Our Brand
As brand ambassadors of the College of Education, the MarCom office is your resource for university marketing and messaging standards.
The College's communications and marketing efforts follow University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign brand guidelines, set forth by the campus' Offices of Strategic Communications & Marketing (StratCom). The Illinois brand includes a variety of messaging and visual identity standards that we must know and follow.
We know this information can be daunting, so we've outlined all the information about how it applies to the College of Education below. If you'd like to dig deeper, feel free to check out the Illinois brand website for official campus usage and guidelines.
Brand Strategy & Identity
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Messaging
Writing Style Guide
The College-specific writing style guide (updated in December 2024) is provided as a tool to support our faculty, staff, and units’ written efforts on behalf of Education at Illinois. By following these guidelines, we strengthen the recognition of the College of Education’s mission and values.
Visual Identity
The College of Education wordmark was developed by StratCom and may only be used for official business. Proportions and colors cannot be modified, and units are not permitted to create their own wordmarks.
Please refer to the guidelines below and contact the MarCom office if you are still uncertain how to use the College wordmark.
Logos & Wordmarks
Formal Wordmark
Use the formal wordmark in applications where the audience is unfamiliar with our university, or when connection to the university is important or necessary, like the Impact Report, AERA, or prospective student communications. Do not use if doing so will make the bottom text too small to read.
Primary Wordmark
Use the primary wordmark in most cases, especially when the target audience is familiar with the university or when space constraints make the formal wordmark too small to easily read.
Nickname Wordmark
Use the nickname wordmark when the target audience is familiar with the university, the College of Education, or when space is limited.
Vertical Wordmark
Use the vertical wordmark when horizontal space is limited.
Typography
Choosing the right typeface sets the tone for your design while reinforcing the brand identity. Our family of fonts provides design flexibility, brand consistency and legibility. Do not deviate from these fonts for your university marketing and communications materials.
To install the university's primary fonts, download them to your computer and follow the steps provided by Apple and Microsoft. Learn more about our typography on StratCom's website.
Illini Color Palette
Illini orange and Illini blue are central to our brand identity and should be the dominant colors used in university designs. Research shows orange is the color most identified with our brand. We encourage orange being incorporated as much as blue.
To easily stay on brand, install the official primary, secondary and supporting colors for use on Adobe programs. Learn more about our brand color on StratCom's website.
Department & Unit Branding
Departments and units that are within the College of Education do not have their own wordmark and should align branding with the College of Education by using one of the wordmarks referenced above.
Do not pair the Block I, Illinois wordmark, or College of Education wordmark with your unit name to form what visually looks like a wordmark.
You may use your department or unit name in text on the materials, separate from the wordmark. When referencing your department or unit in text, you may use brand fonts and incorporate branded design elements. Please check with MarCom for specific guidance on how you can do this if you have questions.
Custom Merchandise or Swag
There may be instances where units without wordmarks need to combine the Block I and the unit name for apparel or swag, and there won't be room for the College of Education. For those unique cases, we have developed templates that combine these elements in ways that follow brand and licensing guidelines. Please email Dana Hagerstrom for custom artwork, or if you have questions about your department's or unit's branding.