Forty-three brand guides to universities and nonprofits — crests, wordmarks and colours.
Universities and charities balance old crests with modern wordmarks. These guides cover their marks, colours and dated identity changes.
How to use these guides
Each guide covers who owns the name today, where the products are made — by the maker’s own account and, where it differs, by other sources — and the brand’s visual identity. A company’s description of itself is attributed to the company, and where a business has closed we say so plainly. The table at the end gathers the essentials.
Universities
Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia University, University of Oxford and University of Cambridge.
- Harvard — The Cambridge, Massachusetts college founded in 1636 and named for John Harvard, its Veritas shield drawn in 1643 and rediscovered in 1836, the crimson students chose in 1875 and the Corporation made official in 1910, and the 2013 Harvard University Press mark.
- Stanford — Founded by Leland and Jane Stanford in 1885 in memory of their son and opened in 1891, its seal of El Palo Alto standardised in 2003, cardinal red and Palo Alto green, the 2012 wordmark by Bright, and the band’s Tree, first seen in 1975.
- Princeton — The College of New Jersey of 1746, renamed in 1896, whose orange began with a student’s 1866 nod to William III of Orange-Nassau, whose shield carries an open Bible and the motto Dei sub numine viget, and whose 2007 identity uses Princeton Monticello.
- Columbia University — Chartered as King’s College in 1754, renamed Columbia College in 1784, marked by a seal adopted in 1755, arms adopted in 1949, a King’s Crown trademark set in Trajan Pro and a light blue formally adopted by the trustees in 1958.
- University of Oxford — Arms of a book between three crowns adopted around 1400, the motto Dominus Illuminatio Mea, a belted device designed in 1993, Oxford blue (Pantone 282, #002147) traced to the 1829 Boat Race, and Foundry Sterling type.
- University of Cambridge — Founded in 1209, arms granted in 1573 by Robert Cooke, a logo that always pairs the arms with the name, Cambridge Blue (Pantone 7471, #8EE8D8) adopted on the river in 1839, and the Feijoa and Open Sans typefaces.
Ivy League
Yale University, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, Brown University and Dartmouth College.
- Yale University — The Collegiate School chartered in 1701 and renamed for Elihu Yale in 1718, a seal with the Hebrew words Urim and Thummim and the motto Lux et Veritas, the blue the Corporation adopted in 1894, and the Yale typeface drawn by Matthew Carter.
- Cornell University — Chartered in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White in Ithaca, New York, carnelian and white since the 1868 inauguration, the Big Red Box logo of 2000 and the return to the insignia in 2004, Palatino, and a bear named Touchdown.
- University of Pennsylvania — Benjamin Franklin’s 1749 academy proposal and the 1740 date the Trustees adopted in 1899, arms with Franklin’s dolphin and the Penn family’s plates adopted in 1933, red and blue from an 1874 track meet, and the 2002 Penn-and-shield logo.
- Brown University — Chartered in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, renamed in 1804 for Nicholas Brown Jr., marked by arms with four open books and a red cross, a seal of 1834, Minion Pro, Brown PMS 476 and red PMS 2347, and a 2022 athletics B.
- Dartmouth College — Chartered on 13 December 1769 for Eleazar Wheelock and named for the Earl of Dartmouth, with a seal of 1773, a shield drawn by Thoreau MacDonald in 1944, Dartmouth Green adopted in 1866 and the 2018 D-Pine and Dartmouth Ruzicka by Original Champions of Design.
Universities II
Duke University, Northwestern University, Georgetown University, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University and UCLA.
- Duke University — Brown’s Schoolhouse of 1838, Trinity College from 1859, renamed Duke in 1924; the seal and motto Eruditio et Religio, the 1964 shield, the Prussian blue adopted in 1965, and the Blue Devil name a student paper chose in 1922–23.
- Northwestern University — Chartered in Illinois in 1851 and opened in Evanston in 1855, purple as its official colour from 1892, a seal set aside after a 2000 identity study, the Wildcats name from a 1924 Chicago Tribune report, and a custom Northwestern Purple ink.
