Color


Brand Colors

Colorado State has two primary colors that represent our university and help it stand out in the collegiate landscape. Colorado State’s Primary Green should be heavily featured on any piece of collateral produced by the university.

Alongside the university’s Primary Green and Gold are Aggie Orange, 80% Black, and White, which not only nods to our heritage, but also adds flexibility.


Primary

CSU Green Color Swatch

COLORADO STATE GREEN

R30 G77 B43
HEX #1E4D2B
C92 M18 Y94 K61
PMS 357

COLORADO STATE GOLD

R200 G195 B114
HEX #C8C372
C11 M6 Y64 K13
PMS 617

AGGIE ORANGE 

R217 G120 B45
HEX #D9782D
C0 M65 Y100 K0
PMS Orange 021

CSU 80-Percent Black Color Swatch

80% BLACK 

R89 G89 B91
HEX #59595B
C0 M0 Y0 K80
PMS 425

CSU White Color Swatch

WHITE 

R255 G255 B255
HEX #FFFFFF
C0 M0 Y0 K0


Energy Palette

The Energy Palette heightens Colorado State’s primary brand colors while creating a color system that is distinct and ownable. It is a refreshed palette of colors that reflects past iterations of the Colorado State palette but evolves it to a place that reflects the refreshed brand.

We urge all campus communicators and colleges to adopt this “secondary” palette as a way to remain connected with the university’s branding while creating a look and feel that is ownable for their college.

Please note all colors in previous CSU secondary and tertiary color palettes are considered retired and should not be used.

CSU Oval Green Color Swatch

OVAL GREEN 

R0 G97 B68
HEX #006144
C100 M17 Y84 K18
PMS 7726

CSU Lovers Lane Color Swatch

LOVERS LANE 

R130 G197 B3
HEX #82C503
C55 M0 Y100 K0
PMS 376

CSU Energy Green Color Swatch

ENERGY GREEN 

R207 G252 B0
HEX #CFFC00
C22 M0 Y93 K0
PMS 388

CSU Flower Trial Red Color Swatch

FLOWER TRIAL RED 

R229 G106 B84
HEX #E56A54
C0 M72 Y72 K0
PMS 7416

CSU Powered Purple Color Swatch

POWERED PURPLE 

R126 G84 B117
HEX #7E5475
C36 M62 Y4 K0
PMS 521

CSU Horsetooth Blue Color Swatch

HORSETOOTH BLUE 

R0 G143 B179
HEX #008FB3
C100 M20 Y30 K0
PMS 314

CSU Stalwart Slate Color Swatch

STALWART SLATE 

R16 G84 B86
HEX #105456
C100 M16 Y42 K45
PMS 323

SUNSHINE 

R255 G192 B56
HEX #FFC038
C0 M26 Y100 K0
PMS 143

Neutrals

Neutrals provide flexibility to the Colorado State palette. While these colors are not “officially” part of the Colorado State palette, they can be used in addition to it for balance, legibility, and accessibility.

CSU Black Color Swatch

BLACK 

R0 G0 B0
HEX #000000
C40 M30 Y20 K100
PMS Black

CSU Grey Color Swatch

GRAY 

R204 G204 B204
HEX #CCCCCC
C10 M7 Y8 K0
PMS N/A

CSU Tan Color Swatch

TAN 

R227 G205 B177
HEX #E3CDB1
C10 M17 Y30 K0
PMS N/A


Color Proportions

CSU Color Proportions 33% CSU Green 9% CSU Gold 9% Oval Green 2% Lovers Lane 9% Energy Green 5% Powered Purple 5% Flower Trial Red 2% Horsetooth Blue 5% Aggie Orange 2% Stalwart Slate 2% Sunshine 17% White

Color proportions are key to ensuring that while we incorporate secondary colors into brand work, anything made by the university still feels recognizable as Colorado State.

This is the preferred color proportion break down for all colors in the palette. While it is impossible to be exact with color proportions, this should serve as a basic guideline for using colors.

Color Pairings for Accessibility

Color accessibility is key to creating a brand that is welcoming to all regardless of abilities. Pairings of background colors and type colors ensure our messaging is legible. These are our preferred pairings of background color and type color. While other pairings not shown here may be accessible, they are not recommended for brand use.

A table showing CSU’s accessible color combinations. CSU Green background with the following text colors: White (AAA) Energy Green (AAA) Primary Gold (AA) Lovers Lane (AA) Sunshine (AA) Aggie Orange (AA18) Flower Trial Red (AA18) CSU Gold background with the following text colors: Primary Green (AA) Stalwart Slate (AA) Oval Green (AA18) 80% Black (AA18) Powered Purple (AA18) Aggie Orange background with the following text colors: Black (AA) Primary Green (AA18) White (AA18) White background with the following text colors: Black (AAA) Primary Green (AAA) Stalwart Slate (AAA) Oval Green (AAA) 80% Black (AA) Powered Purple (AA) Horsetooth Blue (AA18) Flower Trial Red (AA18) Aggie Orange (AA18) 80% Black background with the following text colors: White (AA) Energy Green (AA) Primary Gold (AA18) Lovers Lane (AA18) Black (AA18) Black background with the following text colors: White (AAA) Energy Green (AAA) Lovers Lane (AAA) Aggie Orange (AA) Flower Trial Red (AA) Oval Green background with the following text colors: White (AAA) Energy Green (AA) Gold (AA18) Lovers Lane (AA18) Lovers Lane background with the following text colors: Black (AAA) Primary Green (AA) Oval Green (AA18) 80% Black (AA18) Energy Green background with the following text colors: Black (AAA) Primary Green (AAA) Oval Green (AA) Powered Purple (AA) 80% Black (AA) Horsetooth Blue (AA18) Flower Trial Red background with the following text colors: Black (AA) Primary Green (AA18) White (AA18) Powered purple background with the following text colors: White (AA) Energy Green (AA) Gold (AA18) Black (AA18) Horsetooth Blue background with the following text colors: Black (AA) White (AA18) Stalwart Slate background with the following text colors: White (AAA) Energy Green (AAA) Gold (AA) Sunshine background with the following text colors: Black (AAA) Primary Green (AA) 80% Black (AA18) Gray background with the following text colors: Black (AAA) Primary Green (AA) Stalwart Slate (AA) Oval Green (AA) Tan background with the following text colors: Primary Green (AA) Stalwart Slate (AA) Oval Green (AA) Powered Purple (AA18)

If a pairing is labeled with AA18, it should be used at large type sizes only (we recommend 18pt regular or 14pt bold, but no smaller). AAA and AA pairings can be used at any type size.

If color pairings are not featured here, they are not approved for use by the university.

Color Accessibility Tools

For more information about color accessibility and to download color contrast checker tools, visit CSU’s Accessibility by Design website.