ISU Color Palette

The Iowa State University customized color palette reflects the clarity and depth of our values, and it is deeply rooted in the university's land-grant mission. Consistent and appropriate use of these colors will create a strong and consistent visual presence for the university. This established system of colors for brand communications ties all the colleges, institutes, centers and units of our university together.

To ensure the consistency of our visual identity, specifications for each color are provided for both print and digital use. Pantone colors and CMYK values are provided for color printing applications. A printer-friendly PDF outlining the primary and secondary color palettes has been created for your convenience. This information, and more, can be found at: https://www.brandmarketing.iastate.edu/brand-elements/color-palette/.

Pantone Color Library Update (Fall 2022): Upon installing the 2023 versions of Adobe Creative Cloud programs, you will no longer see Iowa State's brand colors when browsing the built-in color libraries. This is because the Solid Coated color book, among others, is now only available with a paid subscription to Pantone Connect Premium. If you are a subscriber, you will be able to use the colors as normal. If you are not a subscriber, we have created Adobe Swatch Exchange (.ase) files, which contain both the primary and secondary Iowa State color palettes. These can be imported into your Adobe programs and used freely.

For more information about Adobe swatch libraries, go here: https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/using-creating-swatches.html

Download the ISU Primary and Secondary Swatch Libraries Here