All ways forward: the University of Mount Saint Vincent brand.

People often think of a university’s brand as the logo or colors that represent the institution. But the term actually encompasses all the many associations, impressions, and opinions associated with that university.

Increased competition in higher education has driven colleges and universities everywhere to better articulate their unique offerings, so that they can stand out as different to prospective students and faculty. Why should they choose UMSV over another institution? Well, that’s the story we tell through our brand. We’re still driven by our mission. But to garner the support and resources we need to carry out that mission, we must regard our brand as something valuable: something that’s worth defining, developing, and promoting.

Our brand and identity guidelines provide all the necessary information and resources (including how to use our name, logo, and other visual elements) to foster consistent and effective marketing communications across the University, so that you can help us tell our story and continue to strengthen the perception of UMSV.

It really is important that all University communications—from business cards to publications and from emails to social media—have a consistent look and voice. It tells our audiences that what they’re reading or seeing is authentic, and helps reinforce that UMSV is a trustworthy institution with a compelling story.

As you already know, we made the triumphant leap from college to university in January 2024. With our name change came the opportunity to reflect on who we are as an institution and how we wish to share our story.

A clear and consistent brand identity is critical for recruiting students, attracting excellent faculty and staff, garnering research support, and maintaining strong connections with alumnae/i and donors. With a more cohesive university identity, every department, division, and group on campus can benefit. It strengthens the position of the institution and its individual programs simultaneously.

An established identity can also save significant time and resources. With a unified university brand, individual departments, divisions, and campus groups can place a greater focus on living out our institutional mission.

The Mount partnered with Ologie, a higher education marketing firm, to guide us through the rebranding process. Beginning in Fall 2023, Ologie worked diligently to learn about who we are as a university and how that informs our brand. In order to develop our new identity standards, Ologie’s team completed an extensive audit of our communications, conducted focus groups and interviews with both internal and external campus constituents, hosted a two-day on-campus workshop with key brand communicators, reviewed existing brand research and survey data, and more.

Together with the core team from UMSV Public Relations, Ologie integrated the findings into a foundational brand strategy and brand architecture, then translated that into a message platform, creative strategy, and visual identity.

Yes. Our athletic wordmarks and logos, including our beloved Vinny the Dolphin, have undergone a refresh. We’re thrilled to announce that all brands and sub-brands within the university structure—including athletics—will now be following a single, cohesive color palette. As for our student-athletes and fans, we will share updated uniforms and apparel with the community as they become available.

If you believe your department, division, or campus group needs an updated logo, please contact the Branding team using the button above to get the discussion started. We’ll work together to determine what brand elements are necessary for you.

No. The Branding team has a design partner who creates all of our logos and other official UMSV brand elements. If you’re interested in getting a logo for your department, division, or campus group, contact us to learn more about the process. Any logos created outside of this process will not be approved, and you may be asked to stop using them.

If you have an existing logo that you would like to continue using, please contact the Branding team to discuss its use moving forward. It may need to be revised or refreshed to reflect the updated brand standards.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was the UMSV brand. We’re working diligently to ensure that all campus elements reflect our new identity and brand standards. We appreciate your patience while we work to update everything as quickly as we can.

If you have access to materials that still adhere to the old brand, and you have questions about their use or about an updated version, don’t hesitate to contact the Branding team. However, to minimize waste, we encourage students and employees to continue to deplete their existing stock before ordering new materials—including letterhead, business cards, and promotional materials, where appropriate.

Looking to order some cool, new UMSV swag for your department, division, or campus group? We’d love to help. Reach out to the Branding team, and we’ll help you design and order items like pens, folders, notebooks, brochures, table drapes, stickers—the list goes on. Just be sure to have a budget in mind.

We firmly believe that every question is a question worth asking. Don’t hesitate to reach out to the Branding team with any questions about our new brand and identity standards.

Remember, it’s always better to ask than to assume. We’re in this together.