Colour

Colour is a key feature of our brand identity and should be used to complement photography and typography. Used correctly it will communicate our brand personality and provide standout.

We have a lot to say and many audiences to speak to. We need variety as well as coherence in our messaging, so the colour palette is broad. Whilst there is scope for wide variation in colour, we encourage creatives to exercise restraint when varying colour within campaigns, so we have defined palettes per audience.

Our colour palette

Bright Violet
Pantone 2583U
C48 M72 Y0 K0
R154 G91 B179
#9A5BB3

Bright Blue
Pantone 306U
C76 M0 Y5 K0
R0 G185 B228
#00B9E4

Bright Pink
Pantone 1787U
C0 M82 Y53 K0
R245 G63 B91
#F53F5B

Mid Blue
Pantone 285U
C90 M48 Y0 K0
R0 G115 B207
#0073CF

Bright Yellow
Pantone 123U
C0 M18 Y89 K0
R255 G207 B33
#FFCF21

Bright Orange
Pantone 2012U
C5 M57 Y100 K0
R233 G130 B0
#E88200

Bright Green
Pantone 2249U
C70 M0 Y61 K0
R69 G179 B130
#45B382

Blush Pink
Pantone 196U
C0 M25 Y5 K0
R244 G195 B203
#F4C3CB

Dark Grey
Pantone Black 6U
C54 M27 Y36 K82
R32 G50 B50
#203232

Dark Purple
Pantone 2613U
C67 M78 Y31 K19
R96 G67 B107
#63436B

Dark Teal
Pantone 3165U
C81 M24 Y20 K63
R0 G74 B92
#004A5C

Grey Blue 
Pantone 2380U
C80 M60 Y50 K41
R48 G69 B79
#30454F

What to use and when

Undergraduate recruitment

Our undergraduate recruitment palette reflects our promise to the ambitions of a new generation, with blue bringing intellectual promise and violet and pink lending qualities of optimism and emotional strength.

This palette should be used for undergraduate recruitment campaigns only. For communicating with current undergraduate students, see Student and Staff Comms.

Background

Bright Violet
Pantone 2583U
C48 M72 Y0 K0
R154 G91 B179
#9A5BB3

Bright Blue
Pantone 306U
C76 M0 Y5 K0
R0 G185 B228
#00B9E4

Bright Pink
Pantone 1787U
C0 M82 Y53 K0
R245 G63 B91
#F53F5B

Accents

Dark Grey
Pantone Black 6U
C54 M27 Y36 K82
R32 G50 B50
#203232

White
C0 M0 Y0 K0
R255 G255 B255
#FFFFFF

Campaign examples

example of correct digital ad styling
example of correct paid social styling
correct colour usage on undergrad publication cover
example of correct undergrad out of home styling

Postgraduate recruitment

Our postgraduate recruitment palette signals academic prowess with the addition of mid blue, and maturity with the reversed colour ordering and introduction of Grey Blue.

This palette should be used for postgraduate recruitment campaigns only. For communicating with current postgraduate students, see Student and Staff Comms.

Background

Grey Blue 
Pantone 2380U
C80 M60 Y50 K41
R48 G69 B79
#30454F

Accents

Bright Violet
Pantone 2583U
C48 M72 Y0 K0
R154 G91 B179
#9A5BB3

Bright Pink
Pantone 1787U
C0 M82 Y53 K0
R245 G63 B91
#F53F5B

Mid Blue
Pantone 285U
C90 M48 Y0 K0
R0 G115 B207
#0073CF

White
C0 M0 Y0 K0
R255 G255 B255
#FFFFFF

Campaign examples

example of correct campus out of home styling
example of correct digital ad styling
example of correct paid social styling
an example of a postgraduate campaign publication cover

Student and staff comms

We recognise that our students and staff care about a wide range of issues, both related to life within the University and issues in the wider world. Our internal student and staff comms colour palette is just as diverse as these interests, affording us flexibility and cut-through in what can often be a crowded and information-heavy environment.

Care should be taken to restrict the number of colours used in any given piece of communications, and to ensure colours do no clash or overpower messaging.

Background

Bright Violet
Pantone 2583U
C48 M72 Y0 K0
R154 G91 B179
#9A5BB3

Bright Blue
Pantone 306U
C76 M0 Y5 K0
R0 G185 B228
#00B9E4

Bright Pink
Pantone 1787U
C0 M82 Y53 K0
R245 G63 B91
#F53F5B

Mid Blue
Pantone 285U
C90 M48 Y0 K0
R0 G115 B207
#0073CF

Bright Yellow
Pantone 123U
C0 M19 Y89 K0
R255 G207 B33
#FFCF21

Bright Orange
Pantone 2012U
C5 M57 Y100 K0
R233 G130 B0
#E88200

Bright Green
Pantone 2249U
C70 M0 Y61 K0
R69 G179 B130
#45B382

Blush Pink
Pantone 196U
C0 M25 Y5 K0
R244 G195 B203
#F4C3CB

Accents

Dark Grey
Pantone Black 6U
C54 M27 Y36 K82
R32 G50 B50
#203232

White
C0 M0 Y0 K0
R255 G255 B255
#FFFFFF

Campaign examples

example of correct internal screen styling
example of correct campus flag styling
example of correct social styling
example of internal comms facing email design

Alumni comms

Our alumni comms uniquely use a base gradient to highlight the transformative power of our gold-rated teaching. Paired with rich purple, historically associated with the University, our alumni comms are celebratory and reinforce the pride and esteem we hold in our community of graduates.

