Indiana University Logo

Indiana University Logo PNG

The Indiana University logo represents the university as a candlestick that keeps the flame burning on the candle of knowledge. The institution helps students ignite their love for the sciences and burn for discoveries and achievements.

Meaning and History

The earliest mention of Indiana University dates back to 1839. The name change occurred when the institution’s first president, Andrew Wiley, was a theologian and academic. After Wylie, six other ministers held the position, and then biology professor David Starr Jordan took the helm. He improved the university’s image and solved the problem of finances. Once Jordan became president, he had to work on building a new campus on the outskirts of Bloomington because the old one was destroyed by fire.

The university’s main logo consists of a monogram and an inscription. The stylized combination of the letters “IU” looks like a trident. According to another version, it looks like Psy from the Greek alphabet. The bound sign appeared as early as 1898 – at least, that’s the year the earliest version found dates back to. It appeared in the sports section of Arbutus magazine and was signed by the author, Claude MacDonald Hamilton. It turns out that the famous monogram was created by a student who was educated in economics, combining his studies with soccer and editing Arbutus. We do not know whether he invented it himself or got it elsewhere.

What is Indiana University?

This large public research institution has its main campus in Bloomington. It is known for its outstanding programs, such as the Jacobs School of Music, the Kelley School of Business, and the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. The university comprises 16 colleges and schools, offering around 550 academic programs in arts and medicine. The campus is notable for its extensive library system with more than 9.9 million books and its signature Indiana limestone architecture. The university is also renowned for its athletic achievements, particularly in basketball, where the Hoosiers team has won multiple championship titles in the Big Ten Conference.

According to archival evidence, the trident was used by sports teams for a long time before becoming part of the official Indiana University logo. The current version contains an “I” and a “U” with large rectangular serifs, with the lower edges of the “U” on the right and left being chopped off. Previously, the ends were flat, so the symbol could be confused with the letter Psi.

Next to the stylized monogram is the name of the university. The designers made it black to balance out the crimson icon. As for the crossed “IU,” a serif font is used for the inscription, but it is thin and elongated here. The main and additional strokes in the letters are contrasting. The different thickness of the lines gives the words a visual dynamic.

The logo is an integral part of the Indiana University brand and is used by all campuses in several cities across the state. It can be found in ceremonial materials, official documents, and stationery.

The Seal

In the 20th century, IU expanded aggressively and opened additional chapters in other cities nationwide. Now, there are eight of them, and they all share a common visual identification system. It is based on the logo and seal, which appeared at different times. The main visual symbol of Indiana University is a trident formed from the letters “I” and “U.” The debut versions of the monogram were used only for athletic purposes. Later, this graphic element was combined with the institution’s traditional signature.

According to archival documents, the university seal was adopted in 1841. Naturally, it evolved over a century and a half, but even the first version had an open-book image. Now, it is a vertical rectangle with two columns of improvised “lines” made of strips of different lengths. There are two parallel lines on the sides, marking the edges of the pages.

Researchers suggest that the book at the press’s center is religious. This is supported by the words of one of IU’s presidents, William Daily. In 1856, he called it a divine bible and compared the rays around it to the light of truth. As the university developed, the meaning of the graphic signs changed. In the modern interpretation, the book is a source of knowledge for students. It emphasizes the importance of learning and teaching.

On the other hand, the sun represents illumination, the sudden knowledge of the truth. On the other hand, it may be related to the luminary depicted on the Indiana State Seal. A similar alternation of short and long rays confirms this version. The sun on the university seal is not rising-it is already at its zenith because its light spreads in all directions. This indicates the maturity and influence of the institution. And this symbol is also opposed to the darkness of ignorance, as is the motto “Lux et Veritas.” The Latin phrase next to the book expresses IU’s main goal of imparting knowledge to students to learn the truth.

The book, rays, and motto are placed in a circle with a circular frame. It contains the following text: “INDIANENSIS UNIVERSITATIS SIGILLUM.” Two five-pointed stars separate it from the Roman number “MDCCCXX,” which in Arabic numerals means “1820,” the year the university was founded.

The seal of Indiana University is used only in exceptional cases, such as in official documents (agreements, diplomas) or during historical events. It is administered by the president, who decides if the symbol can be reproduced in different media.

