diff --git a/dataverse.pb b/dataverse.pb
index bd1260f..c08b1a0 100644
--- a/dataverse.pb
+++ b/dataverse.pb
@@ -17,5 +17,27 @@
   vars:
     load_mdblocks: true
     mail_relay: smtp.johnshopkins.edu
+    dv_ui_use_custom_header: true
+    dv_ui_repo:
+      url: "https://github.com/jhu-sheridan-libraries/dataverse.git"
+      branch: "2003-instance-branding-on-v4.6"
+    dv_ui_custom_values:
+      - { prop: ":instanceLogoFile",
+          val: "/resources/images/libraries.logo.small.horizontal.white.cropped.png",
+          desc: "URL (relative or absolute) for instance logo file" }
+      - { prop: ":instanceNameFull",
+          val: "Johns Hopkins University Data Archive",
+          desc: "Full branded name for this Dataverse instance" }
+      - { prop: ":instanceNameShort", val: "JHU Data Archive",
+          desc: "Short branded name for this Dataverse instance" }
+      - { prop: ":instanceTextFull",
+          val: "Johns Hopkins University Data Management Services",
+          desc: "Full upper right-hand text for wider window" }
+      - { prop: ":instanceTextShort", val: "JHU DMS",
+          desc: "Short upper right-hand text for narrow window" }
+      - { prop: ":instanceTextLink", val: "http://dms.data.jhu.edu/",
+          desc: "Link for click on upper right-hand branding text" }
+      - { prop: ":instanceLogoLink", val: "http://www.library.jhu.edu/",
+          desc: "Link for click on instance branding logo" }
   roles:
     - role: dataverse
diff --git a/roles/dataverse/defaults/main.yaml b/roles/dataverse/defaults/main.yaml
index b4d06b8..655c5c7 100644
--- a/roles/dataverse/defaults/main.yaml
+++ b/roles/dataverse/defaults/main.yaml
@@ -124,6 +124,45 @@ rserve_user: rserve
 rserve_pass: "{{ rserve_pass_protected }}"
 rserve_port: 6311
 
