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Visual Language

Our logo, lockups, and other visual marks

Our logo, and other visual marks, are among the most valuable assets Indiana University has. As prevalent, visible symbols, they help to make our brand recognizable and are powerful tools used to distinguish us from our competition.

A person wearing a marching band uniform with a crimson trident on the chest marches carrying a trombone in their hand.

The powerful symbols of our brand

Visual marks give our audience an immediate connection to the IU brand, making their consistent use critical to our marketing efforts. So when you’re communicating with your audience, whether they’re internal or external, you want to be sure you’re using a visual symbol that clearly associates your materials with IU overall, or with your individual unit, school, or department.

A crimson IU trident sits on a white background.

The trident: our singular logo

Our trident is often the first thing people see when engaging with IU through different touchpoints. For many people, it’s synonymous with Indiana University—the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of our brand. It symbolizes our story, our strength, and our legacy.

That’s why marketing and communications efforts from IU are identified with the trident.

A crimson IU trident sits on a white background.

The trident tab

To clearly signify our brand without having to use complex signatures, you should use the trident in either its tab or extended tab form whenever possible. The tab is intended to be an identity shorthand meant for use in areas with limited space.

A group of trident tabs appear with left, right, top, and bottom extensions of the tab.

Extended tabs

If you need more flexibility when applying the tab, such as extending it from an edge, you can use a form of the tab that extends one side.

Additional brand marks

There is no need to create a separate logo for your unit, organization, or department.

However, our branding system includes a number of ways to use the Indiana University name and closely associated symbols as identifiers.

All options for branding your communications with the Indiana University name include the trident. In addition to the stand-alone trident or tabs, your options are:

  • Marketing Lockups

    Discover our informal system meant for use across all marketing and communications channels.

  • Official Signatures

    Use our formal system meant for use on stationery, official documents, and ceremonial materials.