Indiana University Logo

Indiana Hoosiers is the athletic program at Indiana University Bloomington. Its teams compete in twenty-four NCAA Division I sports and have been part of the Big Ten Conference since 1899. The official colors of the university are cream and dark crimson. There is no mascot, per se: at least the Hoosier’s nickname is not associated with it. The word has long been used to refer to the people of Indiana, both aboriginal and modern.

The monogram that served as the prototype for the current Indiana Hoosiers emblem has been the hallmark of Indiana University Bloomington for more than a century. Its earliest version appears in the 1898 Arbutus under Athletics. The drawing is signed by Claude McDonald Hamilton, an alumnus of the university, Arbutus editor, and IU soccer team member. It is unknown if he created the monogram or copied it from another source.

1976 – 1981

The emblem, approved in 1976, resembles a trident. It comprises the letters “I” and “U” in large rectangular serifs. The “I” intersects with the “U” at the bottom, dividing it into two equal fragments.

1982 – 2001

In the early 1980s, artists delineated the letters by adding wide black lines. Eventually, they made the image three-dimensional, making the monogram no longer look like a single symbol.

2002 – today

Another redesign involved changing the color scheme of Indiana University Bloomington. It included simple shades of white and red for a long time, but 2002, the institution returned to cream and crimson tones. After that, the school’s management turned to designer Michael Osborne to modernize the logo according to their instructions. Paul Kagiwada finalized the design a little later – he made the monogram easier and gave it a clearer and cleaner look.

Indiana University Bloomington and Indiana Hoosiers trademarks are the same. Sports teams borrowed the emblem from their university without changing anything in it. Over the decades, the designers experimented several times with the width and color of the lines, but the basic structure remained the same: in the center were the joined letters “I” and “U.”

This adherence to tradition shows that the institution’s students and staff considered the logo flawless. No additional elements were used, as the university had no mascot to depict next to the monogram.

The Indiana Hoosiers are famous for their basketball program, which in 2018 was ranked as the second-best in the United States. In the 1975-1976 season, the men’s team finished first in the NCAA Division I Tournament. In addition, it had 66 wins in the NCAA Tournament and 22 in the Big Ten Conference Championships. The women’s team’s success has been impressive, with the basketball team winning the Women’s National Invitation Tournament and Big Ten Tournament.

The baseball team has appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments, including one College World Series appearance. At the same time, it won seven regular-season championships.

The Indiana Hoosiers soccer team originated in 1884. Since then, it has won the Big Ten Championship twice: in 1945 and 1967. In addition, players have participated in the 1968 Rose Bowl and other such games.

Soccer is one of the greatest programs in the history of intercollegiate sports. It was launched in 1973 and has since beat the competition in many soccer games. The men’s team has won 52 All-America awards, 11 Big Ten Tournaments, and eight NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Tournament titles.

The Indiana Hoosiers have been members of the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (Division I) since 2010. They have proven themselves in the GMHL, MCHL, and Big Ten Hockey League championships. Their home games are played at Frank Southern Arena.

Font and Colors

There are many symbolic elements in the seal of an educational institution, and all of them, in one way or another, are related to light. It is mentioned in the motto “Lux et Veritas” and is embodied in the sun’s image with 48 rays in the shape of cut quartz crystals. The book, in turn, symbolizes the way out of the darkness of ignorance to the light of truth.

At the same time, the most recognizable sign of Indiana University is a trident, which appeared the century before last. This simple figure consists of the letters “I” and “U.” But it has much more meaning than the usual monogram. It has become a powerful and iconic symbol familiar to almost everyone in the Midwest United States. Academic campuses, student organizations, and sports teams use it, and it is depicted on souvenirs and clothing. So, the trident can be considered a distinctive trademark of the university.

The “IU” in the monogram resembles similar letters in the Hoosier Bold font. First, they are similar due to the broad strokes and rectangular serifs. Also, the lower parts of the “U” are cut at a 45-degree angle in both. An antique typeface was chosen for the university’s name in the logo, similar to Telemaque FY Medium from FONTYOU or Bodoni Serial Medium from SoftMaker. Only the “N” has no upper left serif. The font of the text on the print is bold and grotesque.

Indiana University’s primary colors since 1888 are crimson (#990000) and cream (#EDEBEB). But now, only the first is used, and the second does not appear anywhere. It was forgotten because it is poorly reproduced. In corporate style, a shade of red is combined with white, although the print and logo can be simple black and white in exceptional cases.