Overview
UCLA Health's colors evoke the blue of sea and sky and the gold of the sun and wildflowers, especially the California poppy. There's a brightness to UCLA Blue and UCLA Gold that's especially appropriate to Southern California, and different from other University of California campuses and academic health systems. Lavish use of white in layouts enhances the brilliance of the colors.
Over the years the blue color has always been more important than the gold. A field of blue with a gold accent says "UCLA." A field of gold with a blue accent does not.
Color is more than an aesthetic choice. Official colors are recognized in trademark case law because they communicate identity. Colors are also the building blocks of accessibility. The standardized UCLA color palette provides for good contrast in the interest of legibility.
When it comes to merchandise, textile and vinyl colors present special challenges. UCLA Trademarks and Licensing establish standards in this area. By using a licensed UCLA vendor, you are assured of following these standards.
The Colors are a REQUIRED brand element. Follow the specifications in this section. Do not use other versions of blue and gold in publications or online.
The Palette
The primary UCLA Blue and Gold are supplemented by secondary blues and golds and vibrant tertiary colors. This full range of color provides a great deal of flexibility; please stay within these established hues. For the sake of accessibility, restrict use of tertiary colors to graphics rather than text. A blue gradient can be used to enliven fields of color. The palette includes specs for spot color (Pantone coated and uncoated), CMYK (process printing), RGB (video and online), and HEX (computer applications).
Primary Brand Colors
UCLA Blue
PANTONE 2383C
PANTONE 3553U
CMYK 83 40 3 6
RGB 39 116 174
HEX #2774AE
UCLA Gold
PANTONE 109C
PANTONE 114U
CMYK 0 9 100 0
RGB 255 209 0
HEX #FFD100
Secondary Brand Colors
Lightest Blue
PANTONE 2707C
PANTONE 2707U
CMYK 20 6 0 0
RGB 195 215 238
HEX #C3D7EE
Lighter Blue
PANTONE 278C
PANTONE 278U
CMYK 45 14 9 9
RGB 139 184 232
HEX #8BB8E8
Darker Blue
PANTONE 7692C
PANTONE 2186U
CMYK 100 45 0 45
RGB 0 85 135
HEX #005587
Darkest Blue
PANTONE 302C
PANTONE 2955U
CMYK 100 48 12 58
RGB 0 59 92
HEX #003B5C
Darker Gold
PANTONE 123C
PANTONE 115U
CMYK 0 19 89 0
RGB 255 199 44
HEX #FFC72C
Darkest Gold
PANTONE 1235C
PANTONE 121U
CMYK 0 31 98 0
RGB 255 184 28
HEX #FFB81C
Tertiary Brand Colors
Orange
PANTONE 152C
PANTONE 152U
CMYK 0 66 100 0
RGB 229 114 0
HEX #e57200
Red
PANTONE 180C
PANTONE 180U
CMYK 3 91 86 12
RGB 190 58 52
HEX #be3a34
Berry
PANTONE 216C
PANTONE 216U
CMYK 13 96 26 52
RGB 125 34 72
HEX #7d2248
Purple
PANTONE 526C
PANTONE 526U
CMYK 73 100 0 0
RGB 112 47 138
HEX #702f8a
Indigo
PANTONE 7672C
PANTONE 7672U
CMYK 85 84 0 6
RGB 76 65 132
HEX #4c4184
Teal
PANTONE 7474C
PANTONE 7474U
CMYK 96 9 32 29
RGB 0 118 129
HEX #007681
Moss
PANTONE 575C
PANTONE 575U
CMYK 55 9 95 45
RGB 103 130 58
HEX #67823a
Olive
PANTONE 383C
PANTONE 383U
CMYK 29 1 100 18
RGB 168 173 0
HEX #a8ad00
Brown
PANTONE 463C
PANTONE 463U
CMYK 14 54 95 62
RGB 116 79 40
HEX #744f28
Light Warm Gray
PANTONE Warm Gray 3C
PANTONE Warm Gray 3U
CMYK 9 11 13 20
RGB 191 184 175
HEX #bfb8af
Warm Gray
PANTONE Warm Gray 7C
PANTONE Warm Gray 7U
CMYK 16 23 23 44
RGB 150 140 131
HEX #968c83
Light Cool Gray
PANTONE Cool Gray 3C
PANTONE Cool Gray 3U
CMYK 8 5 7 16
RGB 200 201 199
HEX #c8c9c7
Cool Gray
PANTONE Cool Gray 8C
PANTONE Cool Gray 8U
CMYK 23 16 13 46
RGB 136 139 141
HEX #888b8d
Brand Gradient
If the gradient is used strictly as a background — for instance, under an overlay box — you can use the complete color range. If you are over printing the gradient with type, you need to make sure the resulting contrast ratio meets accessibility standards. See the UCLA Campus brand guidelines color combination chart.
Darkest Blue
PANTONE 302C
PANTONE 2955U
CMYK 100 48 12 58
RGB 0 59 92
HEX #003B5C
UCLA Blue
PANTONE 2383C
PANTONE 3553U
CMYK 83 40 3 6
RGB 39 116 174
HEX #2774AE
Lighter Blue
PANTONE 278C
PANTONE 278U
CMYK 45 14 9 9
RGB 139 184 232
HEX #8BB8E8
Accessibility (Color Contrast)
Color contrast is very important to legibility. To meet current accessibility standards, use only approved color combinations. For websites and other online uses, there are multiple resources available on the UCLA Campus brand guidelines website for measuring contrast. For printed materials, the standards are not as easy to measure. Be sure to take special care with reverse type and type overlays, especially if your audience tends to be middle-aged or older.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) require a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text to achieve Level AA compliance. To achieve Level AAA compliance requires a contrast ratio of at least 7:1 for normal text and 4.5:1 for large text. Large text is defined as 14 point (typically 18.66px) and bold or larger, or 18 point (typically 24px) or larger.
Do Not

Do not routinely use red for type. Appropriate uses of red are limited to error messages and emergency alerts.

Do not use tints of the brand colors — colors diluted with white.

Use color type with care, avoiding non-ADA-compliant colors.

Do not compromise legibility by choosing low-contrast color combinations.

Do not use gold type on the darkest blue.

Do not make your overall layout too dark. The UCLA palette is bright.

Do not create your own swatches.

Do not create your own gradients.