University of Oregon Logo

University of Oregon Logo PNG

The logo emphasizes the natural sciences of The University of Oregon. Within the university’s walls, there is an impressive database that allows you to teach disciplines at a high level. The emblem pays special attention to the practical application of the acquired knowledge.

Meaning and History

The Oregon Legislature decided to open the university on its campus in 1872. But since there was not enough funding (or rather, the new structure did not have it), the people themselves took to help achieve the goal. Locals regularly held numerous fundraising events. These included produce sales, church donations, and strawberry festivals. The result was an accumulation of $27,500, which at the time was enough to buy 18 acres of land for development.

The doors of the college first opened in 1876. Enrollment consisted of 155 students. But the lack of funds led to the fact that in 1881 the school was on the verge of closing. It was burdened with a debt of eight thousand dollars. Henry Villard, a journalist, and financier came to the rescue. He provided $7,000. Because of the new difficulties that arose in 1913-1932, the university was repeatedly offered a merger, which it declined. UO was not accepted into the Association of American Universities until 1969.

The university logo comprises two parts, which are separated by a vertical stripe. It is one color, flat and thin. The left side is occupied by the abbreviated name of the university, consisting of the letter “O.” It is so massive and wide that it looks not like a text element but as a graphic sign. It has inflated, bracketed sides and the interior resembles an oval. To the right is the expanded name of the University of Oregon. It is typed in serif upper case type and split into two lines. The upper part is in medium font, while the lower part is in very large font. This is done to ensure that the alignment of the words is the same on both the right and left sides.

Seal

Central to the university seal is the Latin saying “MENS AGITAT MOLEM,” borrowed from the poem “Aeneid” written by Virgil (book 6, line 727). The phrase means “reason moves the masses” or allegorically, “reason moves the mountains. As proof, the massive Siskiyou ridges with a high snow-capped peak are drawn in the center. Surrounded by forested hills and the Willamette River, the university is built on whose banks. The year of its appearance is also indicated at the bottom in Roman numerals. The image is stippled, consisting of short and long lines of varying thickness. The color is monochrome, so the picture is formed by a combination of black stripes and a white background.

The middle of the print is surrounded by a dark ring with white dotted dots. It is followed by a wide space with the motto and the name of the higher school in Latin – “UNIVERSITAS OREGONENSIS.” All the inscriptions are written in the upper-case fine print. The letters are serif. The edges are decorated with a round border in the shape of a twisted rope.

Oregon Ducks Logo

The university has 18 Pac-12 Conference athletic teams that are NCAA Division I members. They include soccer, track, and field, basketball, baseball, tumbling, etc. Overall, they have won 28 NCAA team events and 60 individual events. The initial roster of players was introduced in 1893, and a year later, they had already played their debut game. The first serious victory came to them in 1917. The basketball players won the first NCAA basketball tournament in history. This happened in the 1938-1939 season.

1974 – 1993

The sports logo shows a large “O” with the corners cut off, shaped like an octagon. The letter is turned sideways, so only one part of it is visible, which is in green, while the rest is yellow. In addition, it has white borders with a thin stripe. They are located on both the outer and inner sides. Through the symbol is an anthropomorphic drake in a jacket and cap-less cap. He is waving menacingly with clenched fists, about to rush at the enemy. This image echoes the name of the Oregon Ducks athletic department. All elements are painted in the university’s official colors of yellow and green.

1994 – 1998

Management decided to redesign the logo to avoid a direct resemblance between the sporting male and the cartoon character Donald Duck. As a result, the University of Oregon’s acronym, “OU,” appeared on it. Geometrically precise proportions characterize the letters, so they are similar. The only difference is the serifs, which the “O” does not have, of course, while the “U” does. The shape of the signs remains the same as on the previous emblem – with the corners cut off and in green-yellow color with the addition of a white line. But the grouping is different since the main color is green, and additional (edging) – yellow. Between them, there is a light stripe. The letters are arranged diagonally and intertwined.

1999 – today

The current logo consists of a single letter “O.” It is wide, with an oval inner gap, and looks like two big connected brackets. The sports department gave up on the color variety, so only green is left.

Font and Colors

When comparing the three marks of the University of Oregon’s visual identity, there is color consistency. The only exception is the university seal, which is in monochrome. It has more to do with historical heritage and the institution’s geographic location than with contemporary symbols. There is also a correlation between the letter “O” in the university-wide and sports emblems, which stands for the state’s name.

The sans serif typeface used in the UO identity is Kievit. It replaced the old version and first appeared on the campus in 2015. It is now the main font. The sans serif version is the Melior font, which was used before the logo redesign. The official color scheme consists of green and warm yellow hues. They are unofficially complemented by white, which acts as a background.

University of Oregon color codes