Colour
See which colours you should use in digital and print work to reflect the Sussex brand.
Our colour palettes
We have brand colours for both digital and print purposes.
Print colours are supplied with CMYK and Pantone® values. We have also provided the equivalent HEX and RGB values to make it easier to work across different media. Please refer to these values if you are creating a series of items that need to work both online and offline.
All colour combinations chosen must comply with WCAG AA accessibility standards. Read our guidelines for accessibility.
The colours you select will help you set the mood of your communication.
If you are editing our website, you must use our standard page components. Do not change colours or edit components.
Primary palette
Our primary palette contains bright and confident colours.
Sussex flint
#003b49
rgb(0, 59, 73)
Cobalt blue
#1d4289
rgb(29, 66, 137)
Mid grey
#94a596
rgb(148, 165, 150)
Fuchsia pink
#e56db1
rgb(229, 109, 177)
Coral red*
#d3273e
rgb(211, 39, 62)
Turquoise
#00bfb2
rgb(0, 191, 178)
Warm grey
#d6d2c4
rgb(214, 210, 196)
Sunshine yellow
#ffc845
rgb(255, 200, 69)
Burnt orange
#dc582a
rgb(220, 88, 42)
Sky blue
#41b6e6
rgb(65, 182, 230)
*Amended for accessibility as required.
Secondary palette
Our secondary palette is more refined than the primary palette and can be used to create a more subtle or elegant feel.
Navy blue
#1b365d
rgb(27, 54, 93)
China rose
#be84a3
rgb(190, 132, 163)
Grape
#5d3754
rgb(93, 55, 84)
Powder blue
#7da1c4
rgb(125, 161, 196)
Corn yellow
#f2c75c
rgb(242, 199, 92)
Cool grey
#d0d3d4
rgb(208, 211, 212)
Deep aquamarine*
#007a78
rgb(0, 122, 120)
*Amended for accessibility as required.
Colours and accessibility
The text blocks below show examples of using brand colour backgrounds with text over. The colour contrast needs to be compliant with the WCAG AA standard.
This also applies for text over a white or light background colour and for text over images or photographs.
These colours have been tested using the WebAIM colour contrast checker.
Large text is defined as 14 point (typically 18.66px) and bold or larger, or 18 point (typically 24px) or larger.
These examples only use white and black text. Other combinations can be used if they pass the WebAIM colour contrast checker.
AAA standard colours
Large text
Normal text
Sussex flint
#003b49
rgb(0, 59, 73)
Large text
Normal text
Cobalt blue
#1d4289
rgb(29, 66, 137)
Large text only
Coral red
#d3273e
rgb(211, 39, 62)
Large text
Normal text
Navy blue
#1b365d
rgb(27, 54, 93)
Large text
Normal text
Grape
#5d3754
rgb(93, 55, 84)
Large text only
Deep aquamarine
#005c5a
rgb(0, 122, 120)
Large text
Normal text
Turquoise
#00bfb2
rgb(0, 191, 178)
Large text
Normal text
Warm grey
#d6d2c4
rgb(214, 210, 196)
Large text
Normal text
Sunshine yellow
#ffc845
rgb(255, 200, 69)
Large text
Normal text
Sky blue
#41b6e6
rgb(65, 182, 230)
Large text
Normal text
Powder blue
#7da1c4
rgb(125, 161, 196)
Large text
Normal text
Cool grey
#d0d3d4
rgb(208, 211, 212)
AA standard colours
Large text
Normal text
Coral red
#d3273e
rgb(211, 39, 62)
Large text
Normal text
Deep aquamarine
#005c5a
rgb(0, 122, 120)
Large text only
Burnt orange
#dc582a
rgb(220, 88, 42)
Our print palette
Our print palette offers a range of bright, confident colours and more subtle ones. You should choose those that best support the tone of your particular communication and resonate best with your target audience.
You are encouraged to use our palette colours at 100% opacity, or you can use a tint, for example, to provide a pale background or highlight box.
