Start with the current university brand guide
Columbia’s official branding page identifies Trajan Pro for the university trademark and display typography. It explains that the trademark uses precise size, weight and spacing and should not be recreated by typing. The actual supplied mark and a headline set in the named family are therefore different resources. A family identification alone does not reproduce the crown, lockup or approved wordmark geometry.
Body and web typography have separate roles
The guide identifies Garamond Pro as the secondary family, primarily for body text with some context-specific display uses. It names Proxima Nova as the university’s sans serif, principally used for the web and available for headings as well as body copy. The design system specifies further sizes and hierarchy. Keep those roles together rather than forcing long paragraphs into the same capitals used by a trademark.
Identify the institution and the asset
A film-studio logo, a university identity and an unrelated family named Columbia are not interchangeable targets. Keep the source image or webpage with the request. The Trajan guide provides family history, while Proxima Nova covers a separately named text family. Use image identification for a graphic and the website workflow for an actual text element.
Build a clear academic information page
Set a concise title, introductory paragraph and a few practical labels. Use a comfortable body treatment before selecting a more formal display voice. Preserve semantic heading order instead of choosing a heading level solely for its size, and test long institutional names on a phone. Keep a supplied signature separate from editable text and record the actual families used for each role in the production notes.
Your questions, answered.
Is Trajan Pro intended for every Columbia paragraph?
No. Columbia’s official guidance distinguishes display and trademark use from body and web typography.
Can the official mark be recreated just by typing the name?
The university says the trademark has precise settings and should not be recreated; use the approved asset.
Sources & background
Sources supporting this page’s explanations. Practical examples are our editorial suggestions.