Colors

The OHIO color palette breaks down into two parts.

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.

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.

Additional notes about colors:

• 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.
• Find a strong combination of three or four colors and use that color scheme consistently and creatively throughout print communications.
• Be mindful of color combinations that represent other universities.
• 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.
• Under no circumstances should any of the secondary colors become the predominant, signifying color for a school, center, institute, or department.

Digital Color Use

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 our color palettes. 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.

• 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.

Promotional Items

When choosing promotional items, be sure they adhere to University color and type guidelines. If your promotional item is in a color, choose the color closest to an official University color. For help selecting appropriate promotional items, fill out a UCM request form . Use official University fonts for any text on promotional items.

Customized promotional items may be obtained through Printing Services and Consolidus, Ohio University’s preferred vendor for sourcing promotional items. Browse items in BobcatBuy . Contact Printing Services at 593.1930 or printing@ohio.edu .