The Ultimate Guide to Johns Hopkins University Apparel and Merchandise

Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876 with its hospital established in 1889, boasts a rich tradition and a strong sense of community. Whether you're a student, alumnus, faculty member, or a devoted fan, showing your Johns Hopkins pride is easy with the wide array of apparel and merchandise available. This article serves as your comprehensive guide to navigating the official stores and understanding the guidelines for custom branded merchandise.

Officially Licensed Merchandise: Where to Shop

Several avenues exist for acquiring official Johns Hopkins University merchandise, each catering to different needs and audiences.

M.LaHart: Premium Gifts and Accessories

M.LaHart stands as a premier destination for those seeking high-end Johns Hopkins merchandise. As an officially licensed store, it offers a carefully curated collection of top-tier products that embody the university's spirit. M.LaHart prides itself on partnering with Johns Hopkins to provide officially licensed gifts of exceptional quality.

Prestigious Brands: M.LaHart features iconic brands like TAG Heuer, Montblanc, and Movado, offering exquisite timepieces that seamlessly blend Johns Hopkins pride with timeless elegance.
Home Décor and Gifts: Transform your living spaces with Johns Hopkins home décor items. The Johns Hopkins Captain's chair is a particularly popular choice.
Diploma Frames: Preserve your academic achievements in style with high-quality diploma frames.
Convenient Shopping Experience: M.LaHart prioritizes customer satisfaction with secure payment options and fast, reliable shipping, ensuring your order arrives promptly and in perfect condition.

M.LaHart offers a platform to showcase your connection to Johns Hopkins, whether you're an alumnus, current student, or a devoted fan.

Fanatics: A Wide Variety of Apparel and Gear

For a broader selection of apparel and gear, Fanatics is an excellent choice. They offer officially licensed Johns Hopkins Blue Jays apparel and merchandise, including exclusive t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats.

For the Whole Family: Clothing comes in sizes for men, women, and children, ensuring the whole family can support the Blue Jays.
Diverse Styles: With multiple styles available, you can dress how you want while showing your team spirit.
Home Décor and More: Fanatics also offers Johns Hopkins Blue Jays home décor, memorabilia, collectibles, tailgate gear, and party accessories.
Athletic Apparel: Whether you follow football, basketball, or baseball, Fanatics stocks a wide array of Johns Hopkins T-Shirts, Hoodies, Hats, and Jerseys. They also offer shorts and socks, perfect for athletes and casual fans alike.

Fanatics is an ideal place to shop for Johns Hopkins Blue Jays merchandise, offering a unique collection and fast shipping options. They also provide Johns Hopkins Blue Jays gift cards, including e-gift cards.

Johns Hopkins Internal Store: For Internal Use

The revamped Johns Hopkins Internal Store, created in partnership with Brandor, a Maryland-based, CLC-licensed vendor, is exclusively available for internal use. Access requires a JHED ID login.

One-Stop Shop: This store provides a convenient one-stop shop for departments stocking up on polos, preparing giveaways, or showing off Hopkins pride.
Ready-to-Ship Spirit Gear: The Spirit Gear section offers ready-to-ship options for quick turnaround needs. These products do not allow for customization to keep costs low and turnaround times fast.
Customization Options: You can select your division to order merchandise with your logo. Many products also have a personalization option for your department’s name.
Research Saves Lives: The store features specialty Research Saves Lives products, including t-shirts, buttons, stickers, and magnets.
Seasonal Updates: The inventory is refreshed quarterly with seasonal updates, including knit hats and cold-weather gear.

Orders can be placed using a credit card or an invoice. For unique needs, direct collaboration with Brandor’s design team is possible to develop custom, brand-compliant items.

The NIL Store: Supporting Student-Athletes

The NIL Store, part of the NIL Store network and backed by Mark Cuban, serves as a merchandising solution for student-athletes.

Student-Athlete Focused: The NIL Store operates on the principle that every student-athlete should have the opportunity to capitalize on their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and earn industry-leading payouts.
Custom Merchandise Drops: The Johns Hopkins NIL Store team continuously onboards new athletes and develops custom merchandise drops for individual athletes.

