Mark Sizing and Placement
To effectively identify our communications, our marks need to have visual presence. Being mindful of minimum clear space, sizing, and alignment is vital to ensuring our University mark maintains its integrity across various applications.
Clear Space
One way to ensure the visual presence of our marks is to maintain a protected area, or clear space, around them where no other elements may be placed. Headlines, text, graphic elements, imagery, and the edge of a page are not permitted within the indicated clear space. Measure the Nittany Lion shield’s width at the actual size you plan to display it, then use either the preferred or minimum clear space, as explained below.
Preferred Clear Space
Use preferred clear space around a mark whenever possible. Measure half of the Nittany Lion shield’s width at the actual size you plan to display it. Use this measurement on all sides of your mark to create a preferred clear space perimeter.
Minimum Clear Space
Measure one-quarter of the Nittany Lion shield’s width at the actual size you plan to display it. Use this measurement on all sides of your mark to create a minimum clear space perimeter.
NOTE: Use of the minimum clear space should never be ignored in favor of design preference.
Minimum Size
Along with respecting the clear space, placing a University mark at an appropriate scale is equally important to proper mark implementation. Sound design judgment is required to consider how a design or product will be viewed, the intended message, and the appropriate visual hierarchy. In some cases, such as signage, there may be a need to make the mark as large as possible. In other cases, such as stationery, on print materials, or on a website, the mark should be small in size so as to not overpower the primary message content.
The primary University mark must never be applied such that the width of the Nittany Lion shield is smaller than .3 inches.
NOTE: The principles demonstrated here apply to all Tier 1, 2, 3, and 4 marks.
Vertical Mark Minimum Size
Because of the difference in size relationship between the Nittany Lion shield and the logotype in the two vertical marks, each has a different minimum size recommendation.
The vertical 1 mark should not be applied so that the width of the Nittany Lion shield is smaller than .3 inches. The vertical 2 mark should not be applied so that the width of the Nittany Lion shield is smaller than .5 inches.
Alignment
A purposeful layout alignment between the University mark and other text, graphics, or images provides a sense of order and structure to a design. Placement that seems arbitrary or indecisive should always be avoided. Avoid situations where alignment is close, but not quite aligned, as this can appear to be a mistake. There are several alignment options for a University mark, including: alignment with the left edge of the Nittany Lion shield, alignment with the left edge of the logotype, alignment with the baseline of the logotype, and center alignment.
NOTE: The principles demonstrated here apply to all Tier 1, 2, 3, and 4 marks.
