The Brand Identity Standards policy exists to facilitate consistent, standardized Institute branding across all communications. The Use of Name and Marks section offer specificity for consistent use of the Institute's name and trademarks. 

Naming rules for Registered Student Organizations (RSOs), including Competitive Sport Organizations, are defined in the respective campus policy and reiterated in the Use of Name section.

The following guidelines support faculty, staff, and students when proposing names for campus units, programs, initiatives, or organizational groups.

Existing names established prior to July 1, 2024 may remain unchanged. 

Proposed names should: 

• Align with the primary Institute brand.
• Reflect or refer to the activities, functions, and services provided. 
• Be concise and easy to write, spell, and speak. 
• Respect and not conflict with names or shorthand for entities, programs, or initiatives on campus that serve similar audiences. 
• Respect and not conflict with names or phrases with active copyrights or trademark protection. 

They should not: 

• Use unnecessary articles, punctuation, superscript, subscript, or numeric figures. 

• Include or reference a Georgia Tech trademark (such as Buzz, Wreck, or the initials GT) without written approval.

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Avoid or minimize the use of initialisms or acronyms in entity names. Uncommon shorthand can be confusing for audiences, present challenges for people using assistive technology, contribute to redundant search engine results, and dilute the Institute brand. 

• Do not name a campus entity backwards from an acronym or initialism. 
• The letters G and T cannot appear side-by-side in an entity name, nor the letters emphasized within other words or terms.  Only the interlocking GT trademark may visually represent the initials of the Institute. See the visual identity section. 
• Meanings for acronyms and initialisms can vary widely, and some entity names may constitute unfavorable or embarrassing terms when reduced to shorthand. 

If an acronym or initialism is commonly used in mass media or by the general public; and/or officially recognized by accreditation or governing bodies - exceptions may be considered.

Proposals to name an entity in honor or memoriam of a person require review via the established Development Stewardship protocols and approval by the Naming Committee. Contact the Office of Development in advance. 

If you plan for a website referencing the proposed unit name, also review the Domain Name Criteria for ***.gatech.edu domain names. These naming decisions are closely related.

See the Logos section of the Brand Guide for standards and examples of graphic identity for campus units. Most combination logos are output with the complete name of the campus unit and usually omit qualifiers such as, "Office of, "Department of," et al.

• Existing graphics, symbols, or icons unique to individual units within Georgia Tech may not be used as dominant, freestanding components resembling a logo. 
• Other visual elements may be used as secondary elements. They must be subordinate to the Georgia Tech logo. 
• Individual units, programs, or initiatives that have created their own logos, or have had individual marks created for them by third parties or students, may not use such marks to represent their unit or Georgia Tech.