University Marketing and Communications
Typography
Typography in graphic design impacts meaning and can strongly affect how people react to a document. The skillful use of typography commands the attention of your desired audience, communicates a key idea and motivates them to take action. Typography is not just about legibility. It is a blending of art and science and can serve a functional purpose. Careful selection and consistent use of a chosen typeface can be just as important as the use of graphics, color and images in creating and solidifying a professional brand.
Primary Typefaces
We’ve chosen two modern, open-source serif and sans-serif typeface families that have been adapted for the digital age (but are also suitable for print) — Roboto by Google, Inc. and Merriweather by Eben Sorkin of Sorkin Type, Co. Both typefaces were designed to be highly-readable on screens and contain a full set of weights, styles and variants.
The “Bulldog Born” font is a custom font, designed by Fresno State designer Joel Beery, and is exclusively used for Fresno State Athletics.
Roboto has been refined extensively to work across a wider set of supported devices and platforms. It is slightly wider and rounder, giving it greater clarity and making it more optimistic. This makes Roboto a great typeface for digital production and high-density displays.
The fonts are currently available in eighteen different styles and feature six weights: Thin, Light, Regular, Medium, Bold, and Black.
Best for: body copy, headlines, subheads, lead paragraphs, pullquotes/blockquotes, callouts, captions, drop caps
Merriweather was designed to be a typeface that is pleasant to read on screens. It features a very large x height, slightly condensed letterforms, a mild diagonal stress, sturdy serifs and open forms.
Merriweather has a traditional and sophisticated feel despite the modern shapes it has adopted for screens. It is suitable for editorial design, news and other kinds of space sensitive typography.
Although print use was not a significant consideration in the design, it is actively developed and is improved upon periodically, so don't be afraid to use it!
Best for: headlines, subheads, lead paragraphs, pullquotes/blockquotes, body copy, callouts.
The “Bulldog Born” font is a custom font, designed by Joel Beery, exclusively used for Fresno State Athletics. The intent is to use this font for top level brand identity elements.
Any graphic using the Bulldog Born font must obtain approval from Athletics before use/publication. Any application on merchandise/promo items must go through the standard licensing approval process and deadlines.
Fresno State Athletics and University Marketing and Communications are the only approved areas to distribute the font package to vendors.
Usage
- Facility signage
- Top level athletics brand messaging
- Each sport's "official" name
- Main/top level header identifying sport in marketing collateral
- Athletic uniforms
Do not use for
- General body copy
- Promo messaging (i.e. game day is Star Wars themed)
- University or academic purposes
- Student organizations
- No arching of the font
Distribution
- Internal use
- Approved sign vendors
- Approved equipment vendors
- Approved licensees
Allowable Usage
- Fresno State
- Fresno State Bulldogs
- Fresno State Athletics
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Men’s Basketball
- Women’s Basketball
- Cross Country
- Men’s Cross Country
- Women’s Cross Country
- Equestrian
- Football
- Golf
- Men’s Golf
- Women’s Golf
- Lacrosse
- Soccer
- Softball
- Swimming and Diving
- Tennis
- Men’s Tennis
- Women’s Tennis
- Track & Field
- Track & Field / XC
- Men’s Track and Field
- Women’s Track and Field
- Volleyball
- Water Polo
- Wrestling
- The Bulldog Foundation
- Sports Medicine
- Spirit Program
- Band (Apparel for Athletic Events)
- Marching Band (Apparel for Athletic Events)
- Jim Sweeney Field at Valley Children’s Stadium
- Valley Children’s Stadium
- Margie Wright Diamond
- Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium
- Save Mart Center
- Spalding G Wathen Tennis Center
- Wamerdam Field
- Timeout
- Bulldog Born. Bulldog Bred.
- #GODOGS
- No ’Dogs Down
- Pride of the Valley
- Red Wave
- Red Wave Rise Up
- Underdogs to Wonderdogs
- Athlete/Coaches/Staff Names
- Staff Titles
- Athlete Names/Uniforms
- Athlete Names/Video Board Graphics
- Team Accomplishments (Championships)
- Athlete Accomplishments (i.e. Awards)
- Non-Video Board Graphics (i.e. Social Media)
“Typography is the craft of endowing human language with a durable visual form.”
- ROBERT BRINGHURST, TYPOGRAPHER/AUTHOR
Font Substitutes
Font substitution is the process of using one font in place of another when the intended font either isn’t available or doesn’t contain glyphs for the required characters. The following alternative fonts may be used when the primary university typefaces are not available for use in certain digital applications, devices or platforms.
Alternatives to Roboto
Arial, Arial Black, Helvetica, Segoe UI, San Francisco
Regular, Italic and Bold
Alternatives to Merriweather
Georgia
Regular, Italic, Bold and Bold Italic