Logo Usage Guidelines
These logo usage guidelines were designed to provide support and resources to help you use the Michigan Medicine logos appropriately.
The logo must be present on all official external communications representing Michigan Medicine, including but not limited to flyers, brochures, stationery, business cards and websites.
Never manipulate the logo in any way. This includes not modifying the lettering or adding additional elements, shadows, outlines and embellishments.
What You Will Find on This Page
Elements of Our Logo
Michigan Block M - The brandmark of the University.
The wordmark – Our name and connection to the University of Michigan.
The logo - Together, the Block M and wordmark create our logo.
Versions of Our Logo
Each authorized Michigan Medicine logo is available in several formats, or signatures, to best complement different formats and design attributes.
Learn which signature to use:
Horizontal Logo
This is the primary logo file, appropriate for all internal and external uses when applicable. It is the most versatile of our logo files.
Stacked Logo
This logo should be used in settings where there is limited space and the horizontal logo would not be legible. It can also be used for business cards, print collateral, PowerPoint presentations and swag.
Informal Logo
This logo is intended for informal representation of the brand. It is appropriate primarily for internal communication, and for limited external communication including posters, PowerPoint presentations and promotional items such as ink pens or shirts.
Digital Icons
The digital icons are designed specifically for use as a thumbnail for pre-approved social media accounts. Digital icons are not included as part of standard logo packages. Contact identity-questions@med.umich.edu for more information about digital icons.
Space & Size Requirements
In order to maintain the integrity of the iconic logo and maximize the brand's presence, it is important to give the logo breathing room and define a minimum clear space. The clear space is measured by the x-height of the Block M in the horizontal version of the logo, or the x-height of the two text lines in the stacked version of the logo. The clear space must always be a minimum of the x-height on all sides of the logo.
When reproducing our logo, be conscious of its size and legibility. A signature too small ceases to communicate. The logo should never appear less than 3/4 inches tall in printed materials and no less that 36px tall in digital.
Logo Colors
Logo downloads come in four color combinations. These are the only four combinations in which the logo should appear.
The preferred visual representation of the logo is always a maize Block M, either with white lettering or blue lettering.
It is not standard to use a white Block M with maize or blue lettering. If both maize and white or blue are available, use the maize Block M logo with white or blue lettering.
The single color black or white logo should only be used if you are doing a project that will be in only black and white, or when only a 1-color imprint is available.
When only one-color printing is available, and you are printing on a white or light background, please use an all black or all blue logo. When printing on a dark background, please use an all white or all maize logo.
Logo Placement
When placing the logo on top of a photograph, make sure that the logo is clearly visible and does not get overpowered by the background image. In some cases, using a different color variation of the logo or choosing a different photo may be necessary.
The corners, top center and bottom center of your document or project are generally good spots to place your logo file.
Incorrect Logo Usage
In order to maintain consistency throughout our identity, it is essential that the brandmark is never altered in any way. Altering, distorting or illustrating the brandmark in any way weakens the power of our brand and what it represents.
Do not use any form of the old logo, including individual departmental or program logos following previous logo conventions or with the University of Michigan Health System phrasing
Do not personalize or make the logo specific to a department
Do not change the orientation of the logo
Do not change the colors of the logo
Do not stretch or squeeze the logo
Do not outline the logo
Do not alter the lettering in the logo
Do not add drop shadows to the logo
Do not add graphics to the logo
Hold the "shift" key down when scaling logos to maintain the proper proportions of the logo file.
A Note About the Block M
The Block M stands for Michigan. Do not use the stylized Block M as a letter in a word. It should appear only as part of the Michigan Medicine-approved logos or in compliance with the main University of Michigan brand guidelines.
Double Branding
If more than one logo Michigan Medicine logo is involved in project or initiative, the broadest common logo is recommended and the other entities are simply typeset as a list.
For example, instead of using the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital logos together, it is recommended that you use the University of Michigan Health logo and name C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital in accompanying text.
