Ludus et Veritas: 14/28 University Identities

Ludus et Veritas examines the graphic representation of university academic and athletic programs, investigating who these dual identities serve and how students and athletes are represented, while questioning the use and abuse of student athletes as resources.

This project was created in pursuit of a Master's Degree in Graphic Design from the School of Design at The University of Illinois at Chicago.

View Process, Sketches & More

Over the course of a year and a half, my Master's thesis led me through the mess of university branding, specifically regarding the relationship to athletic departments and student athletes.

The book happens in five chapters: 

  1. An intro that surveys the typography of student jerseys.
  2. An analysis of the typographic disparity between university brands, athletic department brands, and the executive suite brands.
  3. A survey of the physical campus allocation to academic spaces vs athletic spaces.
  4. Infographics identifying the disparity between academic and athletic investment such as employee pay, library catalogue, revenue per athlete, etc.
  5. A type specimen of the custom font used in the book.

Parallel to the chapters is the captions from a college footbal broadcast: Boise State vs. Oklahoma in the 2011 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

As game goes on, which went four quarters plus extra time (5 sections matching the book chapters), the announcers reveal more and more information about the players on the field. The audience is told about one player who has privately been visiting a therapist, and another student's father who is out of prison to visit this game. All personal details that other students aren't subjected to.


This book was a compilation of may different studies, interests, and pain points during graduate school. The hardest part of the work was filtering out content and making sure the publication told the story as clearly as possible. Each chapter is a visual treat for readers, but is underpinned by a poigniant narrative of exploited students and institutions.

Project Documentation

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