Brand Guide

About Our Brand

In 2021, the school updated its visual identity in tandem with UC Davis' launch of the “Outgrow the Expected” campaign. Our communication materials reflected the refreshed campus brand and incorporated custom illustrations (including the Rod of Asclepius), while highlighting the school’s greatest assets: its people and animals. Our identity underwent another makeover in celebration of our 75th Anniversary in 2023-2024. Our assets included a new 75th logo system with a variety of silhouette animals and the slogan “75 Years of Exceptional Care and Innovation.”

The slogan was so well-liked that at the end of 2024 we modified it to continue to represent the school moving forward, transitioning to the promotional line “Exceptional Care, Education and Innovation.”

Brand Guide

The Veterinary Medicine brand guide supplements the UC Davis Brand Communications Guide. 
 

Brand Slogan

“Exceptional Care, Education and Innovation”

You will see this slogan added as a tagline on many of the assets in our Tools & Resources downloads. It is intended to be used only in those lockups and as part of the brand identity where represented.

Colors

Primary Palette

The University of California’s blue and gold were chosen in 1873, with blue for the California sky and gold for the state’s designation as the Golden State. Our blue and gold are unique within the system and represent us as Aggies at the very highest level.

Secondary Palette

Along with our distinctive Aggie Blue and Gold, our primary palette is complemented with a robust set of secondary colors. Our secondary palette represents the vibrancy of UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and the comprehensive reach of our school. These colors can be used in a variety of ways, but they should never be used for the UC Davis logo or identity.

Fonts

Proxima Nova, the official san-serif font for UC Davis, is our primary font. We use the standard set (not condensed) with extra bold and bold for headlines and medium weight for body text. Proxima is the default font on our websites and is included in the UC Davis Brand Template in Canva.

Ryman Eco can be incorporated on printed materials as a header font or design element. It is an eco-friendly font that uses 30% less ink than similarly weighted fonts, but the complexity of the design requires a larger display size. 
 

Fonts for Digital Documents

Digital communications using Proxima can present challenges when the font (or identical variation of it) is not installed on the receiving end. Files intended for presentation or wider distribution in emails and other electronic formats (Word, Excel, etc.) are usually better displayed if standard fonts are used, such as Arial or Aptos (which Microsoft is using now as their primary typeface). 

Fonts for PowerPoint Presentations

Since presentations make up a large percentage of our outward-facing materials, we try to use Proxima in PowerPoint to maintain professional representation and brand consistency. Aptos may also be used. 

Design Elements

Solid Gold Background

Solid gold background can include the rod of asclepius overlayed with a transparency of about 10%.

Rod of Asclepius

The Rod of Asclepius is an ancient symbol for medicine, and with the V added, it's a symbol of veterinary medicine. Asclepius was the Greek god of medicine, and the snake on his staff was said to have delivered him a healing herb.

This rod illustration was created by UC Davis alumnus and brand illustrator Steven Noble and it is exclusive to the school—external units must ask permission from the communications team to use it if not using it to represent the school. In addition, the following rules apply to its usage within the school:

• The rod illustration primarily was created to use as a watermark-style design element to add background visual interest. If you are using it in this way, try screening it back to 10-15% and then adjust the intensity as needed from there.
• You may use the illustration as a regular visual element (not screened back) such as on a flyer, but do not use it as a substitute for the Veterinary Medicine logo.
• Please check with the communications team with questions or for usage suggestions.

Photos

Large simple photos with background removed on a solid background. 

Sample Designs