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Brand Our Brand

speaking with one voice

Communicating a compelling brand creates a consistent impression of the University in the minds of our audiences. This helps establish clarity about the University’s core beliefs and helps build WSU’s reputation—which is essential to fulfilling our aspirations to become one of the nation’s leading land-grant research universities.

importance of standards

WSU’s brand standards address strategies, messaging, and visual design within a highly flexible, but consistent system. Following them in all WSU communications ensures that our brand is expressed powerfully, elevating the University’s position in the hearts and minds of our audiences, ranging from prospective students and alumni to opinion leaders and donors.

Everyone who communicates on WSU’s behalf is responsible for complying with these standards.

more than logos

Our brand is about much more than logos, colors, and typefaces. The WSU brand consists of the feelings, memories, and expectations that come to mind when people hear or read the words “Washington State University.” We want our audiences to associate those words with a mental picture of a dynamic, engaged, and forward-looking organization dedicated to making the world a better place.

brand consistency checklist
  1. Incorporate the University’s brand descriptors in your copywriting.
  2. Incorporate the visual tone descriptors in your design approach.
  3. Apply the appropriate University signature and other brand design components.
  4. Work with brand managers to integrate strategy, messaging, and visual design.