Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, maintains a visual identity built around a registered wordmark, an official seal, and a tartan pattern with direct ties to its founder. The university’s identity system is governed by formal brand guidelines that specify how the wordmark, unitmarks, and colors may be used across publications, merchandise, and digital media.
Design and History
The university’s official seal was designed by Tiffany and adopted in May 1912, incorporating Andrew Carnegie’s motto “My heart is in the work.”[1] The seal features the university’s founding year, 1900, and its location, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, surrounding a central emblem that includes a thistle, Scotland’s national flower, reflecting Carnegie’s Scottish heritage.[2]
In 1989, the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted registered trademark status to three marks: the university’s name “CARNEGIE MELLON,” the CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY SEAL DESIGN, and the CARNEGIE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SEAL DESIGN.[3] The Carnegie Institute of Technology seal dates to the institution’s earlier identity before the 1967 merger with the Mellon Institute that created Carnegie Mellon University.
In 2009, the USPTO granted registered trademark status to the university’s Scottish terrier mascot and design.[3] In 2022, “CMU” received registered trademark status through cooperation with Central Michigan University for specific international classes of goods.[3]
The university also claims ownership of the Tartan design, which was originally commissioned by and created for founder Andrew Carnegie. The Tartan, along with phrases such as “CARNEGIE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,” “CARNEGIE TECH,” and “MY HEART IS IN THE WORK,” are used by the university but are not registered trademarks with the USPTO.[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The official seal incorporates the motto “My heart is in the work,” words Andrew Carnegie spoke at the institution’s founding and which became part of the seal when it was designed by Tiffany and adopted in 1912.[1] The seal’s central imagery includes a thistle, the national flower of Scotland, a reference to Carnegie’s Scottish origins.[2]
The university’s tartan pattern, originally commissioned for Andrew Carnegie, serves as a distinctive visual element tied to the founder’s Scottish heritage and appears across university materials and merchandise.[3]
Typography and Design
CMU’s brand guidelines specify that the university wordmark and unitmarks are graphic files only and are not to be recreated in a font.[4] The official wordmark for “Carnegie Mellon University” is the preferred mark and can appear horizontally or rotated 90 degrees, but should avoid curves, arcs, or diagonals.[5]
The university’s typography system recommends two font families: Times and Helvetica, chosen to complement the wordmark.[6] For web and digital applications, the preferred typeface is Open Sans, with Helvetica as an alternate font.[7]
Core university colors for the wordmark are limited to black, grey, white, or red, with backgrounds restricted to black, grey, white, red, or Tartan.[8]
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