Colour is central to the Waterloo brand.
By using colours consistently and appropriately, we build awareness, recognition and trust with our audiences. This page explains how to properly apply the University and faculty colour palettes.
About the Waterloo colours
The full Waterloo colour palette contains a total of ten colours with associated hues and shades, selected to follow best practices in design, readability and accessibility. The primary colours are the most frequently used, while the various shades provide more flexibility across applications.
- The main University colours, which consist of multiple shades of yellow, shades of black, and white. (gold/yellow, black/grey, white)
- The six faculty colours of the six faculties (orange, pink, purple, blue, teal, green).
- The school and satellite campus colour (red).
Colour levels
Within the palette, there are four levels of each colour. These levels offer various shades and hues for flexibility across applications.
Each colour in the palette has four levels.
Accessibility
The primary colour is typically level 3 for print and level 4 for digital. Using these levels wherever appropriate ensures we meet colour contrast requirements mandated by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
University palette
Where appropriate, you can combine the main University colours with faculty colours.
For generic University communications, you can incorporate faculty colours in addition to the University colours, as long as you use two or more faculty palettes in the layout.
If the University communication is specific to a single faculty, you can use the University palette in conjunction with a single faculty palette.
Sample application
This sample shows the University colour palette and colour bar used in conjunction with the Faculty of Engineering palette. In this case, the content in purple is from the Faculty of Engineering.
Gold/Yellow
| Colour | PMS | CMYK | RGB | HEX | Accessible Colour Combinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 1
|
0131 | 2 0 45 0 | 255 255 170 | #FFFFAA |  #000000 |
|
Level 2
|
Yellow | 0 1 100 0 | 255 234 41 | #FFEA3D | #000000 |
|
Level 3 (primary)
|
122 | 0 14 80 0 | 255 213 79 | #FFD54F | #000000 |
|
Level 4
|
124 | 0 27 100 0 | 228 180 41 | #E4B429 | #000000 |
Black/Grey
| Colour | PMS | CMYK | RGB | HEX | Accessible Colour Combinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 1
|
15% Black | 0 0 0 15 | 223 223 223 | #DFDFDF | #000000  #787878 >14 PT |
|
Level 2
|
35% Black | 0 0 0 35 | 162 162 162 | #A2A2A2 | #000000 |
|
Level 3
|
50% Black | 0 0 0 50 | 120 120 120 | #787878 | #000000  #FFFFFF >14 PT  #DFDFDF >14 PT |
|
Level 4 (primary colour)
|
Black | 0 0 0 100 | 0 0 0 | #000000 | #FFFFFF  #787878  #A2A2A2 #DFDFDF |
White
| Colour | PMS | CMYK | RGB | HEX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
White
|
White | 0 0 0 0 | 255 255 255 | #FFFFFF |
Faculty palettes
Arts - orange
Use the colour orange to identify content and communications from the Faculty of Arts.
In order to meet AODA colour contrast requirements, there is a digital variation for level 4 orange, indicated in the table below.
|
Colour |
PMS | CMYK | RBG | HEX | Accessible Colour Combinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 1
|
155 | 0 12 32 0 | 255 213 165 | #FFD5A5 |  #000000
 #D93F00 >14 PT
|
|
Level 2
|
7408 | 0 30 99 0 | 251 175 0 | #FBAF00 | #000000
|
|
Level 3 (print primary colour)
|
144 | 0 52 100 0 | 231 129 0 | #E78100 | #000000
|
|
Level 4
|
1665 | 0 76 100 0 | 227 63 0 | NA | NA |
|
Level 4 (digital primary colour)
|
NA | NA | 217 63 0 | #D93F00 | #000000
 #FFFFFF
 #FFD5A5 >14 PT
 #DFDFDF >14 PT
|
Environment - green
In Faculty of Environment communications, use the colour green.
| Colour | PMS | CMYK | RGB | HEX | Accessible Colour Combinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 1
|
372 | 16 0 36 0 | 208 234 120 | NA | NA |
|
Level 1 (digital)
|
NA | NA | 218 245 130 | #DAF582 | #000000
 #607000
|
|
Level 2
|
381 | 23 0 89 0 | 190 213 0 | #BED500 | #000000
|
|
Level 3 (print primary colour)
|
390 | 24 0 98 8 | 180 190 0 | #B4BE00 | #000000
|
|
Level 4
|
7496 | 44 4 98 40 | 120 139 0 | NA | NA |
|
Level 4 (digital primary colour)
|
NA | NA | 96 112 0 | #607000 | #FFFFFF
 #DAF582
|
Engineering - purple
Use the colour purple in communications pertaining to the Faculty of Engineering.
| Colour | PMS | CMYK | RBG | HEX | Accessible Colour Combinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 1
|
264 | 27 28 0 0 | 208 180 239 | #D0B4E7 | #FFFFFF
 #57058B
 #8100B4 >14 PT
|
|
Level 2
|
7441 | 51 71 0 0 | 190 51 218 | #BE33DA | #000000
#FFFFFF >14 PT
#DFDFDF >14 PT
|
|
Level 3 (print primary colour)
|
2081 | 60 72 0 0 | 129 0 180 | #8100B4 | #FFFFFF
 #D0B4E7 >14 PT
#DFDFDF
|
|
Level 4 (digital primary colour)
|
2597 | 78 94 0 0 | 87 5 139 | #57058B | #FFFFFF
#D0B4E7
#DFDFDF
|
Health - teal
To distinguish content and communications from the Faculty of Health, use the colour teal.
