign, alumni event or academic symposium.
To distinguish university-affiliated commercial entities from Washington University itself.
This variation of the logo shield has been created to allow designers the freedom to use this iconic university emblem with more design flexibility. It can be used as an accent graphic to add visual impact to a layout and provide an additional element of our identity to compositions. It can be used in large or small sizes, cropped at the edge of a composition or as a stand-alone flourish. It can be produced in any single brand color or reversed from a photograph. The outline shield is always a single color. Do not attempt to fill in areas with color or create multi-color variations.
In order to maintain the integrity of the design at all sizes, the outline shield has been created in two variations: large (open) and small (solid). The difference between these is the treatment of the small stars and fleurs-de-lis. When the outline shield is produced at smaller than 1 inch, or in any situation that renders the outlines of these details difficult to reproduce, choose the solid version.
Do not confuse the one-color version of the university logo shield for the outline shield.
This variation of the outline logo shield has been created to be used on digital platforms to allow the logo shield to be responsive on all devices. It can be used on large or small screens. It can be produced in any single brand color or reversed.
In order to maintain the integrity of the design at all sizes, the digital outline shield has been created in two variations: desktop and mobile. When the digital outline shield is produced at smaller than 50px, choose the mobile version.
Mobile – smaller than 50px
Desktop – larger than 50px, up to 100px
In instances where the logo simply will not work due to extremely limited space, the name of the university may be substituted. Examples where this may be required are branded products such
as pens, flash drives or similar small items. In these cases, the name “Washington University in St. Louis” — or, if necessary, “Washington University” should be typeset in Libre Baskerville. Wherever possible, a version of the logo should be used.