This study focuses on the role of visual resources in constructing the brand identity of Chinese universities. By drawing on the theoretical concept of corporate visual identity (CVI), this study analyzed universities' logos and typography of names from the social semiotic approach. Nine elite Chinese universities were selected as the corpus to qualitatively investigate how the institutions' logos and typography of their names are designed and utilized for corporate branding. The analysis shows that both the logos and names are graphically and typographically designed as effective visual elements and semiotic resources with meaning potentials to signify the Chinese universities' brand identity.