Typography
Sidebar
The typography of our brand acts as the voice of the institution. On the field or in the classrooms and labs, our typographic choices must match the personality and spirit of what it means to be a Cardinal. Just as the Cardinal spirit means many things to many people, our typography reflects a variety of attributes and tones.
Overview
Since the early 1980s, our type palette has been a mix of modern and classical. Our original typefaces were the Swiss Helvetica and roman serif Caslon 540 (for more information, see our brand history). As we continue to extend the UofL brand from decade to decade, we strive to keep this balance between classical and modern, selecting typefaces that not only reflect the evolving spirit of the institution, but also choosing ones that work in a variety of implementations (print, digital, broadcast, apparel, etc.).
Note: Due to space, not every typeface weight available within the UofL brand is represented below.
Foundational
Our typographic platform consists of three tiers. The primary typefaces express our core brand attributes and have the widest usage applications.
Foundational Typefaces
- Gotham
- Mercury Text (for body copy) & Mercury Display (for headlines)
Accent
Our secondary typefaces play a complementary role, rounding out the foundational palette and providing extensibility to our marketing and advertising endeavors.
Accent Typeface
- Knockout (headlines only)
Restricted Use - Campaigns
Lastly, our tertiary typefaces are for special applications only, with purpose and use limited by approval from the Office of Communications & Marketing. By restricting these typefaces (in availability or use), we are able to extend their uniqueness and visual viability for longer.
Previous Campaign Typefaces
- Monument (2021-2024 Here & Beyond campaign)
- AvallonSVG (2019-2021 recruitment cycle)
- HaveHeart (2017-2019 recruitment cycle)
The Office of Communications and Marketing reserves the right, for special occasions or other purposes, to extend the typographic brand palette beyond the typefaces defined in this document.
Gotham
Gotham is the typographic heart of the UofL brand. It is strong and modern, yet familiar and friendly. Unassuming and progressive, Gotham’s honest tone and versatile nature makes it the perfect typeface for our brand.
The wide range of weights and styles available in the Gotham family lends versatility and adaptability to a variety of messaging needs. Any weight/version of Gotham may be used.
- Tone: Friendly, classic
- Application: Headlines, body copy, general all-purpose use
- Purchase Inquiry: Gotham Family
Mercury
Mercury is our serifed workhorse. It is classic in nature, but with a dynamic personality. Mercury’s flexibility both as a text face and display face makes it indispensable within our typographic brand palette.
The wide range of weights and styles available in the Mercury family lends versatility and adaptability to a variety of messaging needs. Any weight/version of Mercury may be used.
- Tone: Academic (yet modern), stately, refined
- Application: Body copy, headlines, general all-purpose use
- Variants: Display, Text
- Purchase Inquiry: Mercury Text, Mercury Display
Knockout
Knockout is a modern sans serif font originally designed for 19th century posters. Within our type palette it is limited to headlines and subheadings, executed in all-caps only. It should not to be used for body copy.
The wide range of widths available in the Knockout family lends versatility and adaptability to a variety of messaging needs. Any weight/version of Knockout may be used, but only in all-caps and in headline applications.
- Tone: Strong, timeless, confident
- Application: Headlines only; All-caps (no lowercase)
- Variants: 32 widths
- Purchase Inquiry: Knockout
Tone Chart
Within the UofL brand, there is a wide range of emotional expression available through typography.
Presented here is a chart to help in determining what typeface, weight and case should be used, depending on the aesthetic direction of a given design.