Branded merchandise and apparel can play an important role in connecting with your audiences and reinforcing our brand identity. Choose useful and meaningful products to leave a positive lasting impression. Follow brand guidelines and licensing procedures when planning and designing branded merchandise to ensure consistency and quality.
Follow the flexible design framework to make it easy
Branded merchandise produced and ordered by units should clearly signal to our audiences that they are engaging with an official university unit or program. Represent your unit on merchandise the same way you would online or in a print piece, and select products that use black and gold to ensure immediate recognition.
A flexible framework provides four basic directions for units to follow. Work within this framework to ensure your merchandise will meet brand guidelines and avoid delays during the review process.
Use your official lockup to keep artwork simple
Keep it simple and use your official lockup as the primary artwork.
Use lockups on product display tags if they cannot be produced on the item directly.
Lockups enhance the formality of official unit work wear, such as polos and jackets.
Unique production methods, such as embossing, can increase perceived value.
Use brand fonts to display unit names more prominently
Consider unique placement and scaling of your unit name to make apparel feel trendy.
Unit names can be displayed in brand fonts separately from the block IOWA logo to achieve more scale.
Use brand fonts to prominently indicate event-related roles and use your sponsoring unit lockup separately.
Consider using URLs in small imprint areas to tie items to your unit and drive audience engagement.
Explore brand patterns behind large display text where legibility won't be compromised. Brand patterns make merchandise distinctive and uniquely Iowa.
Use brand fonts to prominently display a department or program name, pairing it with the parent organization lockup to ensure clear association.
Limit the use of our brand font Amnesty to single words to ensure legibility.
Create Hawkeye pride with Tigerhawk and Herky mascot logos
Create Hawkeye pride by adding the approved Tigerhawk logo in a secondary imprint area. A lockup must be used in the primary imprint area.
Drinkware items often allow for full-wrap front-and-back printing, making it cost-effective to include a secondary logo.
Create Hawkeye pride by adding the approved Herky mascot in a secondary imprint area. A lockup must be used in the primary imprint area.
Sticker sheets are cost-effective and popular with a variety of audiences. Use your lockup, secondary logos, and messages unique to your unit or program.
Get creative with unique messaging or pride points
Use brand fonts to display messages unique to your unit. Place the IOWA logo or your lockup in a separate imprint area.
Use brand fonts to display pride points unique to your unit or program. Display the block IOWA logo or your unit lockup separately.
Say your unit name in a way that doesn’t create a unique logo. Adding "Grad" in this example draws on the recipient’s personal affinity with Law and creates a styled message that doesn't conflict with an official lockup.
Get creative selecting products that align with your message. If your unit name is referenced in unique messaging, use the block IOWA logo instead of a lockup to simplify your layout.
Choose products that create a positive brand experience
- Know your audience: Understand the preferences and needs of your target audience. Tailor your items to their interests and demographics to ensure they find them desirable and useful.
- Focus on quality: Invest in high-quality items that reflect positively on the Iowa brand. Even with a limited budget, prioritize durability and functionality to enhance the perceived value of your giveaways. Avoid trinkets and items of low quality that may end up in the landfill.
- Choose versatile items: Select items that have broad appeal and utility, ensuring they are likely to be used frequently by recipients. Versatile items such as reusable water bottles, tote bags, or tech accessories can provide long-lasting value and exposure.
- Select creative packaging: Enhance the presentation of your merchandise with creative packaging or personalized touches. Thoughtful packaging not only elevates the perceived value of your giveaways but also fosters engagement, whether through calls to action, compelling messaging, or memorable design elements that leave a lasting impression on recipients.
Branded merchandise restrictions
Don’t combine the Tigerhawk with your lockup in the same imprint area.
Don’t use colors outside of the official black-and-gold color palette.
Don’t use icons for identification or as primary artwork. See icon usage guidelines.
Don’t use acronyms with the IOWA logo. Additional context must be provided.
Don’t use the Tigerhawk or any other secondary logo in place of IOWA logo.
Don’t incorporate unit names into custom artwork.
Don’t combine icons or illustrations with official lockups or trademarks.
Don't skew the IOWA logo or create modified lockups for your unit.
The federal trademark registration symbol ®️ must appear with the block IOWA logo on all promotional merchandise and apparel.
