Color Palette
Primary Color Palette
The primary color palette for SUNY Geneseo includes the official blue of Geneseo, Pantone 287, and white. These are the primary colors representing the college brand and should be used in all brand applications.
Geneseo Blue
Pantone 287
CMYK 100/91/17/6
#003087
White
CMYK 0/0/0/0
#FFFFFF
Additional Colors
The secondary and tertiary color palettes should only be used by the Office of Communications and Marketing. If additional colors are desired, the Office of Communications and Marketing must approve their use before application.
Secondary Color Palette
The secondary color palette pulls from the colors used in the SUNY Geneseo college seal. These colors are used as accents to the official Geneseo blue and white primary colors. They should never overpower or replace the primary color palette.
Flame Gold
Pantone 110
CMYK 15/29/100/0
#DAAA00
Genesee Valley Green
Pantone 7721
CMYK 91/44/57/25
#006666
Tertiary Color Palette
In some cases, additional colors beyond the primary color palette and the secondary colors are required. In this instance, the tertiary color palette may be used. All of the brand color palettes are used in a hierarchical system with the primary colors being the most prominent, the secondary colors as accents, and the tertiary colors when additional colors are needed to call out elements on a smaller scale.
Knights Silver
Pantone 422
CMYK 41/31/32/0
#999999
Sky Blue
Pantone 291
CMYK 37/8/2/0
#9BCBEB
Athletics Navy
Pantone 281
CMYK 100/91/36/31
#003366
Primary Color Tints
A color tint is the addition of white to the main hue. In the instance below, the percentage values denote the amount of the main hue, Geneseo Blue, that is mixed with white. As the percentage value goes down, the amount of white added to the main hue increases. These tints should only be used by the Office of Communications and Marketing.
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
10%
Color Palette Application
Correct Application Examples
Below are some examples of how the color palette should be used in application. The Geneseo Blue is used most prominently throughout the design, and the secondary colors, Flame Gold and Genesee Valley Green, are used as accent colors to the primary color palette. The paler blue used in the examples is a tint of the Geneseo Blue and acts as an additional accent color to the secondary color palette.
Incorrect Application Examples
Below are examples of how the color palette could be used incorrectly. These materials are the same as the ones shared above, but the colors have been altered. The applications below use the secondary colors more prominently and visually imply that Flame Gold and Genesee Valley Green are equal in importance to the Geneseo Blue. This is not how the color palette should be used. Colors must follow the correct hierarchy: primary colors most prominent, secondary colors as accents.
Web Accessible Color Combinations
Text and graphics on the web must fall within WCAG AA guidelines for web accessibility. The graphic below shows all the potential color combinations that can be used for text and graphics on the web. Color combinations should always be tested for accessibility before they are used for any web elements. WebAim Contrast Checker is a great accessibility tool to ensure guidelines are followed and the information on our website is readable for all.
Aa
White on Geneseo Blue
Aa
Gold on
Geneseo Blue
Aa
Sky Blue on Geneseo Blue
Aa
Geneseo Blue
on White
Aa
Valley Green
on White
Aa
Athletic Navy
on White
Aa
Geneseo Blue
on Gold
Aa
Athletic Navy
on Gold
Aa
White on
Valley Green
Aa
Geneseo Blue on Sky Blue
Aa
Athletic Navy on Sky Blue
Aa
White on Athletic Navy
Aa
Gold on
Athletic Navy
Aa
Sky Blue on
Athletic Navy