Colours

Contrast between foreground and background colours are tested to ensure WCAG AA compliance. Where colour is used to draw attention to an item and insufficient contrast exists between a background colour and element colour, additional techniques may be required to provide support for users unable to perceive the colour.

University of Leeds Brand colours

These are the online brand colours for The University of Leeds

Reds

SCSS var
$color-brand--dark
Hexadecimal
#910000
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 9.52:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large light text Ratio: 9.52:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-brand
Hexadecimal
#c70000
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 6.12:1 WCAG 2.1: AA
Large light text Ratio: 6.12:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-brand--bright
Hexadecimal
#ff4e36
Acccessible use
Large dark text Ratio: 4.69:1 WCAG 2.1: AA
Large light text Ratio: 3.28:1 WCAG 2.1: AA
SCSS var
$color-brand--pastel
Hexadecimal
#ff8a7a
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 6.73:1 WCAG 2.1: AA
Large dark text Ratio: 6.73:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-brand--faded
Hexadecimal
#ffeded
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 13.65:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large dark text Ratio: 13.65:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA

Black

"Neutrals" for page architecture, site masthead and footer

SCSS var
$color-black--dark
Hexadecimal
#0a0202
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 20.53:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large light text Ratio: 20.53:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-black
Hexadecimal
#212121
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 16.1:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large light text Ratio: 16.1:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-black--light
Hexadecimal
#6e6b6b
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 5.27:1 WCAG 2.1: AA
Large light text Ratio: 5.27:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-black--faded
Hexadecimal
#dedede
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 11.46:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large dark text Ratio: 11.46:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA

Greens

SCSS var
$color-brand-2--dark
Hexadecimal
#156265
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 7.08:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large light text Ratio: 7.08:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-brand-2--bright
Hexadecimal
#026E7A
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 5.97:1 WCAG 2.1: AA
Large light text Ratio: 5.97:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-brand-2--light
Hexadecimal
#ABC6C7
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 8.54:1 WCAG 2.1: AA
Large dark text Ratio: 8.54:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA

Cool Greys

"Neutrals" for page architecture

SCSS var
$color-grey--dark
Hexadecimal
#6a645d
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 5.84:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large light text Ratio: 5.84:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-grey--medium
Hexadecimal
#bcb8b3
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 7.81:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large dark text Ratio: 7.81:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-grey
Hexadecimal
#ddd9d5
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 10.98:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large dark text Ratio: 10.98:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-grey--light
Hexadecimal
#eae8e6
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 12.62:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large dark text Ratio: 12.62:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-grey--faded
Hexadecimal
#f3f2f1
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 13.79:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large dark text Ratio: 13.79:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA

Warm Greys

"Neutrals" for page architecture

SCSS var
$color-warmgrey--dark
Hexadecimal
#5f5754
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 7.05:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large light text Ratio: 7.05:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-warmgrey--medium
Hexadecimal
#81746e
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 4.5:1 WCAG 2.1: AA
Large light text Ratio: 4.5:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-warmgrey
Hexadecimal
#b7aaa4
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 6.83:1 WCAG 2.1: AA
Large dark text Ratio: 6.83:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-warmgrey--light
Hexadecimal
#cac2ba
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 8.76:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large dark text Ratio: 8.76:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-warmgrey--faded
Hexadecimal
#efeae6
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 12.91:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large dark text Ratio: 12.91:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA

Creams

"Neutrals" for page architecture

SCSS var
$color-cream--dark
Hexadecimal
#ddcfc0
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 10.1:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large dark text Ratio: 10.1:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-cream--medium
Hexadecimal
#e9e1d8
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 11.91:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large dark text Ratio: 11.91:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-cream
Hexadecimal
#f6eee5
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 13.42:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large dark text Ratio: 13.42:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-cream--light
Hexadecimal
#faf6f1
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 14.33:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large dark text Ratio: 14.33:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA

Whites

"Neutrals" for page architecture

SCSS var
$color-white--dark
Hexadecimal
#fffbf5
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 14.96:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large dark text Ratio: 14.96:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-white
Hexadecimal
#ffffff
Acccessible use
Normal dark text Ratio: 15.42:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large dark text Ratio: 15.42:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA

Tertiary colours

Used sparingly, to provide contrast for highlighting and messaging.

SCSS var
$color-blue--dark
Hexadecimal
#00323d
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 13.78:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large light text Ratio: 13.78:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-blue
Hexadecimal
#003a52
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 12.15:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large light text Ratio: 12.15:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-blue--bright
Hexadecimal
#1a84c7
Acccessible use
Large dark text Ratio: 3.79:1 WCAG 2.1: AA
Large light text Ratio: 4.06:1 WCAG 2.1: AA

Text

SCSS var
$color-font--dark
Hexadecimal
#0e0c0c
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 19.5:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large light text Ratio: 19.5:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-font
Hexadecimal
#212529
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 15.42:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large light text Ratio: 15.42:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-font--light
Hexadecimal
#3B3B3B
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 11.2:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
Large light text Ratio: 11.2:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA
SCSS var
$color-font--x-light
Hexadecimal
#636363
Acccessible use
Normal light text Ratio: 6:1 WCAG 2.1: AA
Large light text Ratio: 6:1 WCAG 2.1: AAA

Links

Links in documents and articles should always use this colour where the background is white. If a non-white background colour is used the link should be black or white.

SCSS var
$color-link
Hexadecimal
#910000
SCSS var
$color-link--hover
Hexadecimal
#0e0c0c
SCSS var
$color-link--visited
Hexadecimal
#570000
SCSS var
$color-link--active
Hexadecimal
#570000

Borders

SCSS var
$color-border--light
Hexadecimal
#c9c8c5
SCSS var
$color-border
Hexadecimal
#51504c

Alerts

SCSS var
$color-alert--error
Hexadecimal
#d4351c
SCSS var
$color-alert--warning
Hexadecimal
#e76f16
SCSS var
$color-alert--success
Hexadecimal
#3a9018
SCSS var
$color-alert--info
Hexadecimal
#1993bd