Visual Style Guide
UNIVERSITY MARKS
MASTER WORDMARK
Our wordmark is a combination of our name and open shield element. The open shield represents openness, welcoming unique perspectives, unwritten history, and revolutionizing tradition. Breaking the tradition of center alignment often seen in academic marks, our open shield anchors our name sitting at the left-hand corner. Our name is set in Copernicus Bold, a modern typeface rooted in tradition.
MONOGRAM
Our short-hand version of the master wordmark. Our monogram is shorthand for the master wordmark and can be used in its place when working with internal audiences. For external use, the monogram should be accompanied by the master wordmark or exist in the context of Wesleyan already.
ACADEMIC SEAL
The academic seal is strictly reserved for academic or official University purposes.
ATHLETICS MARKS
The Athletics Cardinal marks and wordmarks are custom-designed for use by the Wesleyan Athletics coaches, teams and departments. The updated Cardinal has been refined, adding more feathering to give an appearance of a cardinal in flight and a wider eye to evoke our attitude of remaining focused on the goals we set to achieve both on and off the field. The Athletic fonts were customized with extended lines and angles to convey forward motion and energy.
SPIRIT MARK
The spirit mark, the Cardinal head on its own, is a new mark available for use by the whole University. This mark allows the Cardinal to be embraced by the entire Wes community while giving Athletics its own unique mark.
COLOR PALETTE
TYPOGRAPHY
Our type family consists of two typefaces. Copernicus, our serif typeface, is used in our master wordmark and as body copy in print and on the website. Copernicus gives an academic, editorial, and professional feel. It may also be used in bolder applications when working on more expressive materials such as posters and flyers. Replica, our sans serif typeface, is used for web headers, for print headlines, and call-out treatments.
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS
OPEN SHIELD
The open shield is to be used sparingly as a graphic element to highlight subjects in photography and to highlight messaging.
PHOTOGRAPHY
HERO PHOTOGRAPHY
Tone: Hyper-stylized, High Contrast, Energetic, Diverse
Wesleyan hero photography is used to capture the excitement that surrounds the unique abilities and focus of the Wesleyan community.
LIFESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY
Tone: Candid, Realistic/Natural, Diverse, Saturated, Energetic
The primary focus of Wesleyan lifestyle photography is to capture faculty, students, staff and alumni in a candid fashion. Lifestyle photography is used to highlight the wide range and diversity of people, activities, studies, and ways of thinking that make Wesleyan unique. While the content of each photo may vary from shot to shot, the spirit and tone should remain consistent.
ADA Compliance
Wesleyan University makes every effort to ensure use of our colors, marks and imagery meet ADA Compliance standards. We utilize guidelines and tools such as WCAG 2.0 AA standards and WebAIM's Color Contrast Checker as part of our design process. For more information on Wesleyan's commitment to support all students in their academic and co-curricular endeavors, please visit our Accessibility Services website.