We have two available colour combinations for our alumni comms:

Gold

Gold Gradient

Dark Gold
C29 M42 Y81 K20
R166 G129 B61
#A6813D

Light Gold
C2 M10 Y53 K0
R252 G227 B143
#FCE38F

Dark Grey
Pantone Black 6U
C54 M27 Y36 K82
R32 G50 B50
#203232

White
C0 M0 Y0 K0
R255 G255 B255
#FFFFFF

Dark Purple

Dark Purple
Pantone 2613U
C67 M78 Y31 K19
R96 G67 B107
#63436B

Dark Grey
Pantone Black 6U
C54 M27 Y36 K82
R32 G50 B50
#203232

White
C0 M0 Y0 K0
R255 G255 B255
#FFFFFF

Campaign examples

correct colour usage on a graduation publication
example of graduation signage style
example of alumni social campaign

Corporate comms

Our corporate colour palette should be used for high level communications from the heart of the University. The Dark Teal base references depth and growth and reinforces our commitment to Powering Potential, and our range of bright accents support broad and targeted communication.

Our corporate palette should be used when communicating with external stakeholders and corporate partners. This might include university reports, publications and publicity materials to promote external facing events. Most external communications from the Office of the Vice-Chancellor would use the corporate palette.

Background

Dark Teal
Pantone 3165U
C81 M24 Y20 K63
R0 G74 B92
#004A5C

Accents

Bright Violet
Pantone 2583U
C48 M72 Y0 K0
R154 G91 B179
#9A5BB3

Bright Blue
Pantone 306U
C76 M0 Y5 K0
R0 G185 B228
#00B9E4

Bright Pink
Pantone 1787U
C0 M82 Y53 K0
R245 G63 B91
#F53F5B

Mid Blue
Pantone 285U
C90 M48 Y0 K0
R0 G115 B207
#0073CF

Bright Yellow
Pantone 123U
C0 M19 Y89 K0
R255 G207 B33
#FFCF21

Bright Orange
Pantone 2012U
C5 M57 Y100 K0
R233 G130 B0
#E88200

Bright Green
Pantone 2249U
C70 M0 Y61 K0
R69 G179 B130
#45B382

Blush Pink
Pantone 196U
C0 M25 Y5 K0
R244 G195 B203
#F4C3CB

White
C0 M0 Y0 K0
R255 G255 B255
#FFFFFF

Campaign examples

example of correct digital ad styling
example of corporate publication design
example of corporate publication design
example of corporate email campaign

Enterprise

Our restrained palette for Enterprise activity reflects the simplicity and impact of access to our expertise. The use of strong, bright colours paired with white on a charcoal base acts as a beacon in a complex business landscape.

Background

Dark Grey
Pantone Black 6U
C54 M27 Y36 K82
R32 G50 B50
#203232

Accents

Bright Violet
Pantone 2583U
C48 M72 Y0 K0
R154 G91 B179
#9A5BB3

Bright Blue
Pantone 306U
C76 M0 Y5 K0
R0 G185 B228
#00B9E4

Bright Pink
Pantone 1787U
C0 M82 Y53 K0
R245 G63 B91
#F53F5B

Bright Yellow
Pantone 123U
C0 M19 Y89 K0
R255 G207 B33
#FFCF21

White
C0 M0 Y0 K0
R255 G255 B255
#FFFFFF

Campaign examples

an example of a enterprise campaign publication cover
an example of a enterprise campaign publication spread
example of b2b social campaign

Dos and don'ts

Grey background

Do use colour as an accent

Grey background

Do use colour to differentiate between campaign audiences

Grey background

Do limit the number of colours that appear in any one piece

Grey background

Don't overlay Bright colours on top of one another unless critical to the design

Grey background

Don't mix colours across campaign styles

Grey background

Don't mix colours that have poor contrast

Downloads

Use the links below to download audience-specific Adobe Swatch Exchange (.ase) files for both screen and print.

CampaignRGB (screens)CMYK (print)
UndergraduateDownloadDownload
PostgraduateDownloadDownload
Internal commsDownloadDownload
CorporateDownloadDownload
EnterpriseDownloadDownload
AlumniDownloadDownload

Related Guidance

Get in touch

If you have any questions please contact a member of the team:

ContactEmail
Studio team, Marketing and Communications studio@herts.ac.uk
Jak Kimsey, Head of Digital and Creative Experience (he/him)j.kimsey1@herts.ac.uk
Marketing and Communications Business Supportmarketinguh@herts.ac.uk