Official and Traditional Colors of Michigan
Michigan state colors are Maize and Blue, based on University of Michigan colors adopted in 1867. Get HEX, RGB, and Pantone specs plus the story behind each color choice.
Official color palette of Michigan
State color reference
- Official colors
- Maize and Blue
- Official since
- Semi-official / Traditional (University of Michigan, adopted February 12, 1867; Pantone standards finalized 2013)
- Primary use
- University of Michigan athletics and institutional branding, Michigan Wolverines NCAA teams, widespread state identity use across Michigan government, business, and civic life
- Known for
- One of the most recognized color combinations in American collegiate and state identity history; the colors survived more than 145 years of unofficial use and color drift before being standardized in precise Pantone values in 2013 — a process that revealed no fewer than 12 unofficial shades of Michigan Blue had been in simultaneous use
Color Specifications
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Maize
Represents the color of dried corn (maize), chosen by the University of Michigan student color committee in 1867 to evoke the agricultural heritage of the Great Lakes region; the original 1867 specification described maize as the color of corn, explicitly rejecting pale lemon yellow as too weak and emphasizing a warm, saturated golden tone; after decades of color drift in which overly bright yellows frequently substituted for true maize, the University of Michigan standardized the color as PMS 7406 C in 2013, bringing consistency to a shade that had been informally represented by dozens of varying yellows across 146 years of institutional use
Blue
Represents the deep navy blue chosen by the University of Michigan student color committee in 1867 as azure-blue, a shade described in the 1912 standardization effort as lapis lazuli, Persian blue, cobalt blue, or the clear blue of the unclouded sky; over the following decades the color drifted toward a washed-out baby blue in official university documents and decorations before athletic departments began pushing the shade back toward a deeper hue; in 2013 University of Michigan branding director Steve Busch standardized the blue as PMS 282 C after tracing it to the dark blue panels visible on the concourse of Michigan Stadium — an echo of the deep, authoritative blue that the 1912 faculty committee had originally insisted upon
WCAG Contrast Checker
Accessibility compliance for Maize and Blue
Blue
on Maize background
Maize
on Blue background
WCAG 2.1 Standards:
- AA Normal Text: 4.5:1 minimum
- AA Large Text: 3:1 minimum
- AAA Normal Text: 7:1 minimum
- AAA Large Text: 4.5:1 minimum
Developer Export
Copy-paste ready code snippets
CSS Variables
/* CSS Variables for Michigan */
:root {
--michigan-maize: #FFCB05;
--michigan-blue: #00274C;
}Tailwind CSS Config
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'michigan': {
'maize': '#FFCB05',
'blue': '#00274C',
}
}
}
}
}SCSS Variables
// SCSS Variables for Michigan
$michigan-maize: #FFCB05;
$michigan-blue: #00274C;
Number of distinct unofficial shades of Michigan Blue found in simultaneous use by University of Michigan departments and affiliates in 2013, when branding director Steve Busch conducted an audit that led to the final standardization of Michigan Blue as Pantone PMS 282 C — ending 146 years of color drift since the original 1867 student committee selection
Origins and Institutional History
Michigan has not enacted state legislation designating official state colors, placing it among the majority of U.S. states that rely on traditional or institutional color associations rather than statutory designation. Maize and blue function as Michigan's de facto state colors through the unparalleled cultural reach of the University of Michigan, which first formally adopted the colors on February 12, 1867, and has sustained them as the dominant visual identity of Michigan public life for more than 150 years. The University of Michigan's enrollment of approximately 47,000 students, its status as the state's flagship public research university, and its athletic program — one of the most followed in American collegiate sports — have given maize and blue a depth of state-level recognition that rivals formally designated state colors in other jurisdictions, similar to symbolism on the Michigan state flag.
The colors were adopted by a student committee of the U-M literary department at a chapel meeting on February 12, 1867. The committee, consisting of Milton Jackson (class of 1867), Albert H. Pattengill (class of 1868), and J. Eugene Jackson (class of 1869), reported a resolution in favor of azure-blue and maize, which was formally adopted. The choice proved durable but the precise shades proved elusive. Over the following decade the colors came to be described informally as yellow and blue, and through the late 19th and early 20th centuries the specific shades drifted — the blue fading to baby blue in institutional documents while athletic programs pushed toward progressively deeper blues. By 2013, University of Michigan branding staff found no fewer than 12 distinct shades of Michigan blue in simultaneous official and semi-official use.