+
+###############################################################################
+# Settings for UI instance branding configuration
+# When any values are changed to override these variables, all
+# properties associated with that variable will be overriden. So
+# all desired values must be re-specified.
+###############################################################################
+
+dv_ui_use_custom_header: false
+dv_ui_use_custom_footer: false
+
+dv_ui_custom_values:
+  - { prop: ":instanceLogoFile", val: "http://dataverse.org/files/dataverseorg/files/dv-rings-tranparent.png",
+      desc: "URL (relative or absolute) for instance logo file" }
+# If ":instanceBrandingHeader" is set to true, the following properties should
+# should be set elsewhere.
+#  - { prop: ":instanceNameFull", val: "set :instanceNameFull",
+#      desc: "Full branded name for this Dataverse instance" }
+#  - { prop: ":instanceNameShort", val: "set :instanceNameShort",
+#      desc: "Short branded name for this Dataverse instance" }
+#  - { prop: ":instanceTextFull", val: "set :instanceTextFull",
+#      desc: "Full upper right-hand text for wider window" }
+#  - { prop: ":instanceTextShort", val: "set :instanceTextShort",
+#      desc: "Short upper right-hand text for narrow window" }
+#  - { prop: ":instanceTextLink", val: "set :instanceTextLink",
+#      desc: "Link for click on upper right-hand branding text" }
+#  - { prop: ":instanceLogoLink", val: "http://dataverse.example.org/",
+#      desc: "Link for click on instance branding logo" }
+dv_ui_custom_css_classes:
+  - { prop: ":instanceNameFullClasses", val: "hidden-xs",
+      desc: "hide the instance fullname when window too narrow" }
+  - { prop: ":instanceNameShortClasses", val: "hidden-sm hidden-md hidden-lg hidden-xl",
+      desc: "hide the short version of the when window not too narrow for wide text" }
+  - { prop: ":instanceTextFullClasses", val: "hidden-xs hidden-sm",
+      desc: "hide the long version of right-hand text when window too narrow" }
+  - { prop: ":instanceTextShortClasses", val: "hidden-md hidden-lg hidden-xl",
+      desc: "hide the short version of right-hand text when window not too narrow for long text" }
+
+
 ###############################################################################
 # Mail configuration
 ###############################################################################
diff --git a/roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/dv-4.6/images/libraries.logo.small.horizontal.white.cropped.png b/roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/common/images/libraries.logo.small.horizontal.white.cropped.png
similarity index 100%
rename from roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/dv-4.6/images/libraries.logo.small.horizontal.white.cropped.png
rename to roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/common/images/libraries.logo.small.horizontal.white.cropped.png
diff --git a/roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/dv-4.6/Bundle.properties.patch b/roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/dv-4.6/Bundle.properties.patch
deleted file mode 100644
index b8c26fd..0000000
--- a/roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/dv-4.6/Bundle.properties.patch
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,21 +0,0 @@
---- WEB-INF/classes/Bundle.properties.orig	2017-01-20 13:36:19.226248762 -0500
-+++ WEB-INF/classes/Bundle.properties	2016-12-15 09:58:16.121000000 -0500
-@@ -1,3 +1,18 @@
-+# instance branding parameters
-+instance_branding_header=true
-+instance_branding_footer=false
-+instanceTextLink=http://dms.data.jhu.edu/
-+instanceTextFull=Johns Hopkins University Data Management Services
-+instanceTextShort=JHUDMS
-+instanceTextFullClasses=hidden-xs hidden-sm
-+instanceTextShortClasses=hidden-md hidden-lg hidden-xl
-+instanceLogoFile=/resources/images/libraries.logo.small.horizontal.white.cropped.png
-+instanceLogoLink=http://www.library.jhu.edu/
-+instanceNameFull=Johns Hopkins University Data Archive
-+instanceNameShort=JHU Data Archive
-+instanceNameFullClasses=hidden-xs
-+instanceNameShortClasses=hidden-sm hidden-md hidden-lg hidden-xl
-+
- dataverse=Dataverse
- newDataverse=New Dataverse
- hostDataverse=Host Dataverse
diff --git a/roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/dv-4.6/dataverse_header.xhtml.patch b/roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/dv-4.6/dataverse_header.xhtml.patch
deleted file mode 100644
index b10121d..0000000
--- a/roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/dv-4.6/dataverse_header.xhtml.patch
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
---- dataverse_header.xhtml.orig	2016-12-14 18:15:30.597000000 -0500
-+++ dataverse_header.xhtml	2016-12-14 20:57:22.949000000 -0500
-@@ -21,7 +21,10 @@
-                         <span class="icon-bar"></span>
-                     </button>
-                     <a href="/">
--                        <span class="navbar-brand"><i id="icon-dataverse" class="icon-dataverse"></i> #{bundle.dataverse}</span>
-+                        <span class="navbar-brand"><i id="icon-dataverse" class="icon-dataverse"></i>
-+                            <span class="#{bundle.instanceNameFullClasses}"> #{bundle.instanceNameFull}</span>
-+                            <span class="#{bundle.instanceNameShortClasses}"> #{bundle.instanceNameShort}</span>
-+                        </span>
-                     </a>
-                     <h:outputLink value="#" onclick="PF('statusInfo').show()" rendered="#{!empty settingsWrapper.get(':StatusMessageText')}">
-                         <span class="label label-default status">#{!empty settingsWrapper.get(':StatusMessageHeader') ? settingsWrapper.get(':StatusMessageHeader') : bundle['header.status.header']}</span>