- Georgetown University — Founded by John Carroll in 1789 and chartered by Congress in 1815, the motto Utraque Unum, the blue and gray a rowing club chose in 1876, the Greek-and-Latin cheer Hoya Saxa, and the bulldog called Jack since 1962.
- University of Chicago — Incorporated in 1890, maroon adopted in 1894, a phoenix coat of arms assumed by the trustees in 1910, the motto Crescat scientia; vita excolatur added in 1911, and a shield and Adobe Garamond wordmark updated in 2012.
- Johns Hopkins University — Opened in Baltimore in 1876 and named for its benefactor, a seal adopted in 1885 with the crest of Lord Baltimore, a shield-and-wordmark system from a 2013 rebrand, Heritage Blue and Spirit Blue, Quadon type and a blue jay first drawn for the student paper.
- UCLA — The Southern Branch of the University of California from 1919, renamed in 1927, teams called the Bruins after 1926, Red Sanders’s powder blue of 1949, UCLA Blue (#2774AE) and UCLA Gold (#FFD100), the Karbon typeface and the Joe and Josephine Bruin mascots.
Universities III
UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, USC, NYU and Caltech.
- UC Berkeley — The University of California founded in 1868, its Berkeley Blue and California Gold, a wordmark drawn from Frederic Goudy’s Californian type, the Cal script for athletics, a seal adapted from an 1895 Tiffany & Co. design and Oski the bear, born in 1941.
- University of Michigan — Founded in Detroit in 1817 as the Catholepistemiad, reorganised in 1837 and moved to Ann Arbor, its maize and blue (PMS 7406 and PMS 282), the Block M, the proprietary Victors font and a supporting palette named for campus buildings.
- USC — Founded in Los Angeles in 1880, its cardinal and gold (PMS 201 and PMS 123), the Trojans nickname printed by Los Angeles Times writer Owen Bird in 1912, the Tommy Trojan statue of 1930 and a 2011 shield-based identity system designed with Pentagram.
- NYU — Chartered in 1831 as the University of the City of New-York and renamed in 1896, a late-19th-century seal with runners and Liberty’s torch, a torch logo drawn by Tom Geismar of Chermayeff & Geismar in 1965, and NYU Violet (PMS 2597).
- Caltech — Founded in Pasadena in 1891 by Amos G. Throop as Throop University, renamed California Institute of Technology in 1920, a primary orange specified as Pantone 1585 C, Helvetica Neue and Adobe Caslon Pro, a ceremonial seal and a beaver mascot adopted in 1921.
International universities
Imperial College London, London School of Economics, University of Toronto and McGill University.
- Imperial College London — A Royal Charter of 1907, arms granted by royal warrant in 1908 with an open book inscribed Scientia, a motto taken off the crest in 2020, and a 2024 brand by Pentagram built on a single word, Imperial, set in white on blue.
- London School of Economics — Founded in 1895 by the Webbs, Graham Wallas and George Bernard Shaw, arms with a beaver and the motto Rerum cognoscere causas adopted in 1922, a red block logo, and purple, black and gold kept for academic dress.
- University of Toronto — Chartered as King’s College in 1827, renamed by a 1849 vote, arms approved in 1857 and formalised by the College of Arms in 1917 with two books, a beaver, a crown and an oak, under the motto Velut arbor aevo.
- McGill University — Founded on the bequest of James McGill and chartered in 1821, named McGill University in 1885, with arms designed by Percy Nobbs in 1906 and granted in 1922: three red martlets, an open book, two crowns, scarlet and the motto Grandescunt aucta labore.
Universities IV
University of Notre Dame, University of Texas at Austin, University of Virginia and Carnegie Mellon University.
- University of Notre Dame — Founded by Edward Sorin in 1842 and chartered as Notre Dame du Lac in 1844, a dome gilded at Sorin’s insistence, gold and blue that began as yellow and blue, the Fighting Irish name made official in 1927 and a leprechaun drawn by Ted Drake in 1964.
