Our unit marks define relationships within the university.
Only University Marketing may create official marks.
Primary Lockup
Informal Lockup
Seal Wordmark Lockup
Primary Lockup
Informal Lockup
Seal Wordmark Lockup
PRIMARY Lockup
Informal lockup
SEAL WORDMARK LOCKUP
Primary Lockup
Primary
The Primary Lockup combines Northeastern’s Wordmark, the Monogram, and the college or department name. This version is flexible and works in both small and large sizes.
Minimum size
All University Wordmarks can be sized down until the height of the N in Northeastern is 12 pixels high in digital environments or 1/8 of an inch in print environments.
Clear Space
The clear space below and above the mark should be equal to the height and width of the N.
Please don’t
- Change the colors
- Add other elements
- Warp, stretch, skew or distort
- Add special effects, shadows or gradients
- Tilt or rotate
- Change the proportion composition, or orientation
- Reverse colors or add an outline
Informal Lockup
Primary
The most flexible of the signatures, this version may be used on its own or combined with any of the core university marks.
Minimum size
All University Wordmarks can be sized down until the height of the N in Northeastern is 12 pixels high in digital environments or 1/8 of an inch in print environments.
Clear Space
The clear space below and above the mark should be equal to the height and width of the N.
Please don’t
- Change the colors
- Add other elements
- Warp, stretch, skew, or distort
- Add special effects, shadows, or gradients
- Tilt or rotate
- Change the proportion, composition, or orientation
- Reverse colors or add an outline
Seal Wordmark Lockup
Primary
Our most formal lockups, these marks are available only for colleges and use only by the Office of the Dean.
Please see the Seal Wordmark page for use related to the core mark.
Minimum size
The height of the Seal Wordmark should be at least .75″.
Clear Space
The safe zone around the lockup is equal to half the Seal’s height.
Please don’t
- Change the colors*
* Gold Seal is reserved for the Office of the President. - Add other elements
- Warp, stretch, skew, or distort
- Add special effects, shadows, or gradients
- Tilt or rotate
- Change the proportion, composition, or orientation
- Reverse colors or add an outline
Offices, colleges and schools
Marks
Offices, colleges, and schools that are official entities of Northeastern University will receive an official Northeastern lockup package. These entities may not use custom branding.
Naming
- Retain college or school.
- Omit Office of unless it matches a title (i.e., Office of the President).
- Do not use acronyms, special characters, or variable capitalization.
Shortened names
Colleges may use the following abbreviations and shortened names for communication with current students or where space is limited (for example in social media avatars). Use with external audiences should be limited.
These names may not be used to create informal marks or logos.
- Bouvé
- CAMD
- COE
- COS
- CPS
- CSSH
- DMSB
- Khoury
- Law
- Mills
Institutes, centers, and labs
The naming of these research entities suggests a hierarchy of scale with “institute” being the largest and universitywide, “centers” affiliated with colleges or institutes, and “lab” affiliated with a faculty member or group. Branding reflects the hierarchy of these entities.
“Institute” is reserved for specific research entities. Institute proposals must go through a senior leadership approval process before this term can be used.
“Center” is reserved for officially recognized units.
Entities that have not gone through the above processes should use “lab” or an equivalent alternative in lieu.
Please reach out to the Office of the Provost for more information.
Marks
Institutes and research centers will receive an official Northeastern lockup package. Custom branding is not allowed.
Labs may request an official lockup. Your request will be reviewed by University Marketing, Office of the Provost, and/or affiliated college; if approved, an official mark will be provided.
Any units without an official mark should use a plain text version of the lab name (for example, “Lab for Inclusive Entrepreneurship”) in the upper left corner of the website. Custom branding may not be used in local headers of sites. See our Website Experience Standards for more information.
Naming
- All names must be approved by the college or Office of the Provost and must be reviewed and approved by University Marketing.
- Retain “institute”, “center” or “lab”.
- Names should be short, clear and descriptive.
- Do not use acronyms, special characters, or variable capitalization.
Website Considerations
All sites must follow domain strategy as provided by University Marketing including the required use of a .edu site. Where legally required, use appropriate domain in lieu of .edu, for example .ac.uk in England.
Institutes should have a stand-alone website with a main subdomain, for example, institute.northeastern.edu
Research centers may have a Northeastern website. They must include northeastern.edu in their URL.
College sites should clearly articulate the relationship with research centers. They may communicate affiliation with an institute, but it must be clear that this is a separate entity from the college.
Campuses should accurately represent the colleges, institutes, centers, and labs offering programming at the location.
Departments and programs
Marks
University Marketing will provide official marks for academic departments. These will be provided as a two-tier version along with a three-tier version that includes the affiliated college.
On a case-by-case evaluation, we’ll determine if administrative departments will receive an official lockup. To receive an official lockup, the following criteria must be met:
- The department must be outward facing, interacting often with students or other community members.
- For departments, the connection between your office and its division is not immediately apparent, or your office/department has name recognition greater than your division.
Departments may not have custom marks.
Programs are not permitted official marks and may not have custom marks. They should use the department mark and include the program name in plain text in designs only. For example, Doctor of Physical Therapy should use Physical Therapy instead.
Naming
- All names must be approved by appropriate local leadership and must be submitted for review and approval to University Marketing prior to use.
- Omit Department of unless needed for clarity.
- Names should be short, clear, and descriptive.
