Branded merchandise and apparel can play an important and fun role in connecting with our audiences. Choosing useful and meaningful products leaves a positive lasting impression. Follow brand guidelines and licensing procedures when planning and designing promotional products.
Licensing process
Products and designs must be approved by the UI Trademark Licensing Office. Allow two weeks for processing each request. Take the following steps when ordering merchandise and apparel.
- Select a licensed vendor.
The University of Iowa has 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 uilicensing@hawkeyelicensing.com. - Develop artwork.
Work with your vendor and its provided templates to develop artwork that follows visual identity guidelines. Some merchandise and apparel examples are shown below. Contact your unit brand manager or osc-brand@uiowa.edu for additional guidance on artwork development. - Submit paperwork.
Complete the Internal Application and Agreement form and submit it to uilicensing@hawkeyelicensing.com. - Submit final artwork to the vendor.
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. - Receive 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.
Licensing 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.
The federal trademark registration symbol ®️ must appear with the block IOWA logo on all promotional merchandise and apparel.
Merchandise and apparel guidelines
- Use official brand fonts only.
- Always select products that use our black-and-gold color palette.
- Keep designs simple and light on unit-level identification; official Iowa logos and graphics are more recognizable to our audiences.
- Unit lockups should be used when unit identification is desired. OR, unit names can be displayed in plain text using Roboto in a second imprint area.
- For embroidered applications, lockups should be limited to a primary unit and licensed apparel vendors may switch the primary unit name to all caps.
- The Tigerhawk can be used but must be placed in a second imprint area. Unit identification must be used in the primary imprint area.
- Consider using URLs or social media handles to drive audiences to engage with online content.
Usage examples
The examples shown here represent only some, not all, proper applications of the visual identity on promotional products.
The Merchandise Storefront makes it easy.
A merchandise storefront is available for campus units to bulk order custom branded gear. The storefront offers a variety of apparel, accessories, and drinkware with preformatted artwork to make it easy to customize with your unit identification. HawkID login is required and accepted payment methods include university p-cards or purchase orders.
Using unique graphics and illustrations on swag
Unique graphics, illustrations, and type treatments are permitted for time-limited events, campaigns, and initiatives (i.e., Amazing Room Contest, On Iowa, Theme Semester) or retail services located on campus (i.e., University Catering, Marketplaces, C-stores, Street Hawk Food Truck). These unique graphics must always be used within an IOWA-branded environment.
- Graphics of this kind should not appropriate any university logo or logo element.
- The University of Iowa logo should still appear separately and meet clear space requirements. In most cases, the best way to provide separation is to place the logo in a second imprint area. Contact osc-brand@uiowa.edu if the imprint area is too small.
See Unique Campus Graphics for more detailed guidelines.
