Colors

Drexel University’s official colors are Pantone 294C (blue) and Pantone 7548C (yellow). All printed materials, whether printed on coated or uncoated stock, should match color to the coated Pantone chips. The Pantone Matching System, or PMS, is the definitive international reference for selecting, specifying, matching and controlling ink colors. It is strongly recommended that drawdowns be requested with each print job to ensure that the PMS colors are accurate. The correct and consistent use of Drexel University’s official colors helps reinforce the University’s identity.

Colors used for screen applications must be adjusted from their print values. In addition to each PMS color provided below for print, we have listed their specific 6-digit hexadecimal color codes for screen use. These hexadecimal codes are necessary for anything digital, including PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, websites, social media posts, and more. Do not use computer-generated HEX conversions. Instructions for translating colors are provided at the bottom of this page.

Below is a limited set of additional complementary and accent colors. The complementary colors may be used optionally to accent our dominating blue and gold Drexel color palette. Remember, if you are not printing a piece of collateral, always use the 6-digit hexadecimal color value for use in digital media. RGB values should only be used in situations calling for advanced CSS3-based RGBa values.

Print and Digital Color Values

Drexel Blue

Pantone 294C / HEX #07294D

Drexel Gold

Pantone 7548C / HEX #FFC600

Process Color

All printed materials, whether printed on coated or uncoated stock, should match color to the coated Pantone chips, PMS 294C (blue) and PMS 7548C (yellow). For color combination usage, see the Logotypes color combinations page.

If you do not have a professional print vendor to color match to our PMS blue and yellow or the project does not have budget or capabilities to use the Pantone system, you can use CMYK values instead. The CMYK mix color conversions for the official Pantone colors are:
C100 M69 Y7 K30 (blue)
C0 M12 Y98 K0 (yellow)

Logotypes Color Combinations

Complementary Colors

The following colors may be used sparingly as complementary colors.

Dark

PMS 7691C / HEX #006699

PMS 7427C / HEX #971B2F

PMS 384C / HEX #949300

PMS 138C / HEX #DE7C00

Light

PMS 284C / HEX #6CACE4

PMS 7597C / HEX #D14124

PMS 583C / HEX #B7BF10

PMS 1495C / HEX #FF8F1C

Neutral

Cool Gray 6C / HEX #333333

PMS 5665C / HEX #BAC5B9

Warm Gray 3C / HEX #BFB8AF

PMS 427C / HEX #D0D3D4

Converting Spot Colors or Process Inks to Digital Colors

The approved HEX values above were chosen for their visual impact and differ from the standard translations from the spot color versions of the official Drexel Colors. The following are instructions for converting spot colors or process inks to HEX values.

In order to maintain the essential look and feel of the Drexel brand across both print and digital applications, the conversions outlined in these steps must be followed.

Open the vector-based file containing the artwork in spot or process color to be converted.
Change the color mode of the file from CMYK to RGB.

Open the color palette and locate the Drexel Blue and Gold spot/process swatches.
Open each color one at a time, and change the color mode of the swatch from Lab/CMYK to "Web Safe RGB."
For Drexel Blue, enter the values 07, 29, and 4D. For Drexel Gold, enter the values FF, C6, and 00.
Save the file, or, to create a digital graphic for screen use, copy and paste into a new raster-based file.
Export the digital graphic for web and screen as a format with a transparent background, preferably a PNG.

Do not create JPG files of Drexel Academic or Administrative logotypes.