University Marketing sent out a campus-wide communication on Jan. 6 regarding UW’s official font transition from Verlag and Vitesse to Red Hat Text and Red Hat Display. (The text of that message and resource links are included below for reference.) 

CALS Web Services and External Relations staff are working together to monitor and help implement the upcoming changes that will impact CALS web and print media. It is recommended that all CALS units have relevant personnel review University Marketing’s font transition page to become familiar with the reasons for this change and transition plans moving forward. In the near term, please be aware of these key points:  

Website Fonts

The vast majority of websites are hosted on WiscWeb or CALS Webhosting using WordPress. Font updates for these websites will happen automatically on Feb. 16, so there is no action needed for site owners or content managers in this regard. For all other websites, additional information for font transitions will be shared in the near future.

Send web-related inquiries to websupport@cals.wisc.edu 

Print Material Fonts

University Marketing is urging all campus units to immediately retire the use of Verlag and Vitesse fonts in newly created print and digital materials. University Marketing will be sharing information about additional type styles and typography-related brand guidance later this month.

Send print-related inquiries to Janelle Jordan Naab at janelle.jordannaab@wisc.edu

Jan. 6 Communication from UW–Madison Marketing

I’m writing with an important message from University Marketing about the UW Brand Font Transition. As you may have heard, Red Hat Text and Red Hat Display are replacing Verlag and Vitesse as the UW’s official brand fonts. Complete information about required updates  and why this  change is necessary can be found in our font transition page on the UMark Brand site.

If your website or web application uses the Verlag or Vitesse web fonts, you or your web developer will need to replace them with Red Hat Display and Red Hat Text by June 30, 2023. For more information, see UMark’s detailed guidance on how to update to the new fonts on your website.

Note: If your site includes PDFs or other digital files that use Verlag or Vitesse, these files don’t need to be replaced by that date, though we recommend doing so if possible. Additional guidance on using the new brand fonts in print and other media will be available on the UMark Brand site later this month.

Thank you all for your support throughout this transition!

Danielle Cranmer
Director of Web Services
Pronouns: she/her/hers
University of Wisconsin–Madison 
University Marketing
711 State Street, Suite 200