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Color

Core Colors

Metallic gold, black and white make up our core color palette. These colors are unmistakably Vanderbilt. 

  • Metallic Gold

    Pantone  871 C | Hex FEEEB6 to B49248 | R254 G238 B182 to | R180 G146 B72

  • Flat Gold

    Pantone 4024 C | Hex CFAE70 | R207 G174 B112 | C20 M29 Y64 K0

  • Black

    Pantone Black C | Hex 1C1C1C | R10 G10 B10 | C0 M0 Y0 K100

  • White

    Hex FFFFFF | R255 G255 B255 | C0 M0 Y0 K0

Accessibility

Use of contrast and color is essential to accessibility and to ensuring that our design work is available to all audiences. Our core palette is high-contrast by nature. The color pairings shown below are Level AA accessible. WCAG AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. To ensure compliance, please don't stray from these pairings.

colors
Black on white and white on black have a 17:1 contrast ratio. Flat gold on black has a 5.75:1 ratio. Black on metallic gold is also 5.75:1, while black on flat gold is 8:1, and oak on white is 4.65:1.

Secondary Colors: Neutrals

While our primary palette deploys a high-contrast triad, these colors are supported by warm neutrals: cream, taupes and grays, with higher-saturation hues for impact.

  • Dark Gray

    Hex 777777 | R119 G119 B119 | C0 M0 Y0 K53

  • Light Gray

    Hex E4E4E4 | R228 G228 B228 | C0 M0 Y0 K11

  • Sand

    Hex E0D5C0 | R224 G213 B192 | C12 M13 Y23 K0

  • Cream

    Hex F5F3EF | R245 G243 B239 | C3 M2 Y4 K0

Secondary Colors: Saturated

For data visualization needs, such as creating a bar chart or to support Vanderbilt sub-brands such as camps or events, you may take advantage of our higher-chroma secondary palette.

  • Sky

    Hex B3C9CD | R179 G203 B205 | C30 M12 Y16 K0

  • Highlight

    Hex ECB748 | R236 G183 B72 | C7 M29 Y84 K0

  • Oak

    Hex 946E24 | R148 G110 B36 | C36 M51 Y100 K18

  • Sage

    Hex 8BA18E | R139 G161 B142 | C49 M26 Y47 K0