The 1912 Standardization Attempt
In preparation for the University of Michigan's 75th anniversary celebrations during Commencement Week in June 1912, event organizers discovered that the famous maize and blue had never been officially defined with a visual standard that could govern the color of academic regalia. On March 12, 1912, the university senate created a faculty committee to determine the precise shades. The committee researched the colors' 1867 origins but found no physical color sample from that era. They ultimately selected maize and blue ribbon swatches as the official exemplars, specifying that the blue should be a darker shade — lapis lazuli, Persian blue, or cobalt blue — rather than the baby blue that had become common, and that the maize should represent the true color of corn while avoiding pale lemon yellow. These ribbon swatches were deposited in the Bentley Historical Library archive, where they remain the 1912 standard of record, though color drift continued for another century before digital standardization became possible in the same era that shaped The Wolverine State identity.
The 2013 Pantone Standardization
The definitive resolution of Michigan's color identity came in 2013 when University of Michigan branding director Steve Busch, having found no fewer than 12 shades of Michigan blue in institutional use, undertook a systematic effort to identify the single authoritative shade. Busch traced the most consistent and historically accurate blue to the dark navy panels on the concourse of Michigan Stadium — the same panels that had been present through much of the stadium's history — and standardized the University's blue as Pantone PMS 282 C (HEX #00274C). Maize was simultaneously standardized as Pantone PMS 7406 C (HEX #FFCB05). These specifications were published in the University of Michigan Brand & Visual Identity guidelines and have since governed all official university materials, athletic uniforms, and licensed merchandise, ending more than 145 years of informal color variation.
Key milestones
University of Michigan founded in Detroit as the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania, by an act of the Michigan Territory Legislature; the university that will give Michigan its iconic color identity is established 20 years before Michigan achieves statehood
Michigan admitted to the Union as the 26th state on January 26; the University of Michigan relocates from Detroit to Ann Arbor, establishing the campus where maize and blue will be formally chosen 30 years later
On February 12, a student committee of the U-M literary department adopts azure-blue and maize as the University of Michigan's official colors at a chapel meeting; the committee consists of Milton Jackson, Albert H. Pattengill, and J. Eugene Jackson
University of Michigan athletic uniforms begin incorporating progressively deeper and bolder shades of blue, beginning a decades-long drift away from the baby blue that had become common in institutional documents toward the darker navy that the original committee intended
University of Michigan senate creates a faculty committee to determine the precise official shades of maize and blue for the university's 75th anniversary celebrations; the committee selects ribbon swatches as official exemplars and specifies a deeper blue, depositing the standards in the Bentley Historical Library
University of Michigan branding director Steve Busch conducts a color audit finding 12 distinct unofficial shades of Michigan blue in use; he standardizes Michigan Blue as Pantone PMS 282 C (HEX #00274C) and Michigan Maize as Pantone PMS 7406 C (HEX #FFCB05), ending 146 years of color variation
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What the Colors Represent
Maize and blue carry a dual resonance in Michigan that extends well beyond the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor. Maize speaks to the agricultural heritage of the Great Lakes region, where corn has been a foundational crop since Native American cultivation long before European settlement, and where Michigan's agricultural economy continues to rank among the largest in the Midwest. Blue speaks to Michigan's defining geographic identity as the Great Lakes State — surrounded on three sides by four of the five Great Lakes, with more freshwater coastline than any other state in the continental United States. Together the colors evoke a landscape of golden fields and deep blue water that is as much a description of Michigan's physical environment as it is a university color scheme.
Maize in Michigan Context
Corn and the color maize have been part of Great Lakes culture since long before the University of Michigan was founded. The Three Sisters agricultural system practiced by Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples across what is now Michigan used corn as the primary staple crop, alongside beans and squash. When European settlers arrived in Michigan in the 17th and 18th centuries, they found established agricultural traditions centered on maize that informed their own farming practices. By the 19th century, Michigan had developed into a major corn-producing state, and the warm golden color of dried corn was a visual constant across the rural Michigan landscape that student color committees in Ann Arbor would have recognized immediately as representative of the state's agricultural character. Michigan continues to rank in the top 15 U.S. states for corn production annually, with corn grown across the southern Lower Peninsula and orchard systems linked to the Michigan state flower.
