FAQ

RIT is an outstanding university and is only going to move upward. Collectively, we can do a better job of sharing with the rest of the world what truly makes us better, different, and special. As part of our goal to improve the university’s national and global awareness of who we are, a consistent, clear, and compelling brand strategy and identity system was deemed essential. When everyone at RIT follows a unified storytelling approach, our message will carry farther and more quickly.

With a refined strategic plan and new leadership, a rebranding effort guided us with telling our evolved story to our key constituents. The revised mission/vision, along with our blended campaign launch, allowed us to operate on a three-legged stool that aligns us internally and helps us operate from the same foundational elements. The refreshed brand narrative helps tell our story in an authentically RIT way while tapping into the larger RIT identity that is immediately recognizable to a larger audience.

As part of the brand refresh project, we needed to explore the idea of a new mark. While we were comfortable not making any change, through many exercises and discussions it was determined that a small but significant change will signal the new era for the university–while building on our storied past that has led us to this point. Additionally, there were design challenges around scale and legibility that needed to be addressed.

The dots were removed as a way to evolve the logo and refresh it with a bit of a modern flair. The main concern was around scale and legibility. In digital advertising and other small applications, the dots tend to disappear. With consultation from RIT’s esteemed design faculty, as well as with a lot of research and benchmarking, we decided to remove the dots and make other changes like thickening the letters and reducing the spacing within the letters themselves.

Yes! It started with a comprehensive brand survey that went out to nine audiences and 6,000 respondents—including students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Additionally, there were on-campus immersion, presentation, and testing sessions. Some of the committees (new and existing) included: Brand Health Tracker Task Force, Brand Identity Task Force, Brand Identity Advisory Council, Design Subcommittee, Logo Subcommittee, Strategic Marketing and Branding Council, Student Government, Academic Senate, Staff Council, Alumni Advisory Board, Board of Trustees, etc. Through the creative process, including logo refinement, our design faculty from the College of Art and Design were heavily involved. The Division of Marketing and Communications put on ~75 “roadshows” (and counting) for different groups on campus.

The athletics brand elements remained the same. In fact, we aligned our RIT orange to be that of the athletics marks. 

RIT’s primary color is orange. White is also considered a primary color to ensure that we are mindful of the importance of constraint in our designs. Our secondary colors are black and gray. Note that there is a slight shift to the RIT orange. This is to solve for the issue of reproducing the same color on different types of printers. For Pantone use, please use 1505C for coated stock and 1505U for uncoated paper. CMYK mixes and other secondary and accent colors can be found in our color palette guidelines.

Brown is no longer a part of our color system. It is an important part of our heritage, and we didn’t take retiring the color lightly. Within our research and discussions, we found that the color was deemed outdated. There was a fundamental design issue: orange and brown do not go well together. In addition, our new color system ties nicely into the athletics brand bringing the university together visually.

The seals have been updated slightly to tie into the other changes with the master brand. The use of the official seal and the contemporary seal is restricted. Review our guidelines for more information on usage. To request approval for use of the RIT seal, please contact brand@rit.edu.

There will be ongoing discussions around capital projects that should reflect the new brand. We want to make sure that we are being mindful of resources when it comes to making major changes. For now, areas that are cost-prohibitive to change will retain the legacy RIT mark.

Our internal launch took launch on September 27, 2018. This means the community started seeing some changes on campus as well as with alumni populations that fall. For the past three years RIT has done a national advertising campaign that incorporates the new messaging, strategy and creative. 

It is not a tagline. It is a feeling, a calling of what RIT stands for.

In order to maintain a consistent image across the university, it is important to have everything produced on brand. This doesn’t just include physical and digital marketing items; every story and touchpoint should radiate from our core brand essence.

The new brand identity aligns itself closer to the RIT collegiate system. The colors are both the same. 

Just like with everything else, you can keep and use what you have. Items like regalia and such (that are brown) will stay on as legacy elements until new ones need to be ordered.

For any merchandising questions, please contact your marketing/communications representative or our division at brand@rit.edu.

To order these materials, please contact The Hub, which adheres to the RIT brand guidelines.

Beginning January 2019 all materials printed will be using the new RIT logo. However, to maintain our sustainability efforts and to prevent waste, please do not discard of stationery or other materials that were developed with the previous brand elements. You may use what you have before ordering new stock with the updated logo(s).

Your area marketing/communications representative should be your first point of contact. If you don’t have one or they aren’t able to assist, please contact us.

Yes. We are all brand champions, and it is about weaving the brand into everything we say, do, and develop. Anything that represents the university needs to abide by these guidelines to ensure a consistent look and feel for RIT.

Yes. We offer a wide range of services from advertising to video production. You may work with your marketing/communications representative or reach out to us directly.

The Neue Haas Grotesk font is free and available in Adobe Cloud, ITS can help you download for use.  The Milo font we have as a licenese, but those are limited and right now we do not have any for distribution. For questions in regards to font usage, please contact your marketing/communications representative or email brand@rit.edu.

Alternate fonts to use are Arial and Georgia, which are within the same family as the new fonts. These fonts can be found on most computers and are free.

RIT has a general photo library where approved images are stored. If you a need a photo that is not in this gallery, please email marketing@rit.edu.

You can get the lockup of RIT and the name of your entity. By using the RIT logo along with your department name, you strengthen the value of the brand and elevate the reputation of your college or department. Having multiple competing symbols and marks creates confusion not only internally but externally as well.

For years RIT has had a splintered brand with all the different variations of logos across the university. There are many ways you can have your own identity without creating a unique logo, such as using approved graphics, colors, or typography to give yourself your own identity while staying true to the RIT brand. You can work with your marketing/communications representative or with our team to figure out a creative solution that does not require a logo but can still help achieve your goals.

Please review our identity guidelines for proper logo usage.

Every academic, administrative, or student organization is not required to submit their creative for approval. However, we encourage you to get in touch with your marketing/communications representative or send us a sample to make sure usage of the brand is appropriate—especially if the materials are going outside of the university.

First, if you have reams of paper, stacks of business cards and other items with current logo on them, please use them up before purchasing new pieces. Building names, permanent structures with your name (think etched glass) on them do not have to be changed.

Now that it has been a few years, please update logos on social media accounts (templates can be found in the toolkit section of this portal) and all printed materials with the new lock-ups provided to your marketing contact. In addition, if there is a need to order new materials, please ensure the new lock-up for your college, school, department, division or office is being utilized.

If you don’t have a marketing contact or have additional questions, please contact brand@rit.edu and we’d be happy to help.

Please contact your area marketing/communications representative or Kin Sejpal at kin.sejpal@rit.edu or x5-4643.

You can reach out to your marketing/communications representative or contact brand@rit.edu to ask any brand question you may have.

Please contact brand@rit.edu.

We have created a page that provides contact information for all colleges and divisions across campus. Should you need marketing help with a specific college or division, please refer to this page for the appropriate representative.

We are always looking for ways to improve our toolkit area of the portal and are open to ideas. Please email brand@rit.edu with your idea.

Please refer to our social media graphics page which provides examples on how to use the new brand on your social media platforms. Should you have social media specific questions, please contact brand@rit.edu

Yes, we have purchased a new media backdrop that can be used by individuals for University business. Please contact brand@rit.edu to reserve it, use is on a first come first serve basis.

Utilizing a licensed vendor ensures that the materials printed are on brand. It is important to use a University approved supplier for all promotional materials if possible. You can reach out to Jessica Hishman in Procurement Services or review the list.