University Seal

The seal may be used for Stanford activities and is our most formal emblem.

The Stanford seal lends authority and authenticity to any communication where it appears. The Seal has a formal and official quality and is often associated with institutional and academic use. It tends to not be widely used on communications related to life-of-the-university events and athletics, where the more informal block S with tree emblem is more appropriate.

University seal logo colors

University-approved colors shown below must be used for logos and matched for all digital projects, print and promotional items.

University Seal Do’s and Don’ts

Do

Use correct color/background combinations

The university seal should be reproduced in the colors and color combinations shown below.

Download the art sheet which shows correct color combinations for production of the Stanford block S with tree here (link to pdf).

Make it large enough to read

Please use the seal only on communications of sufficiently high quality and resolution that it can be legibly reproduced.

3/8 inch for high-resolution printed materials and 75 pixel for digital materials are the minimum sizes for the University seal.

When the seal is reversed to white the minimum size is 1 inch for high-resolution printed materials and 100 pixel for digital materials.

Give it room to breathe

Whenever possible, allow more than 1/8 the diameter clear space to surround the seal. With the exception of trademark designations, do not place other graphics or typography in the minimum clear space area.

The seal can be a watermark

The seal may be used as a simulated watermark by using a tone-on-tone treatment. The effect can be achieved by using a very light colored seal on a neutral colored background.

Don’t

The Seal should not be altered in any way, such as by extending or condensing the emblem, outlining or adding borders, adding drop shadows or other special effects, or extracting the tree as a stand-alone symbol.