University of Southern California brand colors
USC is explicit that Cardinal and Gold carry equal weight rather than one leading the other, which is unusual. Most institutions nominate a single primary. Both are published with Pantone and CMYK alongside the hex.
Official site: usc.edu
Every color
| Color | Role | Hex | RGB | HSL | Pantone | CMYK | Preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USC Cardinal | primary | #990000 | 153, 0, 0 | 0, 100%, 30% | 201 C | 7, 100, 65, 32 | Fill screen |
| USC Gold | secondary | #FFCC00 | 255, 204, 0 | 48, 100%, 50% | 123 C | 0, 27, 100, 0 | Fill screen |
| Gray 30K | neutral light | #CCCCCC | 204, 204, 204 | 0, 0%, 80% | -- | 0, 0, 0, 30 | Fill screen |
| Gray 70K | neutral dark | #767676 | 118, 118, 118 | 0, 0%, 46% | -- | 0, 0, 0, 70 | Fill screen |
Contrast pairs
USC Cardinal passes AA for body text on white, at 8.9 to 1.
Of 30 ordered pairs in this palette, 16 clear 4.5 to 1 for body text and 18 clear 3 to 1 for large text. Row is the text color, column is the background.
| Text color | USC Cardinal | USC Gold | Gray 30K | Gray 70K | White | Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USC Cardinal | 5.9USC Cardinal on USC Gold, passes AA for body text | 5.5USC Cardinal on Gray 30K, passes AA for body text | 2.0USC Cardinal on Gray 70K, fails AA for body text | 8.9USC Cardinal on White, passes AA for body text | 2.4USC Cardinal on Black, fails AA for body text | |
| USC Gold | 5.9USC Gold on USC Cardinal, passes AA for body text | 1.1USC Gold on Gray 30K, fails AA for body text | 3.0USC Gold on Gray 70K, fails AA for body text | 1.5USC Gold on White, fails AA for body text | 13.9USC Gold on Black, passes AA for body text | |
| Gray 30K | 5.5Gray 30K on USC Cardinal, passes AA for body text | 1.1Gray 30K on USC Gold, fails AA for body text | 2.8Gray 30K on Gray 70K, fails AA for body text | 1.6Gray 30K on White, fails AA for body text | 13.1Gray 30K on Black, passes AA for body text | |
| Gray 70K | 2.0Gray 70K on USC Cardinal, fails AA for body text | 3.0Gray 70K on USC Gold, fails AA for body text | 2.8Gray 70K on Gray 30K, fails AA for body text | 4.5Gray 70K on White, passes AA for body text | 4.6Gray 70K on Black, passes AA for body text | |
| White | 8.9White on USC Cardinal, passes AA for body text | 1.5White on USC Gold, fails AA for body text | 1.6White on Gray 30K, fails AA for body text | 4.5White on Gray 70K, passes AA for body text | 21.0White on Black, passes AA for body text | |
| Black | 2.4Black on USC Cardinal, fails AA for body text | 13.9Black on USC Gold, passes AA for body text | 13.1Black on Gray 30K, passes AA for body text | 4.6Black on Gray 70K, passes AA for body text | 21.0Black on White, passes AA for body text |
Sources
- Every color on this page: https://identity.usc.edu/identity/color/
Other colleges & universities
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