"Connected," the official Iowa State University tartan, designed by Madelyn Bunn, an alum from the Apparel, Merchandising and Design program, was inspired by the network of art and architecture that distinguishes Iowa State University.
“My main idea was that I wanted it to represent how the community is connected to Iowa State, everyone that goes to Iowa State and alumni at Iowa State—how everyone’s still connected,” Bunn said.
Her design process started with the map of Iowa State and eventually transformed into the tartan you see today. Bunn’s thought process was to embody the community as a whole and emulate the feeling of being connected. “Connected” reminds Cyclones of their roots at Iowa State.
“I feel like people were drawn to my concept,” Bunn said. “The idea of everyone being connected and staying connected is what people resonated with.”
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ISU Tartan Story
The Apparel, Events & Hospitality Management (AESHM) Department at Iowa State University put together a competition to solicit tartan designs from across the university.
Students from across the university submitted designs. The initial designs were judged by instructors within the Apparel, Merchandising & Design program. The faculty members judged the designs based on their interpretation of Iowa State's history, use of color, and originality. After a lengthy judging process, two final designs were selected to be put to a campus-wide vote. After a campus-wide vote, "Connected" was selected as the winner.
The ISU tartan is now a registered tartan through the Scottish Register and was developed into a variety of products from coffee mugs to magnets.