One Maize. One Blue. One Brand.
Maize and blue play a vital role in establishing a clear and powerful image and in defining the University of Michigan Brand, but there’s so much more to consider when establishing our identity.
Accessibility Requirements
When designing for the web, all content must conform to the accessibility standards set by the university’s ITS accessibility team.
Based on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0), the criteria for level AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for larger text, greater than 24px or 19px and bold. The chart below provides approved brand color combinations that meet WCAG 2.0 level AA standards.
This quick-reference chart shows which colors provide enough contrast to be used as text against a light background, and which colors don’t have enough contrast to be readable as text but could be used as a background.
Primary Palette — Signature Colors
Our signature color palette of Michigan Maize and Blue creates a powerful differentiator for our brand. Using this palette appropriately and consistently provides an additional layer of distinction.
Signature colors may be used extensively both for large areas of color and as accent colors.
| Color | Web | Web Accessible Combination | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maize | PMS: 7406 | #FFCB05 | Aa Aa Blue (#00274C) |
| Blue | PMS: 282 | #00274C | Aa Aa Maize (#FFCB05) Aa Aa White (#FFFFFF) |
Secondary Palette — supporting colors
The colors in our supporting palette were chosen to complement our primary palette of maize and blue, providing additional range to the brand experience. They work well as accent colors or as backgrounds behind typography or graphics, but should never replace the primary palette as the main color(s) of a design. NOTE: While these colors are recommended rather than mandated, we strongly encourage you to use them.
Painting your office? Download a PDF of Sherwin-Williams paint colors corresponding to the U-M color palette.
| Color | Web | Web Accessible Combination | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tappan Red |
PMS: 484 |
#9A3324 |
Aa
Aa
White (#FFFFFF) |
| Ross Orange |
PMS: 1595 |
#D86018 |
Aa
Black (#000000) |
| Rackham Green |
PMS: 5565 |
#75988d |
Aa
Aa
Black (#000000) Blue (#00274C) |
| Wave Field Green |
PMS: 398 |
#A5A508 |
Aa
Aa
Black (#000000) Blue (#00274C) |
| Taubman Teal |
PMS: 326 |
#00B2A9 |
Aa
Aa
Black (#000000) Blue (#00274C) |
| Arboretum Blue |
PMS: 660 |
#2F65A7 |
Aa
White (#FFFFFF)
Aa
|
| A2 Amethyst |
PMS: 2603 |
#702082 |
Aa
Aa
Maize (#FFCB05) White (#FFFFFF) |
| Matthaei Violet |
PMS: 668 |
#575294 |
Aa
Aa
Maize (#FFCB05) White (#FFFFFF) |
| UMMA Tan |
PMS: 7502 |
#CFC096 |
Aa
Aa
Black (#000000) Blue (#00274C) |
| Burton Tower Beige |
PMS: 451 |
#9B9A6D |
Aa
Aa
Black (#000000) Blue (#00274C) |
| Angell Hall Ash |
PMS: PANTONE Warm Gray 6 |
#989C97 |
Aa
Aa
Black (#000000) Blue (#00274C) |
| Law Quad Stone |
PMS: PANTONE Warm Gray 11 |
#655A52 |
Aa
Aa
White (#FFFFFF) |
| Diag M Metalllic |
PMS: 872 |
||
| Puma Black |
PMS: PANTONE Black 6 |
#131516 |
Aa
Aa
Maize (#FFCB05) White (#FFFFFF) |
NOTE: This table was originally made by using the reusable Table – Color Swatches block, converting to HTML, and making the edits in HTML. A new reusable Table in HTML – Supporting Colors block has been created. Unfortunately, table blocks do NOT take InnerBlocks in cells.