Blue in Michigan Context
Blue's resonance in Michigan is geographic and nearly total. Michigan is the only state in the continental United States to consist of two separate peninsulas — the Lower Peninsula and the Upper Peninsula — both of which are surrounded by Great Lakes waters. Lake Superior borders the Upper Peninsula to the north; Lake Michigan borders the Lower Peninsula to the west and the Upper Peninsula to the south; Lake Huron borders the Lower Peninsula to the east; and Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair border Michigan's southeastern corner. Michigan's total freshwater coastline, measured along all its Great Lakes shores and island shores, exceeds 3,200 miles — more than any other continental U.S. state. The deep navy of Michigan Blue (PMS 282 C) resonates against this context as a color that literally surrounds the state on nearly every side, making it one of the most geographically appropriate color choices in American state symbolism and in regional comparisons like states neighboring states.
Usage Across Michigan Institutions
Maize and blue appear across Michigan's institutional landscape with a consistency that exceeds what most legislatively designated state colors achieve. The University of Michigan Wolverines athletic program — competing in the Big Ten Conference across football, basketball, hockey, and 28 other varsity sports — carries maize and blue before national audiences hundreds of times per year, generating recognition that extends far beyond Michigan's borders. Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, known as the Big House, holds more than 107,000 spectators and is the largest stadium in the United States and the Western Hemisphere; the maize-and-blue color scheme visible in its stands and on its field is among the most televised in American sports. The University of Michigan health system, one of the largest academic medical centers in the United States, uses maize and blue in all patient-facing materials across dozens of hospital and clinic locations throughout Michigan. State government agencies frequently incorporate maize and blue in Michigan-branded materials, tourism campaigns, and promotional contexts, even in the absence of a formal state color statute requiring them to do so. The Michigan Wolverines' rivalry with the Ohio State Buckeyes, played annually since 1897 and known simply as The Game, is one of the most watched college football matchups in American sports, bringing Michigan's maize and blue into direct national contrast with Ohio State's scarlet and gray every November.
Timeline
University of Michigan founded in Detroit as the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania, by an act of the Michigan Territory Legislature; the university that will give Michigan its iconic color identity is established 20 years before Michigan achieves statehood
University of Michigan founded in Detroit as the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania, by an act of the Michigan Territory Legislature; the university that will give Michigan its iconic color identity is established 20 years before Michigan achieves statehood
Michigan admitted to the Union as the 26th state on January 26; the University of Michigan relocates from Detroit to Ann Arbor, establishing the campus where maize and blue will be formally chosen 30 years later
On February 12, a student committee of the U-M literary department adopts azure-blue and maize as the University of Michigan's official colors at a chapel meeting; the committee consists of Milton Jackson, Albert H. Pattengill, and J. Eugene Jackson
On February 12, a student committee of the U-M literary department adopts azure-blue and maize as the University of Michigan's official colors at a chapel meeting; the committee consists of Milton Jackson, Albert H. Pattengill, and J. Eugene Jackson
University of Michigan athletic uniforms begin incorporating progressively deeper and bolder shades of blue, beginning a decades-long drift away from the baby blue that had become common in institutional documents toward the darker navy that the original committee intended
University of Michigan senate creates a faculty committee to determine the precise official shades of maize and blue for the university's 75th anniversary celebrations; the committee selects ribbon swatches as official exemplars and specifies a deeper blue, depositing the standards in the Bentley Historical Library
University of Michigan senate creates a faculty committee to determine the precise official shades of maize and blue for the university's 75th anniversary celebrations; the committee selects ribbon swatches as official exemplars and specifies a deeper blue, depositing the standards in the Bentley Historical Library
University of Michigan branding director Steve Busch conducts a color audit finding 12 distinct unofficial shades of Michigan blue in use; he standardizes Michigan Blue as Pantone PMS 282 C (HEX #00274C) and Michigan Maize as Pantone PMS 7406 C (HEX #FFCB05), ending 146 years of color variation
"Two colors are at the very core of our existence. Maize and blue play a vital role in establishing a clear and powerful image and in defining the University of Michigan brand."
Quick Answers
What are the state colors of Michigan?
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Sources
- University of Michigan Brand & Visual Identity - Colors
- Alumni Association of the University of Michigan - Color Struggles History
- University Record - The History of Maize and Blue
- MVictors.com - The Official Colors of the University of Michigan (1912)
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