The university seal is reserved for the highest official communication of the university.
Usage of the university seal must be approved in advance. In all cases, seek written approval to use the seal. Acceptable uses of the seal include:
- Commencement and other formal academic ceremony materials.
- Materials produced for the Office of the President and the Board of Trustees (such as letterhead, ceremonial awards and proclamations, contracts and limited office signage).
- Official documents such as diplomas and transcripts.
- Permanent building insignias.
- Lecterns and podiums in auditoriums.
- Commemorative objects created for limited distribution and produced with durable, high-quality materials. Examples could include enamel pins, plaques, medallions and crystal or glass trophies/awards.
- Financial documents such as official university budgets, checks and other financial papers where the seal acts as a mark of guarantee.
Seal Usage Guidelines
Prohibited Usage
- The seal is not to be used as a branding or marketing logo or in place of the primary logo. Never use the seal on administrative forms, flyers, newsletters, general correspondence, signage, promotional items (such as merchandise, swag, etc.) or on webpages or in emails.
- Never change the size relationship among the various elements in the seal.
- Never distort the elements of the seal.
- Like the master signature, the seal should not be cut apart, added to, stretched or otherwise compromised.
- Never use a shadow on the elements of the seal.
- Never use the elements of the seal with type inside of it.
- Never combine the seal with another graphic, emblem or symbol.
General Guidelines to Follow When Using the Seal
All requests to use the seal on merchandise or other items with dignity and value must be approved prior to placing orders. In all cases, seek written approval to use the seal.
- Usage of the seal should follow the same sizing, clear space and other usage guidelines as the logo.
- Use only provided files of the official seal.
- Use the seal alone in its entirety.
Color
Approved colors for the seal are:
- Sorin (PMS 281)
- Metallic Gold (PMS 8640)
- Metallic Silver (PMS 877)
- Black
The seal can be used in 4-color, blue only, metallic gold only or black only. No other colors or color combinations should be used.
Watermarks
To use the seal as a watermark, the materials produced must be in accordance with approved uses of the seal. After approval, the seal can be used as a watermark in two ways:
- To prevent fraud or copyright infringement, overprinting of the seal in the form of a watermark on documents is acceptable. The seal should be set at an opacity of 8 percent in St. Edward's Blue or black only. When using the seal as a watermark, request official files rather than reproducing the effect from another file.
- The seal can also be used as a digital on-screen graphic for videos. The seal should be used in white at either 100 or 50 percent opacity in the lower left or right corner of the video.
Special Printing Effects
Once the seal is approved for usage, it can be used for a limited number of special printing effects. The seal can be:
- Die-struck in full-color, gold or silver (such as for enamel pins, medallions and the university ring)
- Blind embossed (only over official university colors)
- Embossed with gold or silver foil
Please reach out directly with any additional questions regarding usage of the seal.