Promo Items & Merchandise
Johns Hopkins-branded promotional items and merchandise are popular among students, staff, faculty, and community members. The best giveaways are chosen for their usefulness, sustainability, and meaningful connection to the Hopkins brand.
Ready-to-Order Options
The following resources are in place to purchase branded items on demand:
- Internal Brand Store powered by Geiger (requires JHED ID login). To help expedite and ease orders for internal giveaways, University Communications launched this collection of pre-approved items ready to ship. Users can order items specific to their division or JHU-branded merchandise.
- University Spirit Shop powered by Barnes and Noble
- Athletics Spirit Shop powered by Fanatics
Note: If your unit is interested in setting up an online “pop-up” collection of merchandise to fulfill internal or external orders, you must email [email protected] before engaging a vendor.
Custom Ordering & Licensing Process
Custom orders for branded merch should follow the steps below for successful and on-time product delivery. It’s best practice to place your order at least four weeks in advance of your desired in-hand date, leaving time for licensing review, production, and shipping. If you’re working on a tight schedule, some vendors may offer expedited production and shipping for select products, but the licensing review process cannot be sped up and you should factor in one week for the submission, review, and approval. All products containing the Johns Hopkins name and/or being paid for with Johns Hopkins funds must go through the automatic licensing review process with University Communications. Orders not following our visual guidelines will be delayed for brand remediation.
Steps
1. Choose your product.
2. Select a licensed vendor.
3. Create your artwork.
4. Submit final artwork to the vendor.
5. Receive approval.
Merchandise Design Guidelines
Follow these guidelines when creating custom merchandise:
Colors
Select products that use our primary blues or choose a neutral base like gray, black, or white. Other color products can be considered when a strategic need is presented and the context is made clear in the design (e.g., Orange for Gun Violence Awareness, Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness, and Rainbow for Pride). Print and embroidery colors should also pull from our primary and secondary palettes.
You may find that the available product and print colors don’t exactly match our PMS color values. If this is the case, try for a close match, choosing the “navy” or “blue” default colors. When full-color imprint is an option, our color palette must be used.
Logos & Marks
In many contexts, it’s most appropriate to use the primary Johns Hopkins University logo, patterns, or spirit marks in your design, rather than a unit lockup, especially if the merchandise is intended for external audiences or the wider JHU community beyond your unit.
- Logos & Shields: As recognizable symbols of the university and divisions, shields may be used as design elements with or without the “Johns Hopkins University” text. The shields must remain intact and may not be altered or added to in any way, but cropping is welcome. This mark follows the same color guidance as the primary logo but can also be used in a variety of opacities. Special care should be given to ensure the reversed white shield is used appropriately. Please do not lock the shield to your division or unit name, effectively creating a new logo.
- Patterns: Our graphic patterns offer a shared visual across Johns Hopkins University. These patterns have a wide variety of subtle merchandise uses to explore—combined with photographic and other design elements, used as background textures and environmental graphics, cropped and layered for depth, and more.
- Spirit Marks: Our spirit marks were created to evoke a sense of energy and Blue Jay pride. They’re ideally suited to represent Hopkins Athletics but are available for use across the institution to support brand affinity. Spirit marks may not be altered.
Note: The white or “reversed” logo being imprinted incorrectly is the problem we see the most often on merch submissions. The blue logo cannot be imprinted in white ink. Instead, the white logo file must be used.
Embroidery, Debossing & Embossing
Specific minimum sizes for embroidery are required to maintain the legibility of the Johns Hopkins University logo. For branding on apparel with smaller imprint areas, consider screen printing as a more scalable alternative.
- The logo should not be embroidered on areas smaller than 4” x 4”.
- The stand-alone shield mark should not be embroidered on areas smaller than 2” x 2”.
When embossing or debossing the logo or shield, be sure that the result will be the correct version of the art. For embossing (a raised design), please use the white or “reversed” version of the logo. For debossing (a sunken or recessed design), please use the blue version of the logo. The colors themselves won’t make a difference in your final design as these techniques normally do not require the use of color ink.
Custom Artwork
For a more custom merchandise option, create your own artwork—a unique merchandise graphic. This could be a creative illustration or typographic design that represents your unit’s mission. This graphic is not considered to be a logo as it should only be used for merchandise and is likely a one-time production for giveaways. If the design is used the same way across a series of items or it appears elsewhere, such as on the web or social media, a new logo has been created, which is not permitted. If you choose to include a unique merchandise graphic in your design, it’s best practice to include the Johns Hopkins University logo, or a divisional equivalent, in a separate or adequately spaced imprint location.
Note: Event graphics and unit accent graphics can also be used on merchandise as a continuation of your established look and feel.
Follow these guidelines when creating your unique merchandise graphic:
Leverage the Johns Hopkins University color palette and typography in your graphic. Custom or alternative fonts can be considered if called for in the design concept (e.g. hand lettering with an illustration or cross stitch font on a holiday shirt.)
Display the JHU logo, or a divisional/unit equivalent along with the unique graphic. Respect clear space requirements and prioritize secondary imprint locations, if available.
Consider using playful puns, related quotes, or unit taglines to convey your unit’s unique offerings and personality.
Custom Blue Jay illustrations and iconography are allowed with permission from University Communications.
The shield can be used as a design element if it is not locked to your unit or division name.
If your unit name is included in the graphic, it must be done distinctly from our logo architecture and cannot be locked to the shield in any way.
Vendor-Ready Merchandise Graphics
Baltimore Proud 
Download this vendor ready file to place your direct order with a licensed vendor of your choice. The primary logo can be replaced with your respective division logo or unit lock-up if preferred.
Hopkins Block Text
Download this vendor ready art file that uses our brand font Quadon in collegiate style along an arched path for a classic look with broad appeal across all of Hopkins.
Pro Tip: Established in 1876
Did you know that Johns Hopkins University was founded in 1876 and Johns Hopkins Hospital was founded in 1889? If you include a founding year in your merchandise design, it must be accompanied by the full name of the institution you’re representing, rather than “Hopkins” or “Johns Hopkins,” to avoid any confusion!
Representing Johns Hopkins University & Medicine
The primary logo to represent the Johns Hopkins enterprise is the Johns Hopkins University logo. When in doubt, this logo serves to represent our whole community and is the most well-known and trusted symbol of our brand.
When designing merchandise for use across the enterprise, there may be a desire to represent “Hopkins” more generally, encompassing all facets of our institution, from academics, to spirit, to patient care. In these cases, we lean on our universal brand identity elements, including the color blue, our spirit marks, and the “Johns Hopkins” name. The joint University & Medicine mark is not permitted on merchandise.
Context and audience are especially important here—this merchandising strategy is most effective for internal staff giveaways (e.g. community volunteer t-shirts), alumni affinity events, and Baltimore partnership giveaways (e.g. Night at Camden Yards) where Johns Hopkins community members from across the University and Health System will be in attendance. There is a familiarity with the Johns Hopkins brand among these audiences, allowing us to call on our more casual and spirit-oriented marks to represent ourselves within the community. Check out the following examples:
Hopkins T-shirts provided to volunteers who participated in the Mayor’s Spring Cleanup Day of Service.
The giveaway at University Night at Camden Yards featured a hat with the Orioles mascot and the Johns Hopkins Block H spirit mark.
A pair of Baltimore-themed socks with custom illustrations and HOPKINS text was created as a custom giveaway.