Colors

Primary Colors

The primary colors should be used for most applications. Either LSUS Purple or LSUS Gold should be present on all designs. Usage of the primary colors consistently makes the brand identity successful.

Primary Colors Table

On-Campus Printing

If you are printing on a HP printer on campus and the purple color is coming out blue, try using #6A317F to replace the standard purple.

Secondary Colors

The secondary colors should be used to support the primary colors. They can be used in patterns and supporting graphics but should not be used for displaying any of the LSUS logos. Dark purple and light gold can be used in combination for internal formal events and their related graphics.

Secondary Colors Table

Color Formatting

Pantone should be used for one or two-color printing. Pantone Coated is for coated paper (usually shiny) and Pantone Uncoated is for uncoated paper (usually matte). These will mostly be referenced for merchandise and collateral item printing.

CMYK is for full-color printing and should be the document type created for documents that will be printed.

RGB and Hexadecimal are both for digital creations, with RGB being the more specific and preferred way of calculating color. Hexadecimal is usually used to more easily reference specific digital colors.

Acceptable Color Contrast

In order to comply with internationally acceptable accessibility guidelines, the appropriate amount of contrast for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level AAA text is 7:1 for normal text. This is the highest level of contrast required for any text or graphic element. To make our text and graphics the most accessible they can be, any text or graphic element should have a 7:1 contrast ratio or greater between the text color and the background color. 

Primary Color Combinations with Acceptable Contrast

• Purple Text on White Background
• Black Text on White Background
• Black Text on Gold Background
• Purple Text on Gold Background
• Gold Text on Purple Background
• White Text on Purple Background
• Gold Text on Black Background
• White Text on Black Background

Secondary Color Combinations with Acceptable Contrast

• Dark Purple Text on White Background
• Dark Purple Text on Gold Background
• Light Purple Text on Purple Background
• Light Gold Text on Purple Background
• Light Purple Text on Black Background
• Light Gold Text on Black Background
• Purple Text on Light Purple Background
• Black Text on Light Purple Background
• Dark Purple Text on Light Purple Background
• Dark Purple Text on Light Gold Background
• Black Text on Light Gold Background
• Light Gold Text on Dark Purple Background
• Light Purple Text on Dark Purple Background
• Purple Text on Light Gold Background
• White Text on Dark Purple Background
• Gold Text on Dark Purple Background

Unacceptable Color Contrast

Any graphics or text should have a contrast ratio of 7:1. The following color combinations do not meet that ratio and should not be used. You can test contrast ratios using the WebAIM Contrast Checker.

Primary Color Combinations with Unacceptable Contrast (Do Not Use)

• Gold Text on White Background
• White Text on Gold Background
• Black Text on Purple Background
• Purple Text on Black Background

Secondary Color Combinations with Unacceptable Contrast (Do Not Use)

• Light Purple Text on White Background
• Light Gold Text on White Background
• Light Purple Text on Gold Background
• Light Gold Text on Gold Background
• Dark Purple Text on Purple Background
• Dark Purple Text on Black Background
• Light Gold Text on Light Purple Background
• White Text on Light Purple Background
• Gold Text on Light Purple Background
• Light Purple Text on Light Gold Background
• White Text on Light Gold Background
• Gold Text on Light Gold Background
• Purple Text on Dark Purple Background
• Black Text on Dark Purple Background