Iowa State Colors | Blue White Red
Official color palette of Iowa
State color reference
State Colors of Iowa
- Official colors
- Blue, White, and Red
- Official since
- Traditional (based on 1921 state flag)
- Primary use
- State Flag, state government branding, official state insignia
Color Specifications
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Blue
The blue stripe of Iowa's state flag.
White
The white center stripe of Iowa's state flag.
Red
The red stripe of Iowa's state flag.
What Iowa Colors Represent
The only US state flag consciously designed as a homage to the French Tricolor, honoring Iowa's French colonial heritage under the Louisiana Territory; designed by Dixie Cornell Gebhardt of the Iowa DAR in 1917 and adopted as Iowa's official flag in 1921, 75 years after Iowa achieved statehood
Are Blue, White, and Red Iowa's Official State Colors?
Iowa has not adopted a separate set of official state colors. Blue, White, and Red are the legally defined colors of the state flag under Iowa Code § 1B.1, so they serve as Iowa's traditional statewide palette.
The statute describes the flag's three vertical stripes but does not provide HEX, RGB, CMYK, or Pantone specifications. The values above are practical digital approximations.
Why Does Iowa Use Blue, White, and Red?
Dixie Cornell Gebhardt designed Iowa's flag during World War I, and the legislature adopted it in 1921. Its Blue, White, and Red stripes reference the French Tricolor and Iowa's history within the Louisiana Territory.
Gebhardt described blue as loyalty, justice, and truth; white as purity; and red as courage. The wider white center contains an eagle carrying Iowa's state motto.
Quick Answers
What are Iowa's state colors?
Why does Iowa use Blue, White, and Red?
Are Iowa's HEX codes official?
Sources
Iowa State Symbols
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