Some exceptions are made for materials representing community sponsorships.
Department, Program or Unit Identifiers
We understand that many departments, units and clinics wish to establish an identity for their respective programs and research initiatives.
The only authorized logos for entities that are part of Michigan Medicine are included in the approved logo library.
Unique visual marks and self-created logos are generally not allowed for use by Michigan Medicine entities, in order to strengthen our visual brand by maintaining a limited set of well-established logos.
There are a number of creative ways you can use headlines and text elements to identify your program or study in a unique, descriptive way, while using the Michigan Medicine logos in an approved way.
For example, you can consistently identify your program or study by using one of our recommended fonts for your program name as a headline in a very consistent way.
You should never use a headline treatment INSTEAD of an approved Michigan Medicine logo. Rather, you should use your program or study’s headline treatment in addition to the approved logo.
Graphic elements become problematic when they are consistently combined with specific typography and text, especially a unit, program or study’s name or acronym. When graphic elements incorporate type, and are used routinely, they essentially act like a logo would act.
The repeated use of graphic elements that include a program or study name or identifier is not allowed.
The Michigan Medicine Department of Communication is also available to help you create materials that represent your program in a meaningful and professional way. There is no charge for working with the Michigan Medicine Department of Communication. Contact the Department of Communication.
Branding for Clinical Studies
Stewardship of our brand is a responsibility we all share. Together, we can help our audiences understand the value and impact of clinical study participation, and establish a relationship of trust that supports future study recruitment for all Michigan Medicine study teams.
Part of how we communicate with the communities we serve about the value of participating in research, and about our overarching contributions to their communities through medical research, is by consistently representing our teams and our clinical studies as associated with the University of Michigan.
Any clinical recruitment materials, websites or other messaging should use an official approved Michigan Medicine logo. See a list of all Michigan Medicine approved logos.
Logos cannot be created for individual studies. The Michigan Medicine logo, U-M Health logo or an approved U-M Health clinical service logo should be used to represent your study on all recruitment materials.
These brand guidelines on this page have been in place for many years. They apply to all clinical studies being carried out under the umbrella of Michigan Medicine, regardless of whether your study is enrolling established patients or members of the broader community who do not receive care from University of Michigan Health.
The inappropriate use of other, non-approved logos and marks dilutes the name equity and effectiveness of our brand.
All clinical studies are expected to follow Michigan Medicine brand guidelines.
Exceptions:
National or international studies being co-administered by multiple AMCs may necessitate co-branding with other AMCs, or development of agnostic visual treatments that are not aligned specifically with any specific hospitals or health systems.
Clinical studies focusing specifically on recruitment within marginalized communities may require special sensitivity to the lived experiences of the communities being served. Developing trust with members of underserved communities is best achieved through meaningful partnerships between researchers and community members. The Department of Communication can work with study teams to establish an identity and visual brand plan that respects the need to communicate with sensitivity in these situations. Brand office pre-approval of an established identity plan prior to development of any specific visual elements or marks to represent the study is required.
In rare cases, a clinical study that has an established, non-approved U-M logo that has been in use for a specific study for many years and which is still open and/or enrolling, may be granted a legacy authorization to continue using the mark for the duration of their study, so as not to disrupt continuity with current research participants.
Contact the Department of Communication to discuss whether one of these exceptions applies to you.
Do you need help establishing an identity for your clinical study without the use of a custom-created logo? There are a number of creative ways you can use headlines and text and other visual elements to identify your program in a unique, descriptive way, while using approved Michigan Medicine logos. Let us help! Reach out to the Department of Communications, either through your assigned marketing manager or by contacting identity-questions@med.umich.edu. We are a shared service of Michigan Medicine. There is no charge to utilize Department of Communication services.
MICHR and the Department of Communication have a number of tools and resources available to support clinical study teams, including assistance developing branded materials, advertising on social media, or running other types of digital and traditional advertising.