First impressions matter—they shape perceptions and serve as an early guide for forming relationships. Higher education is no exception. The first moments on campus influence how people view academic quality and culture. To create a more defined, welcoming experience at Case Western Reserve University, new signage has been installed and restored at key entry points, ensuring the campus community, visitors and future Spartans are met with strong, memorable first impressions.
Last year, the university conducted a signage study and found that signs at campus entrances were often too small, uninviting, inconsistent or even nonexistent—making it difficult to recognize university boundaries especially amid the plethora of University Circle institutions. The study resulted in a three-phase signage plan, beginning with exterior elements to better define the campus.
“Refreshing the ‘front doors’ to our campus lets folks know they’ve arrived at CWRU,” said Vice President for Campus Planning and Facilities Management Dean Tufts. “And, importantly, I hope the new signage helps boost school spirit a bit.”
In the fall, an existing Case Institute of Technology etching on the back of the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center was restored. Nearby, the blue box of the Veale Center stairwell now includes a lit, rising sun graphic conceived as part of the refreshed university logo, font and color palette changes in 2023. The sun—a graphic element appearing throughout Western Reserve University, Case Institute of Technology and Case Western Reserve history—now evokes the concept of the sun rising above Earth as seen from space.
“For those who approach campus from Cedar Road or Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, there’s now no mistaking that you’ve arrived at our campus,” said Case Western Reserve University President Eric W. Kaler in his spring video message.
In January, crews installed new gateway signage at the east corner of Euclid Avenue and Adelbert Road, followed by the installation of 8-foot-tall C-W-R-U letters along the Binary Walkway, both ready to serve as iconic backdrops for photos capturing achievements, milestones and celebrations.
“These signs express pride in who and where we are,” said Vice President for Marketing and Communications Erica Starrfield. “Strategically planned and placed branded signage is one of the most significant ways we can clearly identify our home in the city of Cleveland.”
Newly branded CWRU banners now hang from light posts along major campus routes with more to come across campus. And a vertically oriented sign at the west corner of Cornell Road and Circle Drive will soon be installed to complement the University Hospitals sign across the street.
“The change in signage across campus will take time,” said Kaler in his video message. “The next phase will address wayfinding signage, followed by a third phase for interior signage.”