Brand Identity Standards

General Prohibition
Neither the name of the Institute nor any Institute trademark may be used in connection with any person, entity, product, or service if the use is defamatory or otherwise contrary to the goodwill, name, image, and standing the Institute enjoys in the marketplace, or would for any other reason be inappropriate or impermissible for a Georgia state agency, institution of higher learning, or public research institute as proscribed by, but not limited to, applicable policies, guidelines, or terms set forth by Georgia Tech or the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (“USG”).

No Endorsements
Statements that imply Georgia Tech’s endorsement of a third-party product, service, or event are prohibited by state law. Neither the name of the Institute nor any Institute trademark, including Institute colors, may be used in any way that gives a false impression, is misleading, or could cause confusion regarding the Institute’s relationship with any person or entity. Statements that the Institute is a user or purchaser of a product or program are permitted if true.

Under no circumstances, through word or display, may any Georgia Tech unit imply endorsement of a product or company. The unit may state what the company does but may not include any measure of quality, performance, improvement, enhancement, or endorsement.

Use by Persons or Entities Outside of the Institute
Institute trademarks may be used by persons or entities outside of the Institute only if previously reviewed and approved by Institute Communications or a designated unit communicator and pursuant to a license, memorandum of understanding, or sponsorship agreement stating the terms and conditions of such use. Pursuant to prior review and approval by Institute Communications for desired use of Names and Marks on any merchandise or apparel, persons or entities outside of Georgia Tech are required to use an approved licensee to produce any merchandise or apparel with the Name or Marks. See licensing.gatech.edu/licensing.

Standardization Requirements
Georgia Tech’s brand identity is comprised of visual identity, messaging, usage rules, and assets. Standardization requirements are noted below; additional specifications, guidelines, resources, and examples of specific use cases can be found at brand.gatech.edu.

Nomenclature, Acronyms, and Initialisms
Rules for use of names, acronyms, and initialisms are specified in the Editorial Style Guide and Use of Name sections of the campus brand standards at brand.gatech.edu.

Georgia Tech units may not use the initialism “GIT” when communicating with outside audiences.

The term “Helluva" is only to be used for athletics activities and school spirit, and should not be used for external marketing.

Colors
White, Tech Gold, and Navy Blue are the official colors of Georgia Tech. See detailed color  specifications and usage rules at brand.gatech.edu.

Logos and Wordmarks
Official logos, wordmarks, spirit marks, and visual identity elements for Georgia Tech are defined and specified with usage rules at brand.gatech.edu.

All Georgia Tech print and digital communications should include an approved, official logo. Approved logos may not be modified in any way, or attached to any other typographic or graphic elements.

No other logos, symbols, or marks may be used to represent Georgia Tech. Individual units may not create their own logo, and existing visual elements, including graphics, symbols, or icons unique to individual campus units, may not be used as dominant, freestanding components resembling a logo.

See brand.gatech.edu for complete logo specifications and guidelines.

Spirit Marks
Prior approval from the Licensing and Trademarks office is required before use. See brand.gatech.edu/our-look/spirit-marks for usage rules for spirit marks.

Trademarks
The names and marks identified with Georgia Tech are protected by U.S. law through federal trademark registrations, by the State of Georgia through state trademark registrations, or through common law use. A full list of wordmarks, marks and designs, and trademarks protected under applicable law through trademark
registrations can be found here.

Trademark Usage and Licensing
Campus use of trademarks includes trademarks featured on items and materials produced, used, or consumed internally by the Institute, its departments, groups and Registered Student Organizations.

• All items and materials bearing any Georgia Tech trademarks require review and written approval prior to production, printing, or manufacturing.
• All items and materials bearing any Georgia Tech trademarks must be printed,produced, or manufactured by an officially licensed vendor. This includes merchandise used within the organization given as gifts or sold (e.g., staff shirts, pens, etc.).
• Trademarks may be printed only in approved primary brand colors. Trademarks may not be altered and may not be printed on backgrounds that conflict with the brand standards (for example, red backgrounds). For additional standards on brand colors, see brand.gatech.edu/our-look/colors.
• A registered trademark symbol, either ® or TM as appropriate, should appear near the bottom right of the registered logo.
• The letters G and T cannot appear side-by-side on products or merchandise. Only the interlocking GT trademark may visually represent the initials of the Institute.
• Campus units may not use the outlined version of the interlocking GT for academic or organizational purposes. Outlined variants of the interlocking GT remain exclusive to Athletics.
• Trademarks are not to be used in conjunction with tobacco, recreational drugs, gambling products, political symbols, or religious symbols. For additional restricted items, see the full list (external link to USG website).

See licensing.gatech.edu for additional information, including currently licensed suppliers.

Sponsorships and Co-Branding
Use of non-Georgia Tech logos on any communications or marketing material requires prior approval from Institute Communications. Lists acknowledging use, sponsorship, or donor gratitude are permissible.

Using a corporate logo to acknowledge a donor or sponsor, or in co-branding arrangements may be allowed with certain important restrictions but should not be used routinely.

Once use of a corporate logo has been approved by Institute Communications, in the event an agreement is required for use or display of a corporate logo on a Georgia Tech website, the agreement must be reviewed by Georgia Tech’s Office of General Counsel.

Non-Georgia Tech logos, when used, must be preceded by this statement: “The following companies support this program” or similar language, followed by, “The listing of corporate logos on this site does not constitute an endorsement by Georgia Tech.” All variations of this language must be reviewed and approved by Institute Communications prior to publication.

Photography and Video Permissions and Model Releases
Campus units are responsible for acquiring permissions and/or license before utilizing images in photography or video projects. Georgia Tech’s standard image releases for Georgia Tech photography, videos, etc. can be found at legal.gatech.edu/forms.

Video
Public-facing video content produced by or on behalf of Georgia Tech units must align with brand standards including consistent use of provided visual identity, lower third graphics, and closing slide/animation elements.

Stationery
Use of official Institute letterhead and business cards should be used in matters of official Institute business. Refer to brand.gatech.edu for additional guidance on stationery.

Websites
Websites hosted on Georgia Tech web servers or cloud services centrally managed by or on behalf of Georgia Tech must align with brand standards specified at brand.gatech.edu. This includes colleges, schools, and administrative and research units.

Exceptions to the web standards include (but are not limited to):

• Student, faculty, and staff personal pages.
• Course management pages.
• Intranets and internal sites (i.e., sites requiring a restricted-access login).
• Web applications that are open- or closed-sourced and cannot be easily modified.
• Sites for registered student organizations.
• Sites that exist to communicate the work of a consortium or other multi-party organization of which Georgia Tech is a part, but which is not an affiliated Georgia Tech organization.

See brand.gatech.edu/our-look/use-of-name for additional guidelines for Use of Name and Marks on external websites or social media.

Domain Names
The internet domain name assigned to the Georgia Institute of Technology is gatech.edu. The Institute recognizes gatech.edu as its official domain name. The name gatech.edu is legally registered to the Institute and, like other marks of the institution, is subject to use, policies, and guidelines applicable to the Institute.

Formats, criteria, and processes for requesting subordinate domain names are detailed on the brand standards website at brand.gatech.edu/our-look/websites/domain-name-criteria.

Institute Communications is responsible for reviewing and approving or denying requests.

Compliance
In the instance of misalignment, Institute Communications will make reasonable efforts to collaborate with the unit’s communications personnel, or the individual responsible for creating and maintaining the content, and establish a schedule for alignment.