Typography suite

The VCU typography suite consists of three typefaces for use across the enterprise. It is important to consider the application, audience and message in order to select the most effective typeface for your communication.

Thunderhouse Pro

Univers LT Std

Garamond Premiere

NOTE: VCU does not have a site-wide license for the Univers fonts. Thunderhouse Pro and Garamond Premier must be obtained through an Adobe subscription. It is the responsibility of each unit to purchase the font(s) as needed.

Thunderhouse Pro

Thunderhouse Pro is the typeface for marketing and promotional materials in the UNCOMMON brand campaign. It is applied ONLY for title treatments, short headlines and data points. It is limited in readability below sizes of 36pt in print and 24px in digital. Body copy should never be set using Thunderhouse.

Sans serif — Univers

Univers is the workhorse typeface of the VCU brand. It has the widest range of application across VCU materials, ranging from headlines to captions.

The font 59 Ultra Condensed is reserved for applications in which Thunderhouse will not work — long supers, section headings, subheads and titles.

Headlines and title treatments

Body and general use

Serif — Garamond Premier

Garamond Premier is the serif typeface of the VCU suite. It contains multiple font weights that meet a variety of readability and legibility needs.

Headlines and title treatments

Body and general use

Typography - Web

Websites have common typographic needs: clear and consistent headings, highly legible body paragraphs, clear labels and easy-to-use input fields. For the web, open source fonts offer a cost-effective, flexible solution and are designed with web standards in mind, ensuring compatibility across different browsers and devices.

Overview

• We have selected two open-source font families for use on VCU websites that align with our typography suite — Roboto and Merriweather — both of which are designed for legibility and can beautifully adapt to a variety of visual styles. They are available for free download.
• New and/or re-designed sites should reflect these typography standards.
• Other font families should not be used on VCU websites (unless approved).

Font alternatives

In certain situations, VCU’s designated typefaces may not be available. In those instances, it is acceptable to use these alternatives.

NOTE: There is no replacement for Thunderhouse Pro.

Typesetting

Pairings

These are the recommended pairings for type in VCU layouts. Univers works in a singular application with a variety of weights. It also works as body copy for Thunderhouse. Occasionally, Univers can support Garamond for subheads and callouts. Thunderhouse Pro is applied in an extremely limited fashion.

Selecting fonts

The brand tone spectrum facilitates the decision-making process by helping us identify the audience, style and messaging tone. The font families match with specific traits that should align with the purpose of your materials.

Bold? Energetic? Vibrant? Fast-paced?

Positive? Comfortable? Medium-paced?

Thoughtful? Caring? Introspective? Soft? Slow-paced?

Type specimen structures

Thunderhouse and Univers

Titles and headlines – Thunderhouse

Subheads – Univers 65 Bold

Drop caps – Univers 65 Bold, body copy - Univers 45 Light

Pull quotes – Univers 45 Light

Captions – Univers 57 Condensed

Data and statistics – Thunderhouse

Example:

Univers

Titles and headlines – Univers 85 Extra Black (solid or outlined)

Subheads – Univers 59 Ultra Condensed

Drop caps - Univers 85 Extra Black, body copy - Univers 45 Light

Pullquotes - Univers 59 Ultra Condensed

Captions - Univers 45 Light

Data and statistics - Univers 85 Extra Black

Example:

Garamond

Titles and headlines – Garmond Premier Medium Display

Subheads – Garamond Premier Bold

Drop caps – Garamond Premier Semibold, body copy - Garamond Premier Regular

Pull quotes – Univers 59 Ultra Condensed

Captions – Univers 45 Light

Data and statistics – Garamond Premier Semibold Display

Example:

Leading, kerning and tracking

Leading is the space between lines of text. VCU recommends a leading formula of 125 to 150% of the type size in body copy.

44pt x 1.25 (125%) = 55pt leading

44pt x 0.9 (90%) = 39.6pt leading

44pt x 2 (200%) = 88pt leading

Kerning is the space between individual letters. By default, VCU sets its kerning to ”Optical” but recommends attention be given to spacing, particularly in headlines, to create balance using negative spaces.

Tracking is the uniform, horizontal spacing across an element of text. As a rule, larger text can be closer and smaller text can be opened to increase legibility.

Usage guidelines

DO set short, large headlines and statements in Thunderhouse.

DON’T use Thunderhouse for anything longer than 3-5 words.

DO consider horizontal and vertical orientations.

DON’T typeset proper names, events, university name or letters in Thunderhouse.

Scale and word breaks

DO experiment with word breaks at syllables when using Thunderhouse.

DON’T hyphenate words or break Garamond and Univers. Only Thunderhouse may be broken.

DO experiment with scale in broken words.

DON’T alternate type size in Univers and Garamond

DO keep shorter words on a single line.

DON’T mix capitalization.

Text effects and overlap

DO typeset longer headlines in Univers 85 Extra Black or Garamond Premier Display.

DON’T overlap text.

DO use subtle drop shadows when the type color can’t provide contrast with the background.

DON’T apply solid drop shadows, mirrored or 3D elements