Licensing process and policy
Suppliers who manufacture and/or sell items imprinted with elements of the University of Iowa visual identity must be licensed by the university. Merchandise and apparel must be purchased through an approved, currently licensed vendor.
Whenever wordmarks, trademarks, logos, symbols, and/or elements associated with the University of Iowa visual identity appear on merchandise and apparel, they must be accompanied by the appropriate registration mark. That may be a ® or ™ symbol, depending on the legal registration status of the trademark displayed.
All products and designs must be approved by the UI Trademark Licensing Office. Take the following steps when ordering merchandise and apparel and allow two weeks for processing each request:
- Suppliers who manufacture and/or sell items imprinted with any trademark or element of the University of Iowa brand must be licensed by the university.
- You must purchase merchandise and apparel through an approved licensed vendor.
- There are over 600 approved licensed vendors throughout the state and country. If you are unable to find product offerings from licensees that fulfill your needs, contact [email protected].
Work with your vendor and its provided templates to develop artwork that follows visual identity and brand guidelines. Some merchandise and apparel examples are shown above.
Contact your unit brand manager or [email protected] for additional guidance on artwork development.
Complete the Internal Application and Agreement form and submit your completed form to: [email protected]
Application and Agreement Form
Per its contract with the UI Trademark Licensing Program, the vendor will then independently submit the artwork to the UI Trademark Licensing Office for approval.
If the application and artwork are approved, the UI Trademark Licensing Office will provide final agreement to your unit and notify the vendor that production can begin.
The Merchandise Storefront makes it easy.
A merchandise storefront is available for units and employees to order unit-specific brand items in bulk or for personal needs. The storefront offers a variety of apparel, accessories, and drinkware with the ability to customize items with your unit lockup. HawkID login is required, and accepted payment methods include university procurement cards, purchase orders, or personal credit cards.
Student organizations
Student organizations offer valuable and unique engagement opportunities. Follow student organization brand guidelines to ensure your connection to Iowa is clear and recognizable for your audiences.
Unique event graphics
Unique graphics, illustrations, and type treatments are permitted for time-limited events, campaigns, and initiatives. These unique graphics must always be used within an IOWA-branded environment.
FAQ
Unique graphics fragment our unified strategy and undermine the significant investment the university has made in building brand recognition and affinity with our audiences through the prominent and consistent use of the block IOWA logo.
Always keep in mind that the block IOWA logo, as an official trademark, holds familiarity and value for your audience, resulting in the clearest and most meaningful association for your department.
Utilizing an official lockup, or one of the approved options for unit identification on merchandise, maintains the trust and recognition that the university has worked hard to build with our audiences over many years.
Lockups are the only official logo identification that should be used by units.
It can be tempting to create unique graphics based on what exists in the retail marketplace. However, the marketplace is a different space and university units should not compete with the marketplace. Merchandise ordered by units must follow brand guidelines for official identification. Represent your unit on the front of a t-shirt or tote bag the same way you would online or in a print piece. You want these items and applications to all collectively carry the brand and act as an official representation of your unit.
Lockups are meant to be official and formally represent your department or program. We know they don't always work well with casual or trendy apparel styles. Use brand fonts to prominently display your department name separately or play up a program message or pride point to create unique apparel options for your unit that meet brand guidelines.
Lockups with subunits will not reproduce on embroidered applications. Only lockups with one primary unit name can be embroidered. Depending on the length of your unit name and the overall width of your lockup, a vendor may need to adjust the text to all caps or embroider at a larger size to maintain legibility.
Ask your vendor for digitized embroidery to achieve the best results or work with them to select a product that can be screen-printed instead.
Custom illustrations and graphics are allowed for campus events and retail services. A unit may also create a meaningful illustration to support a unique message or pride point.
Developing unique artwork that maintains our brand integrity takes a lot of effort, skill, and familiarity with brand policy. Poorly executed artwork strains limited university resources at all stages of the process, from the initial time spent creating and developing artwork, to the extra reviews and consultations required to revise and ensure that university policies are followed. Units must have the skill set or resources to commission designs that meet guidelines and elevate the Iowa brand.
Custom artwork cannot replace or incorporate unit or program names.
Download our printable merchandise design guide to use as a quick reference when designing branded merchandise