Whitworth Unveils New Logo and Brand Identity

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

In the coming weeks, you’ll notice updates to the Whitworth look. Over the past year, the Whitworth Office of University Communications has been working on new ways to elevate the Whitworth brand, most significantly through an extensive brand audit that has refreshed our look and refined our message. You will see a new logo, photography and messaging, each of which reveals a confident and authentic reflection of our community.

Since Whitworth’s founding, in 1890, our brand and mark have evolved. While the university’s aesthetics may have changed, our longstanding mind-and-heart mission and our commitment to equip our graduates to honor God, follow Christ, and serve humanity remain steadfast. We are excited to use this new work to embody those values that shape our identity.

As Whitworth President Beck A. Taylor has said, “Our hope is that over time, Whitworth's constituents will associate the new logo with the university's enduring commitments to Christ-centered higher education, relational culture, friendly Northwest charm, amazing outdoor beauty, and courageous academic conversations, just to name a few. You can always count on those things.”

Many alumni, students, prospective students, parents, Whitworth employees, and other members of our community were instrumental in informing this process, and as a result of this work, we are excited to release the results.

Whitworth’s past logos have served important symbolic roles in their moments in time, and our new logo does not depart from this. Our new mark reflects the sense of discovery one encounters at Whitworth. The third vertical element creates a “U” within the “W” through its unexpected shift in direction. We also see the Trinity and the towering pines of our campus in its bold simplicity and confidence. The logo even provides a modern nod to the torch that symbolizes Whitworth’s unwavering spirit. There are additional ways to unpack meaning from this mark, and we are excited to see how Whitworth’s story continues to unfold through our stories.

To view the new Whitworth University logo and brand guide, please click here.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university, which has an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students, offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.