Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1701 as the Collegiate School and is the third oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale awarded the first PhD in the country in 1861 and organized as a university in 1887.
Yale’s visual identity rests on two old elements: the shield and the color Yale Blue. The shield shows an open book carrying the Hebrew words Urim and Thummim, and the Latin motto Lux et Veritas, meaning light and truth. Ezra Stiles, president from 1778 to 1795, is credited with the Hebrew phrase on the seal. The university also has its own Yale typeface for official communication.
Logo history
- 1778 to 1795: During Ezra Stiles’s presidency the Hebrew phrase Urim and Thummim is placed on the seal, according to Wikipedia.
- 1894: Yale Blue becomes the school color.
- Typeface era: Matthew Carter’s Yale typeface is first developed for a campus signage program, then extended with bold fonts for print and web, per the Yale identity site.
This timeline lists only changes that a cited source confirms. Earlier or minor variants of the Yale University mark that could not be dated from a primary or reputable source are left out rather than guessed.
Logo colors
| Color | HEX | RGB | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yale Blue | #00356B | 0, 53, 107 | Official Yale identity site |
| Gold accent | #FABD0A | 250, 189, 10 | Commons shield SVG fill, not an official brand color |
| Dark gray | #222222 | 34, 34, 34 | Commons SVG fill (#222) |
The Yale University palette in this draft has 3 recorded values. Yale Blue is #00356B, which is RGB 0, 53, 107. Gold accent is #FABD0A, which is RGB 250, 189, 10. Dark gray is #222222, which is RGB 34, 34, 34. Where a value comes from a redrawn vector rather than the owner’s own guide, check it against official files before using it in design work.
Yale Blue is confirmed from the official identity guide. The other values appear only in the Commons drawing of the shield.
Typography
Yale uses its own typeface, Yale, designed by Matthew Carter. The identity site says it is based on the De Aetna type cut by Francesco Griffo around 1495 for Aldus Manutius, and that it also shows traits of Carter’s earlier Galliard.
Design context and usage rules
The Yale identity site explains that the typeface draws on the old style faces used in Yale publications since the eighteenth century. It notes that Bembo, a 1929 Monotype revival of De Aetna, was common in Yale publications, but that digital Bembo lost the weight of the original. Carter’s design was meant to recover that strength while simplifying the letterforms.
Carter has taught at the Yale School of Art as a senior critic for more than forty years, and his other faces include Verdana, Georgia and Bell Centennial, so the university’s type has an unusually distinguished pedigree.
FAQ
What is the official Yale Blue hex code?
The Yale identity site gives #00356B.
What is written on the Yale shield?
An open book with the Hebrew words Urim and Thummim, under which runs the Latin motto Lux et Veritas.
Who designed the Yale typeface?
Matthew Carter.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_University
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yale_University_Shield_1.svg
- https://yaleidentity.yale.edu/web
- https://yaleidentity.yale.edu/history
Logos shown are trademarks of their owners and are provided for identification and reference. To request removal, contact [email protected].