Initiatives, impact engines, accelerators, and incubators
Marks
Official marks for initiatives, impact engines, accelerators, and incubators are evaluated on a case-by-case basis and whether one qualifies for a lockup must be approved by University Marketing. Custom marks are not allowed.
Initiatives must meet the following criteria to receive an official lockup:
- Must be universitywide and sanctioned by the Offices of the President, Provost, or Chancellor.
- Must be multifaceted enough that it can’t really be defined or administered by any one, two, or three entities. Examples include the Public Art Initiative, the Faculty Hiring Initiative, Impact Engines, and the Sustainability and Resilience Initiative. No one can really claim singular ownership of these, and the purpose aligns with brand values and goals.
Accelerators and incubators must be approved by the Office of the Provost to receive an official mark. Custom marks are not allowed.
Individual Impact Engines are not permitted official marks and may not have custom marks. They should use the official Impact Engines lockup and include the program name in plain text in designs only.
Naming
- All names must be approved by the Office of the Provost and University Marketing.
- Names should be short, clear, and descriptive.
- Do not use acronyms, special characters, or variable capitalization.
Style
First reference should include Northeastern University’s followed by name, for example, Northeastern University’s Equitable Zoning by Design.
Student organizations and affinity groups
Marks
Student organizations and affinity groups are welcome to create their own logos or continue use of existing logos to identify their organization. All student logos are subject to review and change by the University Marketing team.
Do not include or incorporate trademarks licensed by Northeastern University, including logos or icons.
Words, symbols, and images used in marks should reflect the values and standing of the university.
Club sports must follow naming conventions set by Athletics Marketing.
Naming
- Do not use NEU in your logo or group’s name; this abbreviation has been retired.
- Do not use hyphens or periods in NU.
Buildings and spaces
Marks
Buildings do not qualify for official marks and may not have custom marks.
Requests for official marks for spaces are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. These must meet the following requirements:
- Must have a strategic business need for a name or identity.
- Intended to serve an external community.
Spaces may not have custom marks.
Please refer to Planning, Real Estate, and Facilities for universitywide signage standards.
Events
Marks
Event identities are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by University Marketing. Custom marks will be considered for time-bound events and campaigns, with priority given to events with external or campuswide audiences.
Events that will be considered for limited-use graphics:
- Campuswide and Student Affairs-hosted events like Fall Fest.
- Events geared toward external audiences like local community or professional groups, including conferences, summer camps, and lecture series.
- Universitywide or campuswide events that align with strategic initiatives, including milestones, anniversaries, giving days and fundraising campaigns, and alumni celebrations.
Events that will not be considered for limited-use graphics:
- Meetings including professional development, trainings, information sessions, or networking events.
- Events part of a wider series, including university events like Commencement Week, ongoing speaker series, etc.
- Launch events for new centers, institutes, or buildings, etc.
- Employee-focused events including individual celebrations or parties, appreciation events, wellness challenges, community service drives, etc.
If the event is recurring, the same graphic should be used each year, updated to reflect the new limited duration (i.e., date and year) for the event. This helps to build equity in the event and branding over time.
Marks may not include any official university logos or trademarked graphics unless allowed by University Marketing.
Naming
- Names should be short, clear, and descriptive.
- Must include language that denotes the limited duration of the event, such as conference, festival, week, day, series, etc.
- Do not use special characters or variable capitalization.
Design and style
Any event designs must also feature the university’s Primary Logo allowing appropriate clear space between the event mark and the university mark.
Include the names of any partners contextually in the design. When two or more Northeastern University units present an event, use the Primary Logo only. Unit names should be included in plain text or within content in the design. Do not use multiple Northeastern logos to promote the event.
Designs must include a specific date, month, or year to convey the limited duration of the event.
Do not use event graphics on official stationery or in email signatures unless given special permission by University Marketing.
Joint marks, cobranding, and partnerships
Occasionally, the university partners with outside entities, creating a need for a joint mark or a co-branded logo presence.
In these instances:
- Use logo position to reflect the nature of partnership between the two entities.
- If Northeastern is the primary partner, place our logo on the left or top and partner logo on the right or bottom.
- If Northeastern is a secondary partner, place our logo on the right or bottom.
- Ensure Northeastern’s logo is the same general size or porportion as other marks.
- Leave clear space the size of the Monogram between the two marks.
- You may include a thin, one-color black or white line between the two logos.
- If adding a line between the marks, maintain clear space the size of the Monogram between the mark and the line.
All joint, cobranded, or partnership marks must be approved by University Marketing prior to public use.
Horizontal example
Vertical example
Legacy alum groups
Affinity groups managed by Northeastern University following a merger with another university may use legacy institution branding in their group identity. These marks are approved on a case-by-case basis and should be created only by University Marketing.
In these instances:
- Use Northeastern mark on the left and legacy brand with third line Legacy alumni underneath on the right.
- Use this mark on the website, in communications with the alum group (print or digital), and on merchandise via approved vendors for alum events.
- The legacy group portion of the mark may be used on its own in a local website header when the Northeastern Wordmark is present in the global header.
- Do not alter, recolor, or skew this mark in any way.
Minimum size:
- Mills College Legacy Alums: 3.5 inches wide
Student-facing products
Student-facing products, including health and wellness and business services products, may use custom marks. These must be reviewed and approved by University Marketing prior to use.