Stanford University brand colors
Stanford publishes light and dark variants of Cardinal red alongside the original, which is unusual. Most institutions specify one value and leave designers to derive the rest. Its black is #2E2D29 rather than true black, a warm near-black chosen to sit with the red.
Official site: stanford.edu
Every color
| Color | Role | Hex | RGB | HSL | Pantone | CMYK | Preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal Red | primary | #8C1515 | 140, 21, 21 | 0, 74%, 32% | 201 C / 201 U | 0, 100, 65, 34 | Fill screen |
| Cardinal Red Light | accent | #B83A4B | 184, 58, 75 | 352, 52%, 47% | -- | -- | Fill screen |
| Cardinal Red Dark | accent | #820000 | 130, 0, 0 | 0, 100%, 25% | -- | -- | Fill screen |
| White | background | #FFFFFF | 255, 255, 255 | 0, 0%, 100% | -- | -- | Fill screen |
| Black | neutral dark | #2E2D29 | 46, 45, 41 | 48, 6%, 17% | Process Black | 0, 0, 0, 100 | Fill screen |
| Cool Grey | secondary | #53565A | 83, 86, 90 | 214, 4%, 34% | Cool Grey 11 C | 63, 52, 44, 33 | Fill screen |
Contrast pairs
Cardinal Red passes AA for body text on white, at 9.4 to 1.
Of 54 ordered pairs in this palette, 24 clear 4.5 to 1 for body text and 26 clear 3 to 1 for large text. Row is the text color, column is the background.
| Text color | Cardinal Red | Cardinal Red Light | Cardinal Red Dark | White | Black | Cool Grey | White | Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal Red | 1.7Cardinal Red on Cardinal Red Light, fails AA for body text | 1.1Cardinal Red on Cardinal Red Dark, fails AA for body text | 9.4Cardinal Red on White, passes AA for body text | 1.5Cardinal Red on Black, fails AA for body text | 1.3Cardinal Red on Cool Grey, fails AA for body text | 9.4Cardinal Red on White, passes AA for body text | 2.2Cardinal Red on Black, fails AA for body text | |
| Cardinal Red Light | 1.7Cardinal Red Light on Cardinal Red, fails AA for body text | 1.9Cardinal Red Light on Cardinal Red Dark, fails AA for body text | 5.6Cardinal Red Light on White, passes AA for body text | 2.5Cardinal Red Light on Black, fails AA for body text | 1.3Cardinal Red Light on Cool Grey, fails AA for body text | 5.6Cardinal Red Light on White, passes AA for body text | 3.7Cardinal Red Light on Black, fails AA for body text | |
| Cardinal Red Dark | 1.1Cardinal Red Dark on Cardinal Red, fails AA for body text | 1.9Cardinal Red Dark on Cardinal Red Light, fails AA for body text | 10.8Cardinal Red Dark on White, passes AA for body text | 1.3Cardinal Red Dark on Black, fails AA for body text | 1.5Cardinal Red Dark on Cool Grey, fails AA for body text | 10.8Cardinal Red Dark on White, passes AA for body text | 1.9Cardinal Red Dark on Black, fails AA for body text | |
| White | 9.4White on Cardinal Red, passes AA for body text | 5.6White on Cardinal Red Light, passes AA for body text | 10.8White on Cardinal Red Dark, passes AA for body text | 13.8White on Black, passes AA for body text | 7.4White on Cool Grey, passes AA for body text | 21.0White on Black, passes AA for body text | ||
| Black | 1.5Black on Cardinal Red, fails AA for body text | 2.5Black on Cardinal Red Light, fails AA for body text | 1.3Black on Cardinal Red Dark, fails AA for body text | 13.8Black on White, passes AA for body text | 1.9Black on Cool Grey, fails AA for body text | 13.8Black on White, passes AA for body text | 1.5Black on Black, fails AA for body text | |
| Cool Grey | 1.3Cool Grey on Cardinal Red, fails AA for body text | 1.3Cool Grey on Cardinal Red Light, fails AA for body text | 1.5Cool Grey on Cardinal Red Dark, fails AA for body text | 7.4Cool Grey on White, passes AA for body text | 1.9Cool Grey on Black, fails AA for body text | 7.4Cool Grey on White, passes AA for body text | 2.9Cool Grey on Black, fails AA for body text | |
| White | 9.4White on Cardinal Red, passes AA for body text | 5.6White on Cardinal Red Light, passes AA for body text | 10.8White on Cardinal Red Dark, passes AA for body text | 13.8White on Black, passes AA for body text | 7.4White on Cool Grey, passes AA for body text | 21.0White on Black, passes AA for body text | ||
| Black | 2.2Black on Cardinal Red, fails AA for body text | 3.7Black on Cardinal Red Light, fails AA for body text | 1.9Black on Cardinal Red Dark, fails AA for body text | 21.0Black on White, passes AA for body text | 1.5Black on Black, fails AA for body text | 2.9Black on Cool Grey, fails AA for body text | 21.0Black on White, passes AA for body text |
Sources
- Every color on this page: https://identity.stanford.edu/design-elements/color/primary-colors/
Other colleges & universities
Share