Brand Blueprint: A Guide for Communicators

A brand is the perception formed in the mind of our audiences at every point of contact — verbal or visual. Words and images used to represent the Carnegie Mellon University brand reflect who we are as an institution.

The purpose of CMU's Brand Blueprint is to outline and articulate who we are as an institution — to define the CMU brand. As communicators, we must tell a unified story with a distinct point of view and an understanding of our shared values and beliefs. Our blueprint will help us stand out among our competitors by focusing on what makes us special. It expresses our unique personality in a way that is clear and compelling. It gives us a common language and a basis on which to judge whether communications are on or off brand, which allows us to devote more energy to creating the best, most effective communications for our individual campus units and the university as a whole.

Our Brand Blueprint is built from the following elements: