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Color and Type

From Ph.D. hoods to athletic uniforms, color has been used for centuries to indicate affiliation with a university—it's an essential part of our institutional identity. Color is also an effective visual cue and, even without our logos, maroon and gold instantly say U of M. To promote the University's brand, maroon and gold must be prominent in all designs for print and the Web. See Examples.

Colors

Print Colors

Uncoated Paper

Gold: Pantone 116U or

Gold: C:0 M:16 Y:100 K:0

Maroon: Pantone 201U or

Maroon: C:0 M:100 Y:63 K:29

Coated Paper

Gold: Pantone 136C or

Gold: C:0 M:27 Y:76 K:0

Maroon: Pantone 202C or

Maroon: C:0 M:100 Y:61 K:43

On Screen (Web, Powerpoint, and TV)

Maroon or gold or both must be prominent in any electronic publication color scheme. The official colors are:

Light and dark versions of the electronic maroon and gold can be used as secondary colors. When using white text on maroon backgrounds, be sure to test on various browsers, platforms, and monitors for readability.

Shades of tan or gray are the recommended secondary colors for electronic use. The colors below have been tested on various screens and monitors for maximum consistency.

 

For more information on color usage in electronic communications, go to the eCommunication Standards site.

 

Marks and Logo Colors

University marks, logos, and campaign graphics must use the University's official colors or black and white.

Combination color(s) Combination
Black on white background only Wordmark and Driven to Discover.
Black and maroon on white or gold background Wordmark and Driven to Discover.
Maroon on white or gold background Wordmark and Driven to Discover.
White on black or maroon background Wordmark and Driven to Discover.
White and gold on maroon background only Wordmark and Driven to Discover.
Solid gold on maroon background only Wordmark and Driven to Discover.
 

Typography

Print Typography

Like color, consistent use of typography helps ensure that we're speaking with one voice. The University's suggested fonts are Frutiger, Helvetica Neue, Hoefler, Times New Roman, and Neutraface, the Driven to Discover font, for print materials.

For Easy Readability

  • bullet Use a 10-point type size or larger.
  • bullet Limit your use of type treatments (such as bold type, italics, and underlining) to three treatments or fewer per publication.
  • bullet Use type size to clearly distinguish between headlines, subheads, and body copy, and apply those elements consistently.
  • bullet Select a headline font that is sans-serif, such as:
    • bullet Frutiger
    • bullet Helvetica Neue
    • bullet Neutraface
  • bullet Select a body font that is serif, such as:
    • bullet Hoefler Text Roman
    • bullet Times New Roman

The following are suggested print fonts:

Type samples.

 

Electronic Typography

HTML Typography

Use a font that is widely available on all operating systems and is easily readable. Verdana is the font recommended for U of M electronic publications. More about HTML typography can be found on eCommunication Standards in Text Standards.

Graphic Typography

There is no prescribed standard for fonts in graphics, but best practices should be observed. Fonts should be readable at all sizes that they are used and should be consistent throughout your family of electronic publications. For more on fonts for graphics, see Text Standards on the eCommunication Standards site.

To present a uniform maroon and gold on all surfaces, use Pantones 202C and 136C when printing on coated (shiny) paper and Pantone 201U and 116U when printing on uncoated paper. Black and white images work equally well on both types of paper.