- University of Texas at Austin — Opened in 1883, orange and white ribbon bought before a ball game in 1885, a darker dye in 1925, burnt orange made official in 1967, the Longhorns name from 1903 and a longhorn silhouette worn on helmets from 1961.
- University of Virginia — Chartered in 1819 to Thomas Jefferson’s plan, a Rotunda modelled on the Pantheon, orange and blue chosen at a mass meeting in 1888, the Cavaliers name of 1923, the Wahoos nickname and a V-Sabre mark refreshed with Nike in 2020.
- Carnegie Mellon University — Carnegie Technical Schools from 1900, Carnegie Institute of Technology from 1912, a 1967 merger with the Mellon Institute, Carnegie Red (#C41230), Open Sans and Source Serif Pro, a tartan pattern and a Scottish terrier mascot unveiled in 2007.
International universities II
University College London, King’s College London, ETH Zurich, University of Tokyo and University of Melbourne.
- University College London — UCL’s identity: London University of 1826, no coat of arms, a logo that has always paired the Wilkins Building portico with the letters UCL, a 2005 identity reported by Times Higher Education, and a 2026 bicentenary logo in dark and bright purple.
- King’s College London — King’s College London’s identity: a 1829 royal charter under George IV and the Duke of Wellington, the motto Sancte et sapienter, arms in use since 1989 with two red lions and a crowned anchor, Reggie the Lion from 1923, and the King’s London branding dropped in January 2015.
- ETH Zurich — ETH Zurich’s identity: a federal polytechnic school that began teaching in Zurich on 16 October 1855, renamed Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in 1911, a Gottfried Semper main building, a 2005 anniversary covered by swissinfo, and a black-on-white logo run as one umbrella brand.
- University of Tokyo — Chartered in 1877, renamed Imperial University in 1886 and Tokyo Imperial University in 1897, marked by a 1948 ginkgo badge, a two-leaf ginkgo mark set in yellow and light blue in 2004, a school colour traced to a 1920 boat race and a red gate built in 1827.
- University of Melbourne — Established by an act of the Victorian Parliament in 1853, marked by a seal designed in 1855, arms received from the heralds in 1863 showing Victory among stars later grouped as the Southern Cross, a Horace motto adopted in 1854 and a Traditional Heritage Blue.
Universities V
Georgia Tech and National University of Singapore.
- Georgia Tech — The Georgia School of Technology from 1885, a new name in 1948, Tech Gold (#B39051) and Navy, DIN Next Slab and Roboto, an Interlocking GT, a hexagon hive pattern and a gold 1930 Ford Model A that has served as the Ramblin’ Wreck since 1961.
- National University of Singapore — A 1905 medical school, a 1949 University of Malaya, the University of Singapore of 1962 and a 1980 merger with Nanyang University, carried in arms that join a lion and open book with Nanyang’s three interlaced rings.
Nonprofits and charities
American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill, United Way and YMCA.
- American Red Cross — The society Clara Barton organised in 1881, carrying a red cross on white that the 1864 Geneva Convention recognised and that U.S. federal law (18 U.S.C. § 706) reserves to the organisation and military medical services.
- The Salvation Army — Founded in London’s East End in 1865 by William and Catherine Booth, renamed in 1878, marked by a crest designed by Captain William Ebdon, a red shield, a navy uniform and the red Christmas kettle set out in San Francisco in 1891.
- Habitat for Humanity — The house-building ministry Millard and Linda Fuller founded in Americus, Georgia, in 1976, grown from a housing fund at Koinonia Farm and known for volunteer builds, sweat equity, ReStores and the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project begun in 1984.
- Goodwill — Begun in 1902 by the Rev. Edgar J. Helms at Morgan Memorial in Boston’s South End, named Goodwill Industries after a Brooklyn workshop in 1915, and marked since 1968 by Joseph Selame’s lowercase “g” that doubles as a smiling face.