diff --git a/roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/dv-4.6/dataverse_template.xhtml.patch b/roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/dv-4.6/dataverse_template.xhtml.patch
deleted file mode 100644
index 82d28ea..0000000
--- a/roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/dv-4.6/dataverse_template.xhtml.patch
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
---- dataverse_template.xhtml	2017-01-28 17:42:24.108718494 -0500
-+++ dataverse_template.xhtml	2017-01-26 04:45:38.498692700 -0500
-@@ -36,7 +36,17 @@
-     <h:body styleClass="#{widgetWrapper.widgetView ? 'widget-view' : ''}">
-         <f:loadBundle basename="Bundle" var="bundle"/>
-         <a href="#content" class="sr-only">#{bundle['body.skip']}</a>       
-+
-+	<c:if test="#{bundle.instance_branding_header}">
-+            <ui:include src="instance_header.xhtml" rendered="#{bundle.instance_branding_header}"/>
-+	</c:if>
-+
-         <ui:include src="dataverse_header.xhtml">
-+
-+	<c:if test="#{bundle.instance_branding_footer}">
-+            <ui:include src="instance_footer.xhtml"/>
-+	</c:if>
-+
-             <ui:param name="dataverse" value="#{dataverse != null ? dataverse : dataverseServiceBean.findRootDataverse()}"/>
-             <ui:param name="showDataverseHeader" value="#{showDataverseHeader != null ? showDataverseHeader : true}"/>
-             <ui:param name="showMessagePanel" value="#{showMessagePanel != null ? showMessagePanel : true}"/>
diff --git a/roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/dv-4.6/instance_header.xhtml b/roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/dv-4.6/instance_header.xhtml
deleted file mode 100644
index e37061a..0000000
--- a/roles/dataverse/files/ui-customization/dv-4.6/instance_header.xhtml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,72 +0,0 @@
-<ui:composition xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
-     xmlns:h="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html"
-     xmlns:f="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core"
-     xmlns:ui="http://java.sun.com/jsf/facelets"
-     xmlns:p="http://primefaces.org/ui"
-     xmlns:pt="http://xmlns.jcp.org/jsf/passthrough"
-     xmlns:jsf="http://xmlns.jcp.org/jsf"
-     xmlns:iqbs="http://xmlns.jcp.org/jsf/composite/iqbs">
-    
-<style>
-/* override some dataverse styles */
-#dataverse-header-block {
-    padding-top: 0px;
-}
-.navbar-fixed-top {
-    top: initial;
-    position: relative;
-}
-
-/* set instance styles */
-.instance-header-block {
-    background-color: #002D72;
-    min-height: 50px;
-}
-.instance-logo {
-    position: relative;
-    display: block;
-    max-height: 40px;
-    margin-top: 5px;
-    width: auto;
-    height: auto;
-}
-.instance-text {
-   color: #C0C0C0;
-   display: block;
-   float: right;
-   font-size: 24px;
-   font-weight: 200;
-   font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro","Garamond Premiere Pro",Garamond,Baskerville,"Baskerville Old Face","Hoefler Text","Times New Roman",serif;
-   margin-left: 40px;
-   padding: 0px 0px;
-   text-shadow: 0 1px 0 #000000;
-   text-decoration: none;
-}
-.instance-text-normal {
-   
-}
-.instance-text-narrow {
-}
-.instance-text:hover {
-   color: #FFFFFF;
-}
-</style>
-
-    <div class="instance-header-block">
-        <div class="container">
-            <table width="100%">
-                <tr>
-                    <td style="vertical-align:middle">
-                        <a href="#{bundle.instanceLogoLink}">
-                            <img class="instance-logo" src="#{bundle.instanceLogoFile}"/>
-                        </a>
-                    </td>
-                    <td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:left">
-                        <a class="instance-text #{bundle.instanceTextFullClasses}" href="#{bundle.instanceTextLink}">#{bundle.instanceTextFull}</a>
-                        <a class="instance-text #{bundle.instanceTextShortClasses}" href="#{bundle.instanceTextLink}">#{bundle.instanceTextShort}</a>
-                    </td>
-                </tr>
-            </table>
-        </div>
-    </div>
-</ui:composition>
diff --git a/roles/dataverse/tasks/dv-custom-ui-overrides.yaml b/roles/dataverse/tasks/dv-custom-ui-overrides.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..460adbb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/roles/dataverse/tasks/dv-custom-ui-overrides.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# -*- mode: yaml -*-
+# vi: set ft=yaml :
+
+---
+
+###############################################################################
+# These tasks are needed until such time as these/similar customizations
+# make it into a Dataverse release.
+###############################################################################
+
+- name: set some base directories for UI overrides
+  set_fact:
+    dv_repo_dir: "/tmp/dataverse/repo"
+    dv_repo_webapp_dir: "src/main/webapp"
+
+- name: (TEMPORARY) clone the dataverse repository with UI changes to overwrite distro
+  git:
+    repo: "{{ dv_ui_repo.url }}"
+    dest: "{{ dv_repo_dir }}"
+    version: "{{ dv_ui_repo.branch }}"
+
+- name: (TEMPORARY) copy relevant updated UI files
+  copy: src="{{ dv_repo_dir }}/{{ dv_repo_webapp_dir}}/{{ item }}"
+        dest="{{ dv_application_directory }}/{{ item }}"
+        owner="{{ dv_gf_user }}" group="{{ dv_gf_group }}" mode=0644
+        remote_src=true
+  with_items:
+    - "instance_header.xhtml"
+    - "resources/css/instance-header-overrides.css"
+    - "dataverse_header.xhtml"
+    - "dataverse_template.xhtml"
+
+- name: (TEMPORARY) remove cloned dataverse repository
+  file: path="{{ dv_repo_dir }}" state=absent
diff --git a/roles/dataverse/tasks/dv-custom-ui.yaml b/roles/dataverse/tasks/dv-custom-ui.yaml
index bf50ef5..06c3ab4 100644
--- a/roles/dataverse/tasks/dv-custom-ui.yaml
+++ b/roles/dataverse/tasks/dv-custom-ui.yaml
@@ -4,40 +4,45 @@
 ---
 