| Colour | PMS | CMYK | RGB | HEX | Accessible Colour Combinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 1
|
635 | 30 0 6 0 | 151 223 239 | #97DFEF | #000000
 #005963
|
|
Level 2
|
3115 | 69 0 16 0 | 0 190 208 | #00BED0 | #000000
#005963 >14 PT
|
|
Level 3 (print primary colour)
|
320 | 100 0 30 2 | 0 152 165 | #0098A5 | #000000
#FFFFFF >14 PT
|
|
Level 4 (digital primary colour)
|
5473 | 83 14 23 50 | 0 89 99 | #005963 | #FFFFFF
 #97DFEF
#DFDFDF |
Math - pink
Use the colour pink to represent content and communications from the Faculty of Math.
| Colour | PMS | CMYK | RGB | HEX | Accessible Colour Combinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 1
|
2365 | 3 29 0 0 | 255 190 239 | #FFBEEF | #000000
 #C60078 >14 PT
|
|
Level 2
|
2038 | 0 68 0 0 | 255 99 170 | #FF63AA | #000000
#FFFFFF >14 PT
#DFDFDF >14 PT
|
|
Level 3 (print primary colour)
|
225 | 5 90 0 0 | 223 36 152 | #DF2498 | #000000
|
|
Level 4 (digital primary colour)
|
234 | 18 100 4 17 | 198 0 120 | #C60078 | #000000 >14 PT
#FFFFFF
 #FFBEEF >14 PT
#DFDFDF >14 PT
|
Science - blue
Use the colour blue to identify Faculty of Science communications and content.
| Colour | PMS | CMYK | RGB | HEX | Accessible Colour Combinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 1
|
2708 | 28 9 0 0 | 180 213 255 | #B4D5FF | #000000
 #0033BE
 #0073CE >14 PT
|
|
Level 2
|
652 | 62 28 2 3 | 99 160 255 | #63A0FF | #000000
#0033BE >14 PT
|
|
Level 3 (print primary colour)
|
285 | 90 48 0 0 | 0 115 206 | #0073CE | #000000 >14 PT
#FFFFFF
 #B4D5FF >14 PT
#DFDFDF >14 PT
|
|
Level 4 (digital primary colour)
|
661 | 100 75 0 5 | 0 51 190 | #0033BE | #FFFFFF
#B4D5FF
#DFDFDF |
Schools and Satellite Campuses — Red
Use the colour red to identify University of Waterloo schools and satellite campuses. Alternatively, you can use the main University colours or the affiliated faculty colours, as long as you choose one approach and use it consistently.
| Colour | PMS | CMYK | RGB | HEX | Accessible Colour Combinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 1
|
7422 | 0 14 3 0 | 255 165 170 | #FFA5AA | #000000
 #80001F
 #B71233 >14 PT
|
|
Level 2
|
1925 | 0 98 46 0 | 228 23 64 | #E41740 | #000000
#FFFFFF
#DFDFDF >14 PT
|
|
Level 3
|
200 | 3 100 66 12 | 183 18 51 | #B71233 | #000000 >14 PT
#FFFFFF
 #FFA5AA >14 PT
#DFDFDF
|
|
Level 4
|
188 | 12 95 59 54 | 128 0 31 | #80001F | #FFFFFF
#FFA5AA
 #A2A2A2 >14 PT
#DFDFDF
|
Affiliated and Federated Institutions of Waterloo
The affiliated and federated institutions of Waterloo use the yellow colour bar in combination with their own brand colours.
Conrad Grebel University College
Use Conrad Grebel red in communications for the university college
| Colour | PMS | CMYK | RGB | HEX | Accessible Colour Combinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Conrad Grebel red
|
1797 | 2 98 85 7 | 196 38 46 | #C4262E | #000000 >14 PT
#FFFFFF
#DFDFDF >14 PT |
Renison University College
Use Renison green, red and gold in content and communications for Renison University College.
| Colour | PMS | CMYK | RGB | HEX | Accessible Colour Combinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Renison green
|
349 | 94 11 84 43 | 0 105 60 | #00693C | #000000 >14 PT
#FFFFFF
#DFDFDF
|
|
Renison red
|
179 | 0 88 84 0 | 222 56 49 | #DE3831 | #000000
#FFFFFF >14 PT
#DFDFDF >14 PT
|
|
Renison gold
|
467 | 3 12 34 10 | 210 194 149 | #D2C295 | #000000
|
St. Jerome's University
When designing St. Jerome’s University communications, use St. Jerome’s green and gold
| Colour | PMS | CMYK | RGB | HEX | Accessible Colour Combinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Jerome's green
|
343 | 98 0 72 61 | 1 87 62 | #01573E | #FFFFFF
#DFDFDF
|
|
St. Jerome's gold
|
139 | 0 37 100 23 | 200 138 17 | #C88A11 | #000000
|
United College
Use United College's blue for communications relating to the college.
| Colour | PMS | CMYK | RGB | HEX | Accessible Colour Combinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
United College blue
|
2190 C | 73 26 5 0 | 52 152 204 | #3499CC | #000000
#FFFFFF >14 PT
|
