Brand Guidelines - University Logos

To request the official UM logo for your college, department or office, or questions about which logo to use, email Andy Chapman, director of brand strategy, at andy.chapman@mso.umt.edu

We understand you are proud of the University of Montana and your office or department in particular. We know you want to share your excitement about the work you are accomplishing through flyers, websites, social media posts and other electronic or printed publications. And of course you want to use one of the University marks on those pieces. This guide will help you understand which mark to use and when and how to get help if you need it. 

It is incredibly important for offices, departments, colleges and schools to use the correct mark when communicating with others. Our marks represent, visually, our brand identity — our mission, vision core values, personality and behaviors. They are a stand-in for all we have accomplish, are accomplishing and will accomplish in the future. 

Every time someone visits your website, sees your business card or receives marketing material from your office, they receive a perception of UM outside of the content they actually consume. By having set rules and restrictions, it becomes possible to communicate a consistent brand identity.

Consistency is important in making our brand recognizable and reliable. It ultimately communicates that our brand takes pride in the details — important for a university. 

Our mark guidelines are composed of rules on how to use our brand’s visual elements. These rules include when to use a logo versus a wordmark, how to space the logo and the hierarchy of color and typography.

Keeping our brand consistent allows it to be more immediately recognizable within the higher ed space and with our target audiences. Building a recognizable brand can take a lot of time, but our brand can quickly be distinguishable by adhering to our mark guidelines. 

When a brand’s identity is cohesive, it increases the brand’s perceived value. Consistency allows our brand to appear more professional and reliable.

And while we want everyone to be proud of the University of Montana and its associated marks, each group on campus should have an affiliation and direct connection to one of our marks, depending on his or her reporting structure. If you have any questions at all about which mark to use, please email Andy Chapman, director of brand strategy, at andy.chapman@mso.umt.edu

Do's

  • Do use the mark associated with your affiliation to campus
  • Do use the mark in the correct manner
  • Use only one mark per item
  • Use the correct colors — the current institutional colors are maroon and silver. UM graphic designers use maroon 209 (Pantone® Matching System PMS) and silver or gray. The silver color is achieved by using a 40 percent screen of black, Pantone 423 or Pantone 877 metallic silver. The marks can also be shown in white on a colored background The University logo must be prominent on the front of ALL published materials
  • The University logo must be used in return addresses
  • The size of the logo should be directly proportional to the size of the piece on which it’s displayed
  • Leave a minimum of 3/16 inch space between the logo and text or illustrations in printed pieces
  • Downloadable graphics are for official University use only. You may not transmit these graphics to any non-university party without express written permission from the Trademarks and Licensing director
  • Do not stretch or in any way morph the mark The logo cannot be redrawn or modified in any way
  • Do not use any other than our correct colors — the current institutional colors are maroon and silver. UM graphic designers use maroon 209 (Pantone® Matching System PMS) and silver or gray. The silver color is achieved by using a 40 percent screen of black, Pantone 423 or Pantone 877 metallic silver. The marks can also be shown in white on a colored background.

Don'ts

  • Do not put our marks in a box
  • Do not use our marks in any manner that is unlawful, threatening, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, invasive of another’s privacy or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable
  • Do not use the marks to impersonate any person or entity, falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity associated with the University of Montana
  • Do not use the marks to violate any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party
  • Do not use the marks to intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law or University of Montana policy
  • You may not use these graphics for commercial purposes, including but not limited to, placement on non-university websites, commercial print advertising and merchandise for promotional use and resale without express written permission from the Trademarks and Licensing director
  • Except as expressly permitted within these terms, you agree not to alter, duplicate, create derivative works, distribute or provide others with these graphics, in whole or part. Any violation of these provisions may subject the user to civil and criminal liability, including fines and imprisonment
  • Individuals may not use the University logo to imply any sponsorship or endorsement by the University of any particular position. Notwithstanding this prohibition, faculty and staff may use the logo to identify their position with the University, but must clarify that they are representing their personal views and not those of the University