Our Colors
Beyond our logo, color is the most recognizable aspect of our brand. Our color palette helps audiences identify us at a glance. The way we use color sets the mood for each of our pieces, and reflects our heritage and our surroundings. Our communications draw on three color palettes to unite them. NOTE: Many of these colors should look familiar because most of them, including the primary orange and blue, have not changed. Several colors in the secondary and accent palettes have changed, so even if they look similar to colors that you’ve used in the past, use this guide to make sure that you are using the correct colors.
COLOR RATIOS
Our color palette is bold and distinctive. It relies primarily on our heritage colors of orange and blue, along with generous white space. Secondary colors are used for deeper levels of content in layouts and for breaking up headlines. By leaning on our heritage colors and plenty of open space, we create a modern look that elevates our momentum.
Note:
When using color builds, always use the color values listed in this section. They have been adjusted for the best reproduction on screen and in print, and may not match Pantone Color Bridge breakdowns. In general, the color code sources originated from official Pantone Color Bridge swatch books.
OUR COLORS
At our core, we are orange and blue. As part of our brand’s visual language, we express that in all its forms by expanding the flexibility of these two colors.
With that in mind, this palette unifies the colors of the brand, reflecting our institution’s philosophy and mission.
Note: When using color builds, always use the color values listed in this section. They have been adjusted for the best reproduction on screen and in print, and may not match Pantone Color Bridge breakdowns. In general, the color code sources originated from official Pantone Color Bridge swatch books.
GRADIENTS
Two color gradients are available for use. They are pairings of our Core Blue with Dark Blue, and our Core Orange with Alachua.
Note: Premade gradient swatches are available for download at our online brand center. Go to Downloads and under Brand Toolkit, choose Color Swatches. To build your own, please follow the guidelines pictured below.
SECONDARY PALETTE
Orange and blue should drive most marketing, campus and alumni materials, but sometimes other colors are needed. For those circumstances, we have developed this secondary palette.
These colors are best suited for use in internal communications, but they may also be used in long-form communications where more colors are needed for variety, infographics and icons. Large fields of these colors should be avoided. Be sure that our primary orange and blue are always the most prominent colors.
Under no circumstances should any of these colors become the predominant color for a school, center, institute or department.
NEUTRAL PALETTE
Neutral tones can be used to add depth, warmth, sophistication and richness to our communications. Note, however, that white should be used more frequently and prominently than these neutrals.
Also note that we use black only for long passages of body copy. Never use it in any other way.
Note: White is an indispensable color. Rather than viewing it as a blank area, see it as a break. Don’t rush to fill it: it can focus attention on what is there, rather than drawing attention to what isn’t. Always balance color, typography and graphic elements with open space.

USING COLOR
Using color is an easy way to evoke energy and emotion within our communications. Use these guides as a reference for using color to convey a particular mood, and for applying our palette with restraint and consistency.
Color Spectrum
This illustrates color applications for four desired outcomes. These particular color combinations are not dictates; rather these spectrums illustrate the type of proportional adjustments to be made throughout a designed piece.
COLOR NUMBERS
COLOR | COLOR NAME | PMS | CMYK | RGB | HEX |
COLOR | CORE ORANGE | PMS 172 | 0 | 70 | 100 | 0 | 250 | 70 | 22 | #FA4616 |
COLOR | CORE BLUE | PMS 287 | 100 | 60 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 33 | 165 | #0021A5 |
COLOR | BOTTLEBRUSH | PMS 1795 | 0 | 96 | 82 | 1 | 211 | 39 | 55 | #D32737 |
COLOR | ALACHUA | PMS 130 | 0 | 32 | 100 |0 | 242 | 169 | 0 | #F2A900 |
COLOR | GATOR | PMS 7731 | 78 | 3 | 84 | 22 | 34 | 136 | 72 | #22884C |
COLOR | DARK BLUE | PMS 655 | 100 | 73 | 0 | 61 | 0 | 38 | 87 | #002657 |
COLOR | PERENNIAL | PMS 7651 | 46 | 98 | 1 | 35 | 106 | 42 | 96 | #6A2A60 |
COLOR | BLACK | PMS BLACK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | #000000 |
COLOR | COOL GREY 11 | COOL GRAY 11 | 44 | 34 | 22 | 77 | 52 | 55 | 65 | #343741 |
COLOR | COOL GREY 3 | COOL GRAY 3 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 199 | 201 | 200 | #C7C9C8 |
COLOR | WARM GREY 1 | WARM GREY 1 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 216| 212 | 215 | #D8D4D7 |
COLOR | WHITE | WHITE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 255 | 255 | 255 | #FFFFFF |
DIGITAL PALETTE
Like printed colors, screen-based colors should be consistent across multiple pages and sites, and a limited color palette is well suited for digital applications.
All communications should follow the brand core color palette. The hexadecimal values of our core palette have been optimized for accessibility on light and dark backgrounds, which can be found above.
To learn more about using the UF Brand Colors with dark mode, download the following presentation: Designing for Dark Mode
For additional information, contact us using the form at the bottom of this page.
Color Consistency:
Hexadecimal values are derived from the Pantone Color Bridge system to ensure that colors are consistent from their original selection, to print and screen applications.
Adjusted for AA Normal Text Compliance (tested on webaim.org color contrast checker). These colors do not use the formulas recommended by Pantone Color Bridge.

AA-Compliant Color Formulas for Screen Applications
By ensuring adequate contrast for text and visual media, we can help people with visual impairments navigate content more easily.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide a set of international standards developed by the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C), the governing body of the web.
AA Level compliance is an important standard of contrast for displaying text and images, in both the foreground and the background. The goal of these accommodations is to help ensure that our online content is equally accessible and user-friendly
to all users.
Because of their quick impact and smaller size, communication pieces on the web (such as web ads) should only feature our orange and blue colors. At the right, we’ve outlined a short list of compliant and non-compliant color pairings for our core colors.
This list is not comprehensive; it’s important to check accessibility for every piece you create. For additional guidance on web accessibility, visit webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker.
Large text is typically defined as 14 point or larger and bold.