- United Way — The federated charity network traced to Denver’s Charity Organization Society of 1887, renamed United Way of America in 1970, whose hand, figure and rainbow symbol was designed by Saul Bass in 1972 and later redrawn with FutureBrand.
- YMCA — The Young Men’s Christian Association founded in London in 1844 by George Williams and friends, now a world federation based in Switzerland, whose US national body adopted the name “The Y” and a rounded, multicoloured logo in July 2010.
At a glance: founding, owner and base
Taken from each guide’s fact panel, as of October 2026. Ownership changes; follow the link for sources and detail.
| Brand | Founded | Owner | Base |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Red Cross | American National Red Cross, Washington, D.C. (1881) | The American Red Cross, headquartered in Washington, D.C. | Today: The American Red Cross, headquartered in Washington, D.C. |
| Brown University | College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Warren (1764) | Renamed: Brown University, for Nicholas Brown Jr. | Colours: Brown PMS 476 and red PMS 2347, with gold and gray accents |
| Caltech | Throop University, by Amos G. Throop, Pasadena (1891) | Renamed: California Institute of Technology | Mascot: The beaver, announced at a bonfire rally; named Bernoulli in 2023 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Carnegie Technical Schools, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1900) | Renamed: Carnegie Institute of Technology | Colour: Carnegie Red, PMS 187 C, #C41230 |
| Columbia University | King’s College, by royal charter, New York (1754) | Renamed: Columbia College (1784); Columbia University (1896) | Colours: Light blue and white; Columbia Blue adopted by the trustees |
| Cornell University | Ithaca, New York (1865) | Founders: Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White | Teams: Big Red |
| Dartmouth College | Royal charter for Eleazar Wheelock, Province of New Hampshire (1769) | Named for: William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth | Colour: Dartmouth Green, PMS 349; adopted by students |
| Duke University | Randolph County, North Carolina, as Brown’s Schoolhouse (1838) | Renamed: Trinity College (1859), Duke University (1924) | Colour: Prussian blue, adopted 1965 |
| ETH Zurich | By the Swiss Confederation; teaching began in Zurich (1855) | Name: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule | Logo: Black on white; registered trademark |
| Georgetown University | Georgetown, by John Carroll (1789) | Chartered: By Act of Congress | Colours: Blue and gray, from 1876 |
| Georgia Tech | Georgia School of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia (1885) | Renamed: Georgia Institute of Technology | Mascot car: 1930 Ford Model A sport coupe, the Ramblin’ Wreck |
| Goodwill | Morgan Memorial, Boston, Massachusetts (1902) | Goodwill Industries International, a network of independent local Goodwill organisations | Today: Goodwill Industries International, a network of independent local Goodwill organisations |
| Habitat for Humanity | Habitat for Humanity, Americus, Georgia (1976) | Habitat for Humanity International, headquartered in Americus, Georgia | Today: Habitat for Humanity International, headquartered in Americus, Georgia |
| Harvard | Cambridge, Massachusetts (1636) | Named for: John Harvard, early benefactor | Colour: Crimson, official since 1910 |
| Imperial College London | Royal Charter, South Kensington, London (1907) | Arms: Granted by royal warrant of Edward VII | Wordmark: “Imperial” brand, with Pentagram |
| Johns Hopkins University | Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland (1876) | Seal: Adopted by the board of trustees | Colours: Heritage Blue (PMS 288 C) and Spirit Blue (PMS 284 C) |
| King’s College London | Royal charter, London (1829) | Motto: Sancte et sapienter | Mascot: Reggie the Lion, first seen |
| London School of Economics | Adelphi, London — the Webbs, Wallas and Shaw (1895) | Arms: Arms, beaver and motto adopted | Colours: Red for the brand; purple, black and gold for academic dress |
| McGill University | Chartered: McGill College, by royal charter, Montreal (1821) | Renamed: McGill University | Arms: Designed by Percy Nobbs; patent granted 1922 |
