Communications & Marketing
Public Relations - News/Events - Publications - Photo Services - Web and Graphics
Licensing and use of the Boise State logo
The university's licensing and trademark program is under the direction of the Director of Trademark Licensing and Enforcement. The licensing process is undertaken by Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC).
Questions about use of the university logo, the athletics logos or any university trademarks should be directed to the Director of Trademarks via email rachaelbickerton@boisestate.edu. Please include in your email full details of how you intend to use the logo. The director can also be contacted at (208) 426-1358, but response time may be quicker if a detailed email is submitted. Also check the Collegiate Licensing Web site for further details on licensing requirements for Boise State.
Please note, the Trademark Office will closed for the month of June.
If you are seeking a license to use Boise State trademarks, you may apply for a license through our licensing agents CLC. Please visit www.clc.com to commence the application process.
If you seek a crafter's license (for products to be sold at craft fairs only), applications will not be processed until July. Please submit via email details of the product with estimated sales numbers and retail price and where you intend to sell.
Please note the Director of Trademark Licensing will be unable to deal with any other license queries until July. Please contact CLC in the first instance.
If your query is urgent, you may contact Angel O'Brien in Office of General Counsel on 208 426 1203 or at angelobrien1@boisestate.edu.
Additional Resources
Graphic Identity Reference Guide (PDF)
Printing & Graphic Services for downloadable university print logos
Recommendations for online usage of logos and graphics
Please note that you cannot use the Boise State logo on a Web site that is not hosted within the Boise State web system. Boise State does not allow the logo to be used on Web sites over which the university has no authority.
Logos and graphics for use online are different than those for use in print. Making online graphics look good mostly involves "anti-aliasing," which is how Web people describe making the edges of graphics appear smooth against a background. There are several different ways of achieving this goal.
For example, some people prefer to create a graphic with the background color as part of the graphic. This is fine when you have a complex background (fades, textures, patterns), but when the background is a solid color it is generally better to use a transparent background, "matte" the graphic for the background color and then create the actual background separately. Matting creates a "halo" around the graphic that helps it blend seamlessly with a given background.
All of these files have transparent backgrounds, so you will need to create the background separately. The preferred way to do this is via CSS. If you are not familiar with CSS and your job requires you to maintain a Boise State Web site, sign up for a university web workshop without delay.
Please observe the following guidelines:
- The logos available below are for online use only. They must not be used for print. If you require logos for print use, you can obtain them from Printing & Graphic Services.
- You must follow the general logo usage guidelines available on the Printing and Graphic Services Web site.
- You can't resize these logos (of course you can, but they'll look bad and reflect poorly on your work).
- If you need a specific logo at a specific size (or on a specific background) send a request to jeremyspeer@boisestate.edu or call ext. 6-1597 and we can create what you need.
Lastly, you may ask, "if the background is transparent, why is it called 'white on blue,' etc.?" The logos are named based on the background color on which they are intended to be placed. Remember the above mention about "matting?" Here is an example of how not to use a graphic with a transparent background:
The above graphic was intended to be placed on an orange background.
Here is the same logo on the intended background.
If
you would like a horizontal white logo on blue (like the example at
left), you should right-click
here (mac users who do not yet have a "mighty mouse" can
control-click) and save the linked file to your desktop (or wherever)
and then incorporate it into your page. Why can't you just take the
example graphic and be done? Well, you can, but consider for a moment
how the graphic will be used. Will the graphic be at the top of a blue
column? Will that blue column be created by a graphic (tiled along
the y-coordinate), or will it be created by a style that instructs the browser
to render the background as blue (#0b1966 to be exact)? How will you be sure
there is no seam where the logo and the background meet? It's better
to have a seamless background and then place a logo with a transparent
background on top of that "lower" background.
This concept is the same for all the files listed below.
