What are sub-brands and why are they needed?

The Boston College wordmark is the core element in the visual identity system. It is the official logo of the University, and is what is most strongly associated with the Boston College brand. In order to be effective, all logo treatments must be consistent and accurate, and as such, coordinated through University Communications.

The primary challenge is to align these entities behind a single, unified institutional brand. The institution of Boston College has many decades of history and name recognition, and our central brand has already been leveraged.

Until recently, there has been no logic in the treatment of school, office, or department names. The color treatment, seal and/or wordmark use, and typography were not consistent. The multiplicity of identity styles across the varying schools and departments added to confusion and a possible negative reflection of the main BC brand. 

New wordmarks for schools and other University entities

Distinct sub-brand wordmarks are being created and will be available for schools, offices, departments, and other University-affiliated groups to identify themselves, while maintaining a cohesive University brand identity. The original Boston College wordmark will remain the same and dominate the wordmarks. The sub-brand will incorporate the names of the schools, departments, offices, and other entities in a cascading hierarchy, with school names being level 1 of the hierarchy.

When the wordmark must be reduced to a size where the seal is no longer legible, the seal may be eliminated. (A seal may be placed on its own in another area of the printed publication.)