 ###############################################################################
-# Branding & UI customization updates
-# NB: These are brittle and may need to be fixed between releases
+# Update UI settings
 ###############################################################################
 
-- name: a note on these customizations
-  debug: msg="These UI customizations are brittle and may need to be updated for new releases."
+- name: configure admin settings that drive UI customizations
+  become: yes
+  become_user: "{{ dv_gf_user }}"
+  uri:
+    url: "{{ instance_api }}/admin/settings/{{item.prop}}"
+    body: "{{ item.val }}"
+    method: PUT
+    validate_certs: no
+  with_items:
+    - { prop: ":instanceBrandingHeader", val: "{{ dv_ui_use_custom_header |lower }}",
+        desc: "whether or not to use a branding header" }
+    - { prop: ":instanceBrandingFooter", val: "{{ dv_ui_use_custom_footer |lower }}",
+        desc: "whether or not to use a branding footer" }
+    - "{{ dv_ui_custom_values }}"
+    - "{{ dv_ui_custom_css_classes }}"
+
+
+###############################################################################
+# Copy custom files into the application
+###############################################################################
 
 - name: set some base directories for later use
   set_fact:
-    dv_customization_directory: "ui-customization/dv-{{ instance_ui_customization_version }}"
     dv_application_directory: "{{ dv_gf_root }}/glassfish/domains/{{ dv_gf_domain }}/applications/{{ dataverse_app_name }}"
 
-- name: copy new custom files to the web site
+- name: copy local custom files into the web app
   become: yes
   become_user: "{{ dv_gf_user }}"
-  copy: src="{{ dv_customization_directory }}/{{ item.src }}"
+  copy: src="ui-customization/{{ item.src }}"
         dest="{{ dv_application_directory }}/{{ item.dest }}"
         owner="{{ dv_gf_user }}" group="{{ dv_gf_user }}" mode=0644
   with_items:
-    - { src: "instance_header.xhtml", dest: ""}
-    - { src: "images/", dest: "/resources/images"}
-
-
-- name: apply custom UI patches
-  become: yes
-  become_user: "{{ dv_gf_user }}"
-  patch: src="{{ dv_customization_directory }}/{{ item }}.patch"
-         basedir="{{ dv_application_directory }}"
-         remote_src=no
-  with_items:
-    - Bundle.properties
-    - dataverse_header.xhtml
-    - dataverse_template.xhtml
+    - { src: "common/images/", dest: "/resources/images"}
 
+# (Temporary) Some
+- include: dv-custom-ui-overrides.yaml
 
 - name: clean up custom UI /tmp files
   file: name=/tmp/dv-custom-ui state=absent