Type Treatments

Type treatments provide a way to create a consistent and repeatable look and feel for an event or unit using core brand elements. All type treatments are created with versions of Helvetica Neue condensed or regular, and a combination of CU Boulder’s branded colors.Note that gold type on white is not permitted. Type treatments must be paired with a universal or department-specific CU Boulder lockup. Type treatments are to be used on applications like merchandise, print collateral and certain paid advertising. Type treatments are not accessible within Web Express applications or in social media and should not be used. Refer to social avatars for social media branding guidance.

On this page:

Type Treatment Guidelines
  • Must use primary CU Boulder colors; however, no gold type on white.
  • No extraneous elements to symbolize type treatment (like a logomark).
    • Cannot have an icon/image/graphic element next to the text.
  • Can add simple shapes into or around the text.
    • Lines, squares, rectangles, circles, ovals, dots
  • Must be used in conjunction with a CU Boulder lockup, but with ample space
    • Using a CU Boulder lockup with a type treatment is important because it leverages CU Boulder’s overall brand recognition, reputation and credibility.
    • Also can use the CU Boulder shortened logo if the unit-specific logo doesn’t work.
    • In some cases with constrained space (with certain merchandise), add text “CU Boulder”.
  • Can use any form of capitalization.
  • Must be used at the top/middle of the design.
  • Cannot be used at the bottom of the layout in place of the lockup.
  • Should not be used next to a lockup; allow enough space to separate the two.
  • Should not include the words “CU Boulder” unless on a space-constrained merch application.
  • Ensure that there is enough clear space around the type treatment in all design layouts.
  • Multiple orientations
    • Vertical and horizontal options can be useful if it needs to appear in many different sized assets.
  • ADA accessibility
    • Do not create type treatments that have gold text on a white background. Consider using all black or making a version contained in a black box.

Current Type Treatments

The current type treatment examples show a variety of type treatment layouts in use at CU Boulder. These examples encompass some of the possibilities to consider when choosing a layout for making a type treatment.

Current Type Treatments

Accessibility

There are some accessibility restrictions around the use of CU gold in type treatments. CU gold used against a white background does not have sufficient contrast to be accessible to all readers. For white and light color backgrounds, type treatments should appear in black or gray. CU gold can only be used in type treatments when it is on a black background or a dark color background with sufficient contrast. Elements like boxes and lines that are a part of a type treatment can appear in CU gold, but any type contained within those elements should appear in black so they are accessible, as in the CMCI Go type treatment. White type in a CU gold box is not accessible.

Type treatments with accessible and inaccessible colors.

Visual Examples to Demonstrate Guidelines for Type Treatments

Type treatments should not be made with extraneous graphical elements.

Type treatments with accessible and inaccessible colors.

Type treatments can include some simple shapes, boxes and divider lines. No graphical element from a type treatment can be used alone to represent the type treatment.

Type treatments with simple shapes, boxes and divider lines.

Type Treatments & Lockup

  • Type treatments must be used in conjunction with a CU Boulder lockup.
  • Use a department-specific CU Boulder lockup or the universal “University of babyֱapp Boulder” lockup.
  • It is recommended that a type treatment be used as a headline, and a lockup as a sign-off in many layouts (see below).

The Leeds and CMCI examples demonstrate correct and incorrect placements of type treatments paired with correct and incorrect placements of CU Boulder lockups.

Type treatments with lockups

Type treatments with lockups on magazines.

Merchandise Considerations

  • All merchandise that features a type treatment must also have an accompanying department-specific CU Boulder lockup or the universal “University of babyֱapp Boulder” lockup.
  • Branded merchandise must be ordered through a licensed vendor.
  • Chip and Ralphie can't be used on branded merchandise unless approved by the Visual Identity Manger. Ralphie and Chip guidelines can be found here.
    • Branded merchandise takes 1–2 weeks to go through the approval process, so please plan accordingly.
Be Boulder Mug

Merchandising Exceptions

In some cases, a branded promotional item might not have enough room for a type treatment and a full CU Boulder lockup placed together. In these cases, the type treatment can be used as primary art as long as the CU Boulder shortened lockup is included. The CU Boulder shortened lockup can be used only in places where a full CU Boulder lockup or unit-specific lockup cannot fit or wouldn’t be legible..

Type treatments and shortened lockup on a hat.

Type Treatment Considerations

When creating type treatments, consider all of the different assets in which it will be displayed. Are the assets mostly vertically oriented (social videos and posts) or more horizontally oriented, or a mixture of both? It can be helpful to design a type treatment in two orientations so that it has the best chance of working across multiple assets.

Type treatments

When creating type treatments, do not use font weights that are too light or have too much contrast with other words in the treatment. Do not make type treatments where there is a major difference in scale between the words. Both of these approaches can result in inaccessible type treatments, especially when used at smaller scales.

Type treatments with different font weights