Guidelines for Custom Johns Hopkins Branded Merchandise

For those looking to create custom Johns Hopkins-branded promotional items and merchandise, adhering to university guidelines is crucial. These guidelines ensure that all merchandise aligns with the university's brand identity and maintains its integrity.

Read also: Decoding Johns Hopkins GPA

Ordering Timeline

It’s best practice to place your order at least four weeks in advance of your desired in-hand date. This allows sufficient time for licensing review, production, and shipping. While some vendors may offer expedited production and shipping for select products, the licensing review process cannot be expedited. Factor in one week for submission, review, and approval.

Licensing Review Process

All products containing the Johns Hopkins name and/or being paid for with Johns Hopkins funds must undergo automatic licensing review with University Communications.

Key Considerations for Design

Color Palette:
- Select products that use the primary blues or choose a neutral base like gray, black, or white.
- Other colors can be considered when a strategic need is presented and the context is made clear in the design (e.g., Orange for Gun Violence Awareness, Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness, and Rainbow for Pride).
- Print and embroidery colors should also pull from the primary and secondary palettes.
- If the available product and print colors don’t exactly match the PMS color values, try for a close match, choosing the “navy” or “blue” default colors.
- When full-color imprint is an option, the official color palette must be used.
Logos & Shields:
- As recognizable symbols, shields may be used as design elements with or without the “Johns Hopkins University” text.
- The shields must remain intact and may not be altered or added to in any way, but cropping is welcome.
- This mark follows the same color guidance as the primary logo but can also be used in a variety of opacities.
- Special care should be given to ensure the reversed white shield is used appropriately.
Patterns:

Read also: Eastern Campus Transformation
- The official graphic patterns offer a shared visual across Johns Hopkins University.
Spirit Marks:
- These marks evoke a sense of energy and Blue Jay pride.
- They’re ideally suited to represent Hopkins Athletics but are available for use across the institution to support brand affinity.
Logo Usage:
- The white or “reversed” logo being imprinted incorrectly is a common issue. The blue logo cannot be imprinted in white ink.
- Johns Hopkins University’s logos and lock-ups are intricate and feature fine lines, often making them difficult to reproduce in embroidery, especially at smaller sizes.
- Specific minimum sizes for embroidery are required to maintain the legibility of the Johns Hopkins University logo. The stand-alone shield mark can be considered for smaller embroidery areas, but must be sized to at least 1 inch wide.
- For embossing (a raised design), use the white or “reversed” version of the logo.
- For debossing (a sunken or recessed design), use the blue version of the logo.

Creating Custom Artwork

For a more custom merchandise option, create your own artwork-a unique merchandise graphic. This could be a creative illustration or typographic design that represents your unit’s mission.

This graphic is not considered to be a logo and should only be used for merchandise and is likely a one-time production for giveaways.
Leverage the Johns Hopkins University color palette and typography in your graphic.
Display the JHU logo, or a divisional/unit equivalent along with the unique graphic.

Vendor Ready File

Download the vendor-ready file to place your direct order with a licensed vendor of your choice.

Representing "Hopkins" Generally

When designing merchandise for use across the enterprise, there may be a desire to represent “Hopkins” more generally, encompassing all facets of the institution. In these cases, lean on the universal brand identity elements, including the color blue, spirit marks, and the “Johns Hopkins” name. This merchandising strategy is most effective for internal staff giveaways, alumni affinity events, and Baltimore partnership giveaways where Johns Hopkins community members from across the University and Health System will be in attendance.

Additional Merchandise Options

Beyond apparel, several other merchandise options allow you to display your Johns Hopkins pride.

Johns Hopkins Class Ring

Johns Hopkins students, depending on their number of credits completed, are eligible to purchase the Official Johns Hopkins University Ring.

Johns Hopkins Fabric

Show your Hopkins pride with exclusive upholstery fabric. American-made of polyester with Teflon finish, this fabric is ideal for upholstering chairs, sofas and pillows, and covering bulletin boards and valances. The fabric is sold by the yard and comes in plaid with coordinating Hopkins colors of black, white, and Taupe. Contact the Office of Alumni Relations for information.

Johns Hopkins Flag

Fly your very own Johns Hopkins flag and show your Blue Jay pride to your neighbors.

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