Colors

An element of the graphic standards that became more diverse after the update is the College’s color palette. Slightly deepened shades of the classic purple and gold are joined by black and white in the primary palette, while four new colors comprise the extended palette: dark purple, magenta, ocher, and orange. 

Kaan and Reische were quick to affirm that purple and gold will always remain the colors of the College. 

“When they get here, not everybody loves the color purple, but people come to see it as somehow emblematic of something about this place,” Reische said. “They develop an attachment to it as symbolic of Williams in some way.” 

The purple became a bit warmer, but the difference is subtle. Kaan said there was a time when the College used the exact same shade of purple as Amherst, but the new update pushes the two even further apart. (“Not that that was a goal,” Kaan said. “It wasn’t not a goal,” Reische added.)