Colors

We sing it on game day: “So today we raise the green and white above the rest.” By “today,” we mean every day. Color is deeply important to brand expression, and in any materials representing OHIO, green should be present and primary. We do, however, provide a rich and diverse set of secondary colors to bring additional life and character to our marketing materials.

Each color in our pallet was intentionally selected and inspired by the natural environment that surrounds our campus. When you look at one of our gorgeous campus landscape photos, you can see these colors appear. When the brand team talks about color, we use their proper brand names. It’s not gold, it's Marigold. It’s not lime, it's Moss.

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Primary Colors Secondary Colors Web-Only Colors Accessible Color Combinations Best Practices

Primary Colors

The primary color palette should be used across all brand communications. Cutler Green should be the dominant color used while Under The Elms and Cupola White can be used as an accent.

Cutler Green color swatch

Cutler Green

Hex #00694E
RGB 0 105 78
CMYK 93 10 75 43
CSS var(--cutler)

Under the Elms color swatch

Under the Elms

Hex #024230
RGB 2 66 48
CMYK 93 24 85 68
CSS var(--under-the-elms)

Cupola color swatch

Cupola White

Hex #FFFFFF
RGB 255 255 255
CMYK 0 0 0 0
CSS var(--white)

Secondary Colors

The secondary color palette should be used sparingly as accent colors for graphic elements, or used to bring a pop of color to brand communications. Ideally the colors would be used in longer form pieces where color can be used to bring a sense of variety to an overall piece.

Black and white are accent colors that can be used sparingly across all color palettes. Under no circumstances should any of the secondary colors become the predominant, signifying color for a school, center, institute, or department.

Putnam color swatch

Putnam

Hex #756E65
RGB 119 110 100
CMYK 20 25 30 59
CSS var(--putnam)

Trillium White color swatch

Trillium

Hex #F9F7ED
RGB 249 247 237
CMYK 1 2 4 0
CSS var(--trillium)

Sycamore Green color swatch

Sycamore

Hex #E7ECC3
RGB 231 236 195
CMYK 2 0 17 7
CSS var(--sycamore)

Marigold color swatch

Marigold

Hex #AA8A00
RGB 170 138 0
CMYK 0 17 100 33
CSS var(--marigold)

Teal color swatch

Teal

Hex #B5E3D8
RGB 181 227 216
CMYK 24 0 11 0
CSS var(--teal)

Moss color swatch

Moss

Hex #A4D65E
RGB 154 206 96
CMYK 37 0 77 0
CSS var(--moss)

Rust color swatch

Rust

Hex #FA4616
RGB 250 70 22
CMYK 0 80 98 0
CSS var(--rust)

Black color swatch

Black

Hex #000000
RGB 0 0 0
CMYK 60 50 50 100
CSS var(--black)

Web-Only Colors

Our audiences usually first meet OHIO digitally before they ever experience it in person. To translate our brand thoughtfully for our digital communications, we’ve created Web-specific values for some of our brand colors. They have been optimized for digital use and for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)—an equal opportunity law for people with disabilities—so that the colors are visually effective and functionally useful.

Web Marigold Green color swatch

Web Marigold

Hex #C4AD4D
RGB 196 173 77
CSS var(--web-marigold)

Web Middle Gray color swatch

Web Middle Gray

Hex #524D47
RGB 82 77 71
CSS var(--middle-gray)

Web Light Gray color swatch

Web Light Gray

Hex #F4F3F2
RGB 244 243 242
CSS var(--light-gray)

Color Downloads 

Download the Full Color Swatch Library

ASE CMYK RGB SVG

WCAG Compliant Color Combinations

When designing for digital platforms, foreground and background colors must be checked for contrast and pass at the WCAG AA level to ensure ADA compliance. To this end, all of the branded web elements in our Drupal instance are vetted for color contrast compliance during the development process, so when you use these elements, you'll be compliant! Below you will find the WCAG AA compliant brand color combinations.

Cutler Background

Cupola White

AA 6.7:1

Trillium

AA 6.2:1

Sycamore

AA 5.4:1

Teal

AA 4.7:1

Under the Elms Background

Cupola White

AAA 11.5:1

Trillium

AAA 10:1

Sycamore

AAA 9.4:1

Teal

AAA 8.1:1

Moss

AA 6.7:1

White Background

Cutler Green

AA 6.7:1

Under the Elms

AAA 11.6:1

Putnam

AA 5:1

Black

AAA 21:1

Trillium Background

Cutler Green

AA 6.2:1

Under the Elms

AAA 10:1

Putnam

AA 4.6:1

Black

AAA 19.5:1

Sycamore Background

Cutler Green

AA 5.4:1

Under the Elms

AAA 9.4:1

Black

AAA 17.1:1

Web Marigold Background

Under the Elms

AA 5.1:1

Black

AAA 9.4:1

Teal Background

Cutler Green

AA 4.7:1

Under the Elms

AAA 8.1:1

Black

AAA 14.9:1

Moss Background

Under the Elms

AA 6.7:1

Black

AAA 12.3:1

Rust Background

Black

AA 5.9:1

Black Background

Cupola White

AAA 21:1

Trillium

AAA 19.5:1

Sycamore

AAA 17.1:1

Web Marigold

AAA 9.4:1

Teal

AAA 14.9:1

Moss

AAA 12.3:1

Rust

AA 5.9:1

Best Practices

  • Color ratios on individual pages, spreads, and layouts can vary, and secondary colors can be used prominently as part of internally focused materials.
  • OHIO’s Cutler Green should be prominent in prospective student marketing materials.
  • Be mindful of color combinations that represent other universities.
  • Find a strong combination of three or four colors and use that color scheme consistently and creatively throughout print communications.
  • For print: Tints of each color may only be used as accents, for example, in backgrounds, infographics, charts, graphs, and diagrams.
  • For websites: Tints may not be used for functional elements of a website, such as buttons, text, or backgrounds. Tints of each color may only be used as accents, for example, in infographics, charts, graphs, and diagrams.