Maryland Brand

Colors

The University of Maryland's core brand colors are red, white, black and gold. Inspired by the Maryland state flag, these colors reflect our role as Maryland's flagship university. The university encourages the use of all four colors as they represent a core element of its visual identity.

Core Palette

Maryland Red

  • Hex #e21833
  • RGB 227/25/51
  • CMYK 0/100/84/4
  • PMS 186

Maryland Gold

  • Hex #ffd200
  • RGB 255/210/0
  • CMYK 0/16/100/0
  • PMS 116

White

  • Hex #ffffff
  • RGB 255/255/255
  • CMYK 0/0/0/0

Black

  • Hex #000000
  • RGB 0/0/0
  • CMYK 0/0/0/100
  • PMS Black 6

Neutral Colors

Dark Gray

  • Hex #454545
  • RGB 69/69/69
  • CMYK 0/0/0/75
  • PMS Cool Gray 11

Medium Gray

  • Hex #7f7f7f
  • RGB 128/128/128
  • CMYK 0/0/0/50
  • PMS Cool Gray 8

Light Gray

  • Hex #e6e6e6
  • RGB 230/230/230
  • CMYK 0/0/0/10
  • PMS Cool Gray 1

Bronze Testudo

  • Hex #ad7231
  • RGB 179/114/49
  • CMYK 0/34/72/30
  • PMS 4645
  • RGB (red, green, blue) colors are used for screen applications: web, email, video; they represent the values of the three types of pixels that make up all colors in a screen or monitor. The value of each of the pixels can range from 0 to 255.
  • CMYK colors are used for print applications; they represent the four inks used to create all colors for printing: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. K, for black, means "key" color and is added to the other three to produce rich shadows and contrast. Otherwise, CMY together produces a dark grayish brown. The values of each of the ink densities can range from 0 to 100%.
  • PMS (Pantone Matching System) colors are used for specialty print applications—T-shirts, banners, tchotchkes, etc.—especially when printing large blocks of solid color. Using one or two PMS colors instead of CMYK can also reduce printing cost (depending on the project). The UMD logo in full color uses three PMS colors to print.

Maryland Color Swatches (ASE)

To use the Maryland color swatches in Adobe Creative Cloud applications, download and install ASE (Adobe Swatch Exchange) files.

Contrast

Maryland is committed to meeting WCAG 2.0 AA accessibility guidelines. Please use the guide below to identify type color and background combinations that are compliant. A ratio of 4.5:1 or higher is acceptable.

Color contrast is very important to legibility. To meet current accessibility standards, use only approved color combinations. 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.

Comparing Maryland's Red to other core colors and grays
Combination Ratio Result
Maryland Red type on White background 4.75 to 1 Pass
Maryland Red type on Maryland Gold background 3.3 to 1 Fail
Maryland Red type on Light Gray background 3.8 to 1 Fail
Maryland Red type on Medium Gray background 1.2 to 1 Fail
Maryland Red type on Dark Gray background 2 to 1 Fail
Maryland Red type on Black background 4.4 to 1 Fail
Comparing White to other core colors and grays
Combination Ratio Result
White type on Maryland Red background 4.75 to 1 Pass
White type on Maryland Gold background 1.5 to 1 Fail
White type on Light Gray background 1.25 to 1 Fail
White type on Medium Gray background 4 to 1 Fail
White type on Dark Gray background 9.6 to 1 Pass
White type on Black background 21 to 1 Pass
Comparing Maryland Gold to other core colors and grays
Combination Ratio Result
Maryland Gold type on Maryland Red background 3.3 to 1 Fail
Maryland Gold type on White background 1.5 to 1 Fail
Maryland Gold type on Light Gray background 1.2 to 1 Fail
Maryland Gold type on Medium Gray background 2.75 to 1 Fail
Maryland Gold type on Dark Gray background 6.6 to 1 Pass
Maryland Gold type on Black background 14.5 to 1 Pass
Comparing Black to other core colors and grays
Combination Ratio Result
Black type on Maryland Red background 4.4 to 1 Fail
Black type on White background 21 to 1 Pass
Black type on Light Gray background 16.8 to 1 Pass
Black type on Medium Gray background 5.25 to 1 Pass
Black type on Dark Gray background 2.2 to 1 Fail
Black type on Maryland Gold background 14.5 to 1 Pass
Comparing Light Gray to other core colors and other grays
Combination Ratio Result
Light Gray type on Maryland Red background 3.8 to 1 Fail
Light Gray type on White background 1.2 to 1 Fail
Light Gray type on Maryland Gold background 1.2 to 1 Fail
Light Gray type on Medium Gray background 3.2 to 1 Fail
Light Gray type on Dark Gray background 7.7 to 1 Pass
Light Gray type on Black background 16.8 to 1 Pass
Comparing Medium Gray to other core colors and other grays
Combination Ratio Result
Medium Gray type on Maryland Red background 1.2 to 1 Fail
Medium Gray type on White background 4 to 1 Fail
Medium Gray type on Maryland Gold background 2.75 to 1 Fail
Medium Gray type on Light Gray background 3.2 to 1 Fail
Medium Gray type on Dark Gray background 2.4 to 1 Fail
Medium Gray type on Black background 5.2 to 1 Pass
Comparing Dark Gray to other core colors and other grays
Combination Ratio Result
Dark Gray type on Maryland Red background 2 to 1 Fail
Dark Gray type on White background 9.6 to 1 Pass
Dark Gray type on Maryland Gold background 6.6 to 1 Pass
Dark Gray type on Light Gray background 7.7 to 1 Pass
Dark Gray type on Medium Gray background 2.4 to 1 Fail
Dark Gray type on Black background 2.2 to 1 Fail