| National University of Singapore | Medical school: Straits and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, Singapore (1905) | University of Malaya: Medical college and Raffles College merged | NUS: Merger with Nanyang University |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, on Lake Michigan (1855) | Opened: Evanston, on Lake Michigan | Colour: Purple, official since 1892 |
| NYU | Chartered: University of the City of New-York, by the New York State Legislature (1831) | Renamed: New York University | Colour: NYU Violet, PMS 2597, hex #57068C |
| Princeton | New Jersey, as the College of New Jersey (1746) | Renamed: Princeton University | Colours: Orange and black, official 1896 |
| Stanford | Stanford, California (1885 (opened 1891)) | Founders: Leland and Jane Stanford | Colours: Cardinal red, Palo Alto green |
| The Salvation Army | East London Christian Mission, London (1865) | The Salvation Army, with its international headquarters in London | Today: The Salvation Army, with its international headquarters in London |
| UC Berkeley | University of California (1868) | Motto: Fiat Lux | Mascot: Oski the bear |
| UCLA | Southern Branch: University of California, Los Angeles (1919) | Renamed: University of California at Los Angeles | Colours: UCLA Blue (PANTONE 2383C) and UCLA Gold (PANTONE 109C) |
| United Way | Roots: Charity Organization Society, Denver, Colorado (1887) | United Way Worldwide and independent local United Ways | Today: United Way Worldwide and independent local United Ways |
| University College London | London, as London University (1826) | Name: University College London under a new charter | Colours: Purple and blue celeste; bicentenary logo in dark and bright purple |
| University of Cambridge | Cambridge, England (1209) | Arms: Granted by Robert Cooke, Clarenceux King of Arms | Colour: Cambridge Blue — Pantone 7471, #8EE8D8; light blue on the river from |
| University of Chicago | Incorporated: University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (1890) | First classes: Hyde Park campus | Motto: Crescat scientia; vita excolatur |
| University of Melbourne | Established: By act of the Parliament of Victoria (1853) | Motto: Postera crescam laude, adopted | Colour: Traditional Heritage Blue |
| University of Michigan | Detroit (1817) | Ann Arbor: Reorganised by organic act | Colours: Maize and blue |
| University of Notre Dame | By Edward Sorin and Holy Cross brothers, northern Indiana (1842) | Chartered: University of Notre Dame du Lac | Mascot: Leprechaun by Ted Drake, official 1965 |
| University of Oxford | Teaching from: Oxford, England (the university says) (1096) | Arms: A book between three gold crowns, adopted around | Colour: Oxford blue — Pantone 282, #002147; dark blue on the river from |
| University of Pennsylvania | Origins: Philadelphia, Franklin’s academy proposal (1749) | Official date: Adopted by the Trustees in 1899 | Arms: Approved 1932, adopted 1933 |
| University of Texas at Austin | Austin, Texas (1883) | Colours: Orange and white; burnt orange official 1967 | Helmet logo: Longhorn silhouette, worn from 1961 |
| University of Tokyo | Chartered: University of Tokyo, by the Meiji government (1877) | Renamed: Imperial University (1886); Tokyo Imperial University (1897) | School colour: Tansei (light blue), from a boat race against Kyoto |
| University of Toronto | King’s College, by royal charter, York (now Toronto) (1827) | Renamed: University of Toronto, by vote of the provincial government | Arms: Formalised by the College of Arms |
| University of Virginia | Chartered: Commonwealth of Virginia, for a site in Charlottesville (1819) | Classes began: March 7 | Athletics: Cavaliers from 1923; also the Wahoos |
| USC | Los Angeles (1880) | Motto: Palmam qui meruit ferat | Colours: Cardinal and gold |
| Yale University | Collegiate School, Connecticut Colony (1701) | Named for: Elihu Yale, benefactor | Colour: Yale Blue, adopted 1894 |
| YMCA | London, England (1844) | World YMCA, Vernier, Switzerland; YMCA of the USA | Today: World YMCA, Vernier, Switzerland; YMCA of the USA |
See also all collections.