For more than a century, the University of Michigan has faced the challenge of identifying and consistently reproducing its official academic colors – maize and azure blue. Technology used to match and formulate colors in textile manufacturing recently provided the ultimate solution.

In 1867, a committee of students was appointed to recommend emblematic colors for the University. The color selection became official later that year. Since that time, however, the University of Michigan has struggled to consistently recreate the original azure blue and maize adopted as its academic colors. Numeric color standards, created using state-of-the-art spectrophotometer technology, recently resolved the University’s quest to embody its official colors in a true and lasting form.

Without a precise standard, the years following the selection of the University colors rendered variations ranging from dark blue to "sky" blue and pale yellow to "lemon" yellow. Recognizing the inconsistency in everything from diploma ribbons, robes and flags to decorations, official documents and literature, the University Senate appointed a committee to develop an eternal color standard in 1912. The charge of the committee was to "determine the exact shades of maize and azure blue which would be suitable for the official colors of the University and embody them in some lasting form." The committee assembled a variety of historical samples, such as diploma ribbons and event programs, then selected a group of professors, students, alumni and University administrators to vote on their color preferences. Specific shades of maize and azure blue were chosen, and the first mission of the committee was accomplished.

Mission-two was to capture the official colors in a form that would not deteriorate over time. Given the inexactitude of available technology in 1912, the committee was unable to establish an everlasting color standard. But, it was not for a lack of trying. The committee searched the world for an answer. Enamels were commissioned from the best artisans in New York, and the committee chairman, physiology professor Warren P. Lombard, even traveled to Norway to study the manufacture of fabled Norwegian-blue tiles. However, none of the companies or artisans approached could guarantee an exact color match – let alone a color match that would stand the test of time. After an earnest effort, the University embodied the colors in several sets of grosgrain ribbons, which were distributed to University vendors and placed in the records of the faculty senate. In 1935, the official University of Michigan colors were transferred with the senate records to the University Archives, where the ribbons eventually faded from memory, as well as fading in color.

In 1996, Liene Karels joined the University of Michigan’s marketing communications office as assistant director. Surprised to find that no standard for the University’s maize and blue colors had been established, she renewed the crusade to define and embody the University’s academic colors in a lasting form. After reviewing every allusion to school colors in the historical archives, she eventually discovered documentation of the University’s official colors, as well as the original silk ribbons selected by the 1912 committee. Inspired by the accounts of the committee, Karels dedicated herself to achieving the goal that her predecessors were unable to reach more than 80 years ago.

"I found that creating a color standard had been the ultimate dream of the 1912 committee," said Karels. "In Dr. Lombard’s notes, he discussed how much he regretted not being able include in his report a permanent embodiment of the specific shades of azure and maize that represent the University. That was enough to keep me going."

To capture the official maize and blue in permanent form, an exact replication of the colors from the original fabric samples had to be created – a challenge as the ribbons had faded and deteriorated over time. "I went to an ink manufacturer that specialized in corporate custom color and they tried to create inks that were equivalent to the maize and blue swatches," explained Karels. "The colors they developed were dreadful - flat versions of the ribbon colors. Even with the aging, the colors in the ribbons were bright and lively looking. The inks replicated the hues, but not the reflectivity and vibrancy of the colors."

After reading an account of the University’s dilemma, a representative of X-Rite, Incorporated, Grandville, Mich., contacted Karels and offered the company’s precision color measurement and formulation assistance.

The first step in developing everlasting color standards for the University of Michigan was to obtain accurate measurements of the official maize and blue. There are three main instrumentation geometries available for effective color measurement: 0/45 or 45/0; sphere (d/8); and multi-angle. Each geometry is designed to measure specific samples for color and appearance attributes.
The 0/45 instruments measure color in much the same way as the human eye. Although these instruments do not incorporate specular reflectance into the measurement, they perform well in quality control situations in which standards and samples have similar textures and gloss levels. Sphere geometry spectrophotometers can be operated in either a specular-included or specular-excluded mode, making these instruments ideal for most applications in the textiles, paper, paint and plastics industries. Multi-angle spectrophotometers discern color variation at different angles of reflection. These instruments are commonly used to measure metallic, pearlescent and other special-effects colors – colors that appear to fluctuate as the viewing angle changes.

Measurements of the original University of Michigan color samples were taken using a portable sphere spectrophotometer, a technology commonly used in textile manufacturing to match colors and control the color quality of natural, man-made and blended fibers. The SP-88 Spherical Spectrophotometer was selected for the University of Michigan project based on its ability to measure colors in 10nm increments - the tightest specifications and tolerances in the X-Rite line.

To determine the influence of reflectance, the sphere spectrophotometer automatically provided both specular-included and specular-excluded data for the maize and blue ribbons. Because the instrument is portable, the measurements could be taken on site at the University’s Bentley Historical Library, eliminating any risk associated with moving the delicate samples. Using a white background for consistency, several measurements of the maize and blue ribbons were taken and a numeric standard, or spectral fingerprint, was established for each color.

"The ribbons were removed from their protective enclosure and the X-Rite representative took the readings with a small, hand-held instrument," explained Karels. "Within a matter of minutes, he had taken three readings an had obtained all the data necessary. It was quick and efficient – I was amazed."

The second step toward achieving Karels’ goal was to successfully reproduce the University’s colors based on the color measurement data collected from the original samples. The spectral fingerprints of each color would need to be translated into a dye formula and reproduced on fabric to accomplish this mission.

To expedite the color-matching and reproduction process, the numeric specification for the University’s official maize and blue academic colors was translated from the spectrophotometer into a standard e-mail message. The message then forwarded via ColorMail® to a X-Rite laboratory where the numeric specification was used to make a physical match of the maize and blue with modern dyes. ColorMail is a Windows-based program that enables instantaneous color data transfer via a LAN, WAN or any Microsoft Exchange compatible e-mail system.

Creating a physical match of the University’s maize and blue colors, required laboratory technicians to first match, then duplicate the original dyes used to create the maize and blue silk ribbons. Because the ribbons had faded considerably since they were originally manufactured in 1912, the color formula also needed to be intensified to reflect the true color of the ribbons. Textile Master® software was used to develop the exact color-match formula. The Windows-based textile color matching program is specifically designed to translate spectrophotometer data into dye formulas for textile applications, addressing the unique dye formulation specifications of exhaust dyeing, continuous dyeing (pad batch) and textile printing processes. The flexibility of the software enabled the technicians to compare the results of the on-site data collection in several different graphic and numerical options, then formulate the matching dyes quickly and accurately using the program’s math engine. The numeric formulas were then used to produce light-stable, physical color standards using a polyester substrate.

Although the laboratory technicians never saw the original maize and blue samples, the ribbons they created using precision color measurement technology were an exact match. More than a century after the University of Michigan’s academic colors were established, a lasting standard has been developed for its infamous maize and azure blue. The numeric specifications, physical color standards and a plaque immortalizing the University’s colors were presented to the University of Michigan earlier this year.

"X-Rite was able to measure the colors and take into account how the maize and blue ribbons reflected light," said Karels. "In doing so, they helped us determine the University’s true colors. It was wonderful to be able to put a piece of the past to rest and preserve the integrity of the University’s colors for future generations."

Written by Amber Heinrich, Gibbs & Soell, 847-519-9150