BrandingColor Usage Guidelines
The strength of the Northwestern Engineering palette is its consistency. Adhering to these color guidelines will result in clean, comprehensive communications that are instantly recognizable as Northwestern’s.
To keep the color palette consistent across different media, be sure to use the right color codes in your files:
- Use Pantone color codes for any commercially-printed materials.
- Use CMYK values for materials intended for print. CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black: the inks used by printers. Make sure any image you intend to print is in "CMYK" mode and that the proper color values are selected.
- Use RGB color values when creating images intended for viewing ONLY on computer screens (not for print). RGB stands for the red, green, and blue light used by computer monitors.
- Use Hex codes to create the desired colors on webpages. It's important to use hex codes properly in your webpages' style sheets or HTML code. Hex codes are interpreted by web browsers to display colors for things like fonts, backgrounds, and table borders
Primary Color Palette
| Color | Name/Pantone | CMYK | RGB | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern Purple PMS 268 | 82, 98, 00, 12 | 078, 042, 132 | #4E2A84 | |
| Purple 90 | 74, 88, 00, 11 | 091, 059, 140 | ||
| Purple 80 | 66, 78, 00, 10 | 104, 076, 150 | ||
| Purple 70 | 57, 69, 00, 08 | 118, 093, 160 | ||
| Purple 60 | 49, 59, 00, 07 | 131, 110, 170 | #836EAA | |
| Purple 50 | 41, 49, 00, 06 | 147, 128, 182 | ||
| Purple 40 | 33, 39, 00, 05 | 164, 149, 195 | ||
| Purple 30 | 25, 29, 00, 04 | 182, 172, 209 | #B6ACD1 | |
| Purple 20 | 16, 20, 00, 02 | 204, 196, 223 | ||
| Purple 10 | 08, 10, 00, 01 | 228, 224, 238 | #E4E0EE | |
| Purple 160 | 87, 99, 30, 65 | 029, 002, 053 | ||
| Purple 150 | 87, 99, 25, 56 | 038, 008, 065 | ||
| Purple 140 | 86, 98, 20, 47 | 048, 016, 078 | ||
| Purple 130 | 85, 98, 15, 38 | 056, 023, 090 | ||
| Purple 120 | 82, 98, 10, 30 | 064, 031, 104 | #401F68 | |
| Purple 110 | 83, 98, 05, 21 | 072, 036, 118 |
Gray Palette
(for one color printing)
| Color | Name | Tint of Black | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Black 100 | 100% (solid) | ||
| Rich Black 90 | 90% | ||
| Rich Black 80 | 80% | #342F2E | |
| Rich Black 70 | 70% | ||
| Rich Black 60 | 60% | ||
| Rich Black 50 | 50% | #716C6B | |
| Rich Black 40 | 40% | ||
| Rich Black 30 | 30% | ||
| Rich Black 20 | 20% | #BBB8B8 | |
| Rich Black 10 | 10% | #D8D6D6 |
Secondary Color Palette
Although our color system is monochromatic, we understand that, in certain instances, another color will need to be used. For those circumstances, we have developed a set of secondary colors. These colors should be used rarely and sparingly. Under no circumstances should any of them become the predominant color for a school, center, institute, or department.
The secondary color palette can be found at the Northwestern brand website.
