The University Printer is the administrator of Yale’s visual identity, articulating its principles in practical terms so that departments and programs can use the elements of that “brand” to full institutional advantage.
The University Printer curates Yale’s traditional heraldry and manages and promotes its contemporary system of wordmarks. In addition, the Printer oversees the effective use and continued development of Yale’s proprietary typeface.
Always a graphic design function despite the title, the role of University Printer was established at Yale in 1920, the first such design position in a U.S. university.
The Office of the University Printer is a constituent of the University Vice President's division.
Yale’s visual identity
Bulletin of Yale University
Campus signage
Consultation services
Educational services
Design and editorial services
Yale’s visual identity
Please refer to the visual identity Web site for guidelines for using the key "branding" elements to ensure recognition of a publication's Yale connection: the Yale logo and wordmarks, the Yale typeface, and Yale colors.
Bulletin of Yale University
Under the auspices of the Secretary of the University, the Office of the University Printer is responsible for annual publication of the 17 course books that comprise the Bulletin of Yale University.
Campus signage
The Office of the University Printer manages Yale’s exterior sign system, including signage for West Campus. The office designs or manages design and fabrication of all donor recognition materials and signage, including architectural lettering, as well as digital and analog maps and way-finding systems for campus residents and visitors.
Consultation services
The University Printer is available to consult with departments regarding publications projects. Consultation can include auditing the effectiveness of a department’s graphic identity with the objective of reducing design and publications costs while increasing graphic and editorial effectiveness. Special attention is paid to the design and production issues surrounding simultaneous print and Web publication. Consultation can also be focused upon specific, significant publications projects—viewbooks and annual reports, for instance. The University Printer frequently advises departments regarding selection of graphic designers for freelance or in-house employment. These consultation services are provided without charge to Yale offices, and are conducted in cooperation with the Yale Publishing Services Center.
Educational services
The Office of the University Printer offers ongoing seminars and tutorials about Yale’s graphic identity, typography, editing, and design and publications management for graphic designers and other groups and individuals performing those functions across the campus and beyond. The office consults on logos, wordmarks, Web design, print publications, and related technical matters. It also presents courses in design and design management for Yale administrators, independently and through the Learning Center. The Office annually manages and assists with the judging of two undergraduate design prizes. John Gambell, the current University Printer, also holds an appointment as Senior Critic in Graphic Design at Yale School of Art.
Design and editorial services
From time to time the office also takes on high-level design, editorial, and
publications projects on a contract basis, often in collaboration with Yale Printing & Publishing Services.
Past projects include Yale in New Haven: Architecture and Urbanism (2004) by
Vincent Scully, Catherine Lynn, Erik Vogt, and Paul Goldberger; Yale: Landmarks & Leaders (2006); and The Strawberry Hill Press and Its
Printing House (2011) by Stephen Clarke, published by the Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University.
