KU Logos

Signatures for Major Units

Units within the university (campus, college, schools, departments, centers, institutes, administrative units, corporate affiliates and museums) are eligible for individualized signatures with the university's name in either the primacy or subordinate area.

Primacy is defined as the topmost and most visible position for the text portion of a logo. The subordinate area consists of text that appears below the line.

Some restrictions apply to the usage of the primacy and subordinate signatures.

Preferred Usage - In all cases, the preferred usage is the KU primacy signature with the university name in the primacy area. This signature emphasizes the university, demonstrates a clear and direct association between the unit and the university, and is necessary when audiences may not be aware that the Trajan letterform "KU" represents the University of Kansas. This is particularly the case with international audiences or areas outside of the Midwest region.

Stationary and Business Card Signatures - On stationery and business cards, the KU primacy signature is mandatory unless an exception has been granted by the director and art director of the Office of University Relations. Standing approved exceptions are:

• Centers for public programming and museums, which are public destination venues. An example is the Natural History Museum;
• Training centers, which have a statewide professionally certified constituency to serve. An example is the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center;
• Campuses. These include Edwards Campus, the KU Medical Center, and the School of Medicine-Wichita.

Sample KU Primacy Signature

Restricted Use Alternative Signature An alternative signature is one in which the university's name is replaced by a unit's parent office in the primacy or subordinate area. It may be used by an academic unit if an exception is granted by the director and art director of the Office of University Relations. Because the alternative signature relies solely on the Trajan letterforms "KU" to identify the unit as being part of the University of Kansas, its usage must be carefully selected. Units are advised to use an alternative signature sparingly and only instances where the audience is widely aware that "KU" represents the University of Kansas. An example would be internal or established alumni audiences.

Sample Alternative Signature