Make sure legibility is maintained when using tints for text. Maintain good contrast between tints to ensure they are distinguishable.
Colour modes
For regular and large format printing, colours should be reproduced in CMYK – refer to the formulae for coated or uncoated paper.
If an accurate colour match is important, you can send a print sample to the supplier to match to.
If you’re using lithographic printing (such as for brochures over 1,000 copies), you can optionally include a Pantone® spot colour to achieve high-quality colour in key areas of a design, but remember that Pantones will add to your print costs.
NAVY 534
RGB 27 54 93
HEX/HTML 1B365D
CMYK 100 71 0 51 coated
CMYK 78 54 12 26 uncoated
COBALT BLUE 7687
RGB 29 66 137
HEX/HTML 1D4289
CMYK 100 80 0 4 coated
CMYK 94 73 1 11 uncoated
SKY BLUE 298
RGB 65 182 230
HEX/HTML 41B6E6
CMYK 65 3 0 0 coated
CMYK 70 4 0 0 uncoated
GRAPE 519
RGB 89 49 95
HEX/HTML 59315F
CMYK 62 92 6 34 coated
CMYK 56 80 11 22 uncoated
BURNT ORANGE 7417
RGB 224 79 57
HEX/HTML E04F39
CMYK 0 82 82 0 coated
CMYK 0 77 82 0 uncoated
MID BLUE 307
RGB 0 107 166
HEX/HTML 006BA6
CMYK 100 20 0 25 coated
CMYK 100 32 0 17 uncoated
DARK MAGENTA 215
RGB 172 20 90
HEX/HTML AC145A
CMYK 2 100 14 21 coated
CMYK 11 100 21 16 uncoated
SUNSHINE YELLOW 1225
RGB 255 200 69
HEX/HTML FFC845
CMYK 0 16 80 0 coated
CMYK 0 20 93 0 uncoated
TURQUOISE 325
RGB 100 204 201
HEX/HTML 64CCC9
CMYK 54 0 20 01 coated
CMYK 66 0 28 uncoated
VIVID RED 187
RGB 166 25 46
HEX/HTML A6192E
CMYK 0 100 74 26 coated
CMYK 2 99 65 21 uncoated
DEEP AQUAMARINE 7475
RGB 71 122 123
HEX/HTML 477A7B
CMYK 70 25 36 21 coated
CMYK 62 23 32 19 uncoated
VIBRANT GREEN 356
RGB 0 122 51
HEX/HTML 007A33
CMYK 91 0 100 26 coated
CMYK 97 1 100 27 uncoated
WARM GREY 7527
RGB 214 210 196
HEX/HTML D6D2C4
CMYK 12 10 14 0 coated
CMYK 9 8 15 0 uncoated
POWDER BLUE 645
RGB 125 161 196
HEX/HTML 7DA1C4
CMYK 51 23 0 1 coated
CMYK 52 24 0 1 uncoated
CORN YELLOW 141
RGB 242 199 92
HEX/HTML F2C75C
CMYK 0 16 68 0 coated
CMYK 0 20 75 0 uncoated
FLINT 308
RGB 0 88 124
HEX/HTML 00587C
CMYK 100 10 0 52 coated
CMYK 100 36 29 35 uncoated
CHINA ROSE 687
RGB 190 132 163
HEX/HTML BE84A3
CMYK 19 51 5 2 coated
CMYK 19 50 7 4 uncoated
COOL GREY 427
RGB 208 211 212
HEX/HTML D0D3D4
CMYK 14 8 4 0 coated
CMYK 20 12 10 0 uncoated
RICH BLACK 40
RGB 13 13 13
HEX/HTML 0D0D0D
CMYK 40 40 40 100 coated
CMYK 40 40 40 100 uncoated
MID GREY 5635
RGB 148 165 150
HEX/HTML 94A596
CMYK 40 20 33 5 coated
CMYK 42 20 34 1 uncoated
OFF-WHITE 1
RGB 246 246 246
HEX/HTML F6F6F6
CMYK 2 2 2 0 coated
CMYK 2 2 2 0 uncoated