The philosophy of a monolithic (“branded-house”) architecture is “a rising tide floats all boats.”
Our Brand Standards Guide is built on a monolithic (“branded-house”) strategy, where the university wordmark is the primary identifier for all units, divisions, products, and services. The Iowa State University wordmark and its configurations detailed in these guidelines are the only acceptable graphic identification for the university and its colleges, units, institutes, or centers. NO OTHER LOGOS, SYMBOLS OR TYPE TREATMENTS should be developed or used by colleges, departments, divisions, units, centers or institutes. (To strengthen audience awareness for the connection between the university and Iowa State faculty laboratories which may have created independent logos, it is recommended that the university wordmark appear somewhere on print and digital communications and promotional merchandise ordered by the faculty laboratory. The university wordmark should not be attached to the laboratory’s own logo.) Downloads of the university primary and secondary wordmarks are at https://www.brandmarketing.iastate.edu/wordmark/. Exceptions are granted under extreme circumstances if a unit is not central to the university’s mission, competes in a retail or corporate environment, or is celebrating a milestone anniversary. A request for an exemption must be made to the Director of University Marketing, umarket@iastate.edu. Adhering to these guidelines reinforces the reputation of the whole university and all its parts.