Brand Standards for Websites

The following website standards will help ensure an online visual identity that improves recognition and awareness of the university and generates increased understanding of and support for CU-Boulder’s mission, vision, and goals.

CU-Boulder’s web identity is intended for university departments and university-recognized affiliates conducting official university business, and these guidelines describe the required elements for both custom designs and university web templates. The CU-Boulder web identity may not be used on personal websites or on student group sites.

CU-Boulder’s Web Publishing Policy requires compliance with the web identity standards. To assist web publishers in implementing the standards, consultation on use of the templates and on creating custom designs is available from University Communications at no charge.

Review and approval of the site by University Communications prior to launch is also required to ensure that CU-Boulder’s web identity is properly implemented.

Required Elements

Four banner styles to choose from:

Banner Requirements

• Banner must appear at the very top of every CU-Boulder webpage.
• Banner must not be resized or altered in any way.
• The name of the unit must be in the font Helvetica Neue as shown above.
• The name of the unit should be as short as possible and should not include designations such as: “Department of,” “Division of,” or “Office of.”
• Using “Center of” or “Institute of” is acceptable to distinguish a center from an academic unit or major.
• Using “College of” or “School of” is acceptable to distinguish units from academic departments.
• The full name of the unit should be spelled out in the text on the home page of the webpage and in the text wherever appropriate.
• Abbreviations may be used in the the web banner. The full name of the unit should be spelled out in the text on the home page of the webpage and in the text wherever appropriate.

Search Box

The CU-Boulder search box in the banner is required and must link to the campus search engine and campus directory search. Two options are offered:

• A general search of all CU-Boulder web sites OR
• A site-specific search customized to search only the unit site the search box is on.

Required Footer Elements

• Link to your unit contact page, email address, phone number, and/or address
• University Name: University of Colorado Boulder
• Copyright statement:  
  © Regents of the University of Colorado
• Privacy & Trademark links:  
  Legal & Trademarks | Privacy

Title Tag of all Webpages

The title in a webpage is important for search engine ranking and identification of affiliation. The following format should be used on all pages:
Page Name | Site Name | CU-Boulder

Custom Designs

University units can design or hire a designer to custom design a website using all of the required elements listed on this page. University Communications offers high-quality custom web design and development.

Free Design Templates

A tool is available for the campus community to customize the free website templates to fit their content and effectively communicate to constituents. Several variations are available based on user selections. University Communications can develop sites for clients using the design templates. 

Accessibility

Web sites are required to meet accessibility standards for people with disabilities by using the templates or following the specifications as detailed under Creating Accessible Web Pages.

Seals, Logos, and Marks

The university's names and symbols, such as the Interlocking CU and other marks, seals, and logos, are the property of the university and must be used as demonstrated.

Legal and Policy Issues

Campus web sites must comply with all university policies, rules, and regulations, and local, state, and federal laws. The primary campus policies applying to web sites are provided through the Web Publishing Policy and Use of CU-Boulder's Computing and Network Resources. The University Communications web site links to the University of Colorado at Boulder Graphic Standards and Guidelines.

Examples

• Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering — custom design
• Housing and Dining Services — custom design
• Macky Auditorium Concert Hall — custom design
• Undergraduate Admissions — custom design
• Norlin Scholars — using free templates