The Iowa State Cyclones are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The athletics department’s visual identity has evolved through several distinct eras, from a cartoon mascot mark introduced in 1995 to the “I-State” primary logo adopted in 2008, supplemented by a Cyclone nickname mark created in 2017.
Design and History
The Cyclones nickname dates to 1895, when Iowa State (then Iowa Agricultural College) defeated Northwestern 36-0 in football. The next day, a Chicago Tribune headline read “Struck by a Cyclone: It Comes from Iowa and Devastates Evanston Town,” and the article noted that Northwestern “might as well have tried to play football with an Iowa cyclone as with the Iowa team it met yesterday.” The nickname stuck and has been associated with Iowa State athletics ever since.[1]
In September 2007, Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard unveiled a new graphics identity for all of the school’s athletic programs. The new primary logo featured a cardinal-colored capital “I” with “State” written over it in gold, replacing the cardinal mascot that had previously served as the primary mark.[2] More than 35,000 fans voted online for which logo and color scheme they preferred during the six-month design process.[3] Pollard said the change was driven by a lack of clarity in the program’s identity: “We didn’t have a clear identity for the athletics program. No one could say what our mark was.”[3]
The new primary logo, which featured different shades of cardinal and gold, began appearing on team apparel in fall 2008.[4] The former athletics marks introduced in 1995, including the swirling Cy mascot graphics, were initially slated for discontinuation but were retained as “spirit graphics” available for licensing alongside the new identity.[4]
In October 2010, Iowa State released a new set of mascot graphics featuring a tougher, stronger Cy, designed to bridge the gap between the I-State primary logo and the athletics word marks. The university hired the Pennsylvania-based Joe Bosack Graphic Design Company to create the marks, and the designers studied the history of Iowa State’s earlier logos, including the walking Cy and punching Cy, to develop a design incorporating elements from former marks.[5]
In September 2017, Iowa State debuted a new “Cyclone” helmet decal for a football game against Texas. The new Cyclone logo was created by Joe Bosack & Co. that summer to serve as a nickname logo for the athletics department. The I-State mark continued as Iowa State’s primary athletics mark, and the department retained Cy mascot logos in its portfolio.[1] The school noted that while Iowa State had used various forms of Cyclone marks occasionally in its history, officially adding a Cyclone symbol depicting the school’s long-time nickname was a “significant brand enhancement.”[1]
In November 2025, Iowa State brought back a version of the beloved “Cynado” logo for its Senior Day football game against Kansas. The Cynado logo, first introduced in 1995, features a cartoon illustration of Cy the Cardinal swept up in a tornado. The revived version appeared on helmets with a simplified red and gold color scheme, without the tertiary blue that appeared in the original.[6]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Cyclone nickname itself derives from the 1895 Chicago Tribune headline following Iowa State’s upset victory over Northwestern.[7] The Cynado logo visually connects the athletics program to that meteorological origin, depicting the university’s cardinal mascot caught in a swirling tornado.[6]
The athletics department’s official colors are cardinal and gold.[8] The 2007 rebrand was motivated in part by a desire to return to those school colors, which had been absent from some earlier uniform schemes.[9]
Typography and Design
The Iowa State Athletics mark and typeface were created by Paul Meenan, graphic designer for the Iowa State University Athletics Department. The official typeface used in the Iowa State Athletics mark is called “Cyclone,” and the typeface family includes regular, bold and italic versions.[10]
The athletics department’s official color specifications list Cyclone Cardinal as Pantone PMS 187 and Cyclone Gold as Pantone PMS 123.[10]
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