Organizational Values
Organizational values are what we do that offers value to our audiences, community and world. CU Boulder’s organizational brand values are: lead, innovate and impact. Our organizational values are the underlying theme and tone behind the success of our university, and they show up naturally in our work. However, these values are just internal concepts and topics—not brand elements that we implement in our visual identity. Learn about their context and acceptable use cases.
CU Boulder’s Strategic Imperatives
Derived from the campus’s strategic priorities, CU Boulder’s three strategic imperatives emphasize and provide context to our organizational values: lead, innovate and impact. The imperatives outline what we do and accomplish as a university. You can incorporate them into Be statements or use them to direct our storytelling, but like the organizational values, they are not standalone brand elements. CU Boulder’s strategic imperatives include:
- Shape tomorrow’s leaders. Our Buffs achieve successful results by applying intellectual curiosity, rigor and collaboration to creatively address complex issues and opportunities.
- Be the top university for innovation. CU Boulder serves as a hub of innovation by facilitating collaboration between universities, industry, laboratories and communities to address complex issues and opportunities.
- Positively impact humanity. CU Boulder fosters research, scholarship and creative work that continuously has a positive impact on the world, while producing graduates who make meaningful contributions to society.
Do’s and Don’ts for Incorporating the Strategic Imperatives in Be Boulder.
DO use the words lead, innovate and impact naturally in written copy.
DOÂ use single Be statements to reiterate our organizational values: Be a leader. Be innovative. Be impactful.
DON’T include “Lead. Innovate. Impact.” above, below or alongside the Be Boulder. lockup.
DON’T include “Lead. Innovate. Impact.” as a standalone branded wordmark or logo.