YSPH Brand Refresh
My Role: Marketing Specialist, Creative Lead
Tools: Canva Pro, Adobe, Microsoft, Yale Message
Timeline: March 2024 - March 2025
Background
One of the largest projects I worked on at the Yale School of Public Health was researching, creating, and implementing a comprehensive brand refresh in preparation for the school’s transition to independence from the School of Medicine in 2024.
This involved conducting an in-depth audit of our existing materials, analyzing peer institution branding, and identifying opportunities to modernize our visual and messaging approach while maintaining the school’s academic integrity.
I developed refreshed brand guidelines, updated templates, and a cohesive visual identity that would support the school’s emerging strategic direction. Throughout the process, I ensured audience feedback was incorporated, created documentation and rollout communications, and helped facilitate the transition to the new brand across print, digital, and social platforms. The refresh not only elevated the school’s public presence but also positioned it strongly for its next chapter as an independent institution.
Research
For the research portion of this project, I spent a significant amount of time working closely with my colleague, Sabrina, to conduct a thorough audit of peer institutions and their visual identities. Together, we explored a wide range of branding approaches, paying particular attention to color psychology, typographic systems, and overall brand architecture. We analyzed how other public health and peer schools conveyed authority, innovation, and accessibility through their visual systems. Using these insights, we began developing multiple potential color palettes and brand elements that could modernize our identity while staying true to Yale’s academic character.
In the below galleries, you can take a look through our color study and graphic element study where we analyzed different pallets and presented suggestions.
Color Palette
After extensive research, exploration, and discussion, we ultimately landed on a final color palette that captured the vibrant, forward-looking identity the school aimed to embody as it moved toward independence and launched its new strategic plan.
We also included students in the voting process to help select the final color palette, as well as in the naming process. Each color name was intentionally tied to themes within public health, ensuring the palette felt both meaningful and mission-aligned.
Final Brand Guidelines
Additionally, final brand guidelines were established based on Yale University’s overarching brand standards, but tailored specifically to the School of Public Health. These guidelines outlined proper logo usage, primary and secondary color application, approved typography, and the overall visual style to ensure consistency and cohesion across all communications.
Templates
The second major portion of the project focused on creating easy-to-use templates. One challenge we identified was that many departments and offices frequently came to the Communications Office to design materials for various events. This process was time-consuming and required significant staff resources. We realized this could be easily addressed by providing brand-compliant templates that staff and faculty could customize for their specific needs. I created templates across Canva, Adobe Express, and Microsoft, ensuring they could accommodate a wide range of use cases and programs while maintaining the school’s refreshed visual identity.
The creation of these templates has significantly cut down on design and review time for our team, and has created a cohesive way for people to promote their Yale events.
Templates included:
8.5”x11” flyers
Event announcements for emails
24”x36” posters
Powerpoints
Email headers
Image backgrounds
Pullquote designs
Social media graphics
and more!
Brand Guidelines Webpage
The final goal of this project was to revamp the existing brand webpage on our website, creating a more user-friendly, accessible, and visually cohesive resource for staff, faculty, and the broader community.
I collaborated with our web content developer, Rin, to outline a new structure for the internal brand webpages, focusing on simplicity and ease of navigation. Creating an online brand guideline also allowed us to update policies as needed and provide easy access and links for the broader YSPH community, ensuring that staff and faculty could always reference the most current branding standards.
Overview
To share the project with the broader YSPH community, the brand refresh was featured as the highlight in our March 2025 Communications Newsletter.
Overall, the brand refresh and templates have been very positively received by both leadership and the broader Yale School of Public Health community. Staff and faculty appreciate the ease of access and usability of the templates, enjoy being able to download their departmental wordmarks, and value having all brand guidelines centralized in one accessible location. The refresh has helped streamline communications and ensure a consistent, professional visual identity across the school.
