The Seed Sower… a reminder of the importance of sowing the seeds of knowledge, to bear fruit in the future. The face of the Seed Sower on our university seal was rendered to resemble the first president of the university, David Ross Boyd, who took half of his first year’s salary and personally bought, planted and even watered the very first trees on the then-barren OU campus.
The University Seal is primarily used for official university purposes, such as the publications of the institution, its certificates, diplomas, legal documents and printed materials in conjunction with official functions of the university. (The OU Seal may be used by the university or for commercial uses, provided appropriate authorization is granted from OU’s Licensing Department.)
The Oklahoma Crimson version for the OU Seal is shown below. The seal may also be used in black. These are the only approved color versions for use on light backgrounds. Note: The seal also may be ”blind” embossed or foil stamped in gold or silver. This logo should never be reversed.
The University Seal is a registered trademark of the university and is generally reserved for official university documents. Care should always be taken when reproducing the seal to maintain its integrity. The seal must never be animated or used as a background, and it should always be displayed at the highest quality. Never use the OU Seal on licensed goods.
The seal may be placed on dark color backgrounds as demonstrated below. When using the seal on dark backgrounds, be sure that it includes the white “holding shape” (or outline) as demonstrated below. The white outline is built into the artwork. This will help provide sufficient contrast for use on these backgrounds.
Note: The white holding shape does not need to be used on very light backgrounds.
Each of the University of Oklahoma logos has a minimum allowable size. In order to ensure clear reproduction and legibility, the marks may not be used any smaller than the sizes shown on this page. The logos should be used at these minimum sizes only when necessary. It is preferred that they be used at least slightly larger than shown on this page.
All of the logos and wordmarks for the University of Oklahoma have an established safe zone. This safe zone is intended to maintain the logo's integrity and to avoid visual confusion. No other type or graphic element (including folds, trims or edges) should fall within the minimum safe zones as demonstrated here.
