Penn State University Logo
Penn State University is a government-powered educational organization, based in Pennsylvania state. PSU plays a core role in science research activity of the state, providing educational services online and offline via 160 major programs and 200 minors in various branches of liberal and natural arts to the students from across the United States. There are almost 8000 professors, lecturing in 20 locations around the state. The university also provides land grants to the students who come up with innovative solutions in agriculture, science, mechanics, etc.
Meaning and history
Today, Penn State is the only land grant university in the state to provide degrees in most sides of sciences. However, back in the 19th century, the range of services provided by the institution was a way smaller.
Back in 1855, the Commonwealth legislature chartered a small school dedicated to farmers and chemists willing to work in the agricultural sphere. Centre County was chosen as its location due to a 200-acre land gift from a local farmer named James Irvin. Evan Pugh, the founding president of the new school, aimed to create a European-inspired institute combining theoretical and practical methods of education. This college achieved a right to grant land to its students in 1862, therefore becoming an agricultural college.
In the end of the 19th century, under the George W. Atherton’s management, the college expanded its activity to respond to the land-grant college status. From that time, the college started inviting engineering, humanities and mechanics professors to conduct their lectures in the college. The institution had also changed its name to Penn State College in 1874.
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences was set up in 1922. It allowed the college to offer academic degrees. Moreover, it gave birth to various researches conducted by the students in fields of acoustics, engines, and others.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the college opened a group of student cities across the state to help people unable to move out of their towns, but still willing to receive education. Those points of presence became the predecessors of the current 20-campus network of the university.
The college achieved a worldwide recognition due to numerous researches in the 1940s-1950s. In 1953, the state legislature of Pennsylvania has officially instated the Penn State University. Under this label, PSU created a line of specialized schools and colleges, including those related to medicine, technology sciences, business, and law. Now, the university invites its students to propose solutions in science, as well as conduct constant research to improve their skills.
What is Penn State University?
Penn State University is an educational organization from University Park, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855, now the university has 20 campuses with around 98,000 students and 8000 professors. Penn offers around 160 major specialities in agriculture, business, economics, law, et cetera.
1953 – today
The official seals of the university have been used since the establishment in 1855, but the information about them is pretty hard to find. However, the current version of the university was accepted in 1953. It was initially supposed to be an official stamp to mark the university diplomas and documents. The sigil shows the official crest of Pennsylvania Commonwealth with two horses standing on their hind hooves to the right and left from a crown, featuring a ship on it. An eagle sits at the top of the crown, while under it there is a laurel wreath and a ribbon with ‘virtue, liberty and independence’ words. All this is incorporated in a ring with the university name and the year of foundation on it.
1980 – 2015
In 1980, Penn’s design team developed a crest that would become the university’s first official logotype. It featured a shield with the year of foundation with the at the center. In the upper part, they drew the university’s mascot – a puma, which set on something like a hill. A thin line was based above the shield, going far to the right from the crest and separating it from the nameplate, written in all caps.
2015 – today
The brand’s 2015 insignia resembles the original one, but it’s made in a way more laconic style. The name caption has changed its typeface to a bolder one, and smoothed to the right from a shield. The emblem itself got a few updates too: first, its top is rounded, and second, it now shows a highly detailed head and neck of a puma, occupying most of the space. Furthermore, the logo authors have removed the thin stripe as it lost its primary function of a separating line.
Font
The seal of the PSU, being a pretty official and representative signature to be put on important papers, features the nameplate in a semibold typeface with sharp and prominent serifs. Most of the universities use such scripts in their official seal, as it has a classical and traditional style. Their brand logos, however, employ different scripts. In the 1980 crest, the brand design team used a capitalized typeface with minimal serifs and narrow space between the letters. The ‘s’ letter is slightly enlarged to separate the word ‘state’. As for the latter logotype, so here the script has bolder lines with angular serifs. The letters also became lowercase, except for the ‘p’ and ‘s’ letters.
Color
The color code of PSU consists of dark blue and white shades, whereas white is used for the letter, outlines, and horses, while the background and some ornaments are dark blue. The seal can also go in black and white coloring. The brand logotype comprises the similar shades: the name and the shield are rich blue, and the puma is composed of many spots colored white and different shades of blue. This color style makes it look more dynamic and stylish.
