Colour palette

London Met has a range of colours in its palette that reflects the diverse and colourful University and city that we work and live in.

It's important that you consider accessibility when choosing colour combinations, so please ensure you've read the guidance on accessible colour combinations below.

The range of colours associated with London Met

Parent colours

Our parent colours are black and white and our logo always appears in one or other of these colours. To achieve vibrancy in your design work, you can place the logo on a coloured background.

ColourPantoneCMYK valueRGB valueHex codeRAL code
  PMS Black 0 0 0 100 35 31 32 #231f20 RAL 8022
  White 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 #ffffff RAL 9016

Secondary colours

It is possible to choose any colour from the palette for your design work. You may find that some colours work better for certain audiences, events or projects.

Please remember that our logo must always appear in black or white only. It must never be coloured. We no longer use purple as our main brand colour and use of this should be kept to a minimum.

Your colour combinations must be accessible and allow for any text to be easily read when used in combination with a background colour. To ensure you're using an accessible colour combination (this is particularly important for any digital content you produce, eg digital documents, web content, emails etc), please use one of the colour combinations below. The main colour can be used either as the background colour or the text colour but must be used in combination with its partner colour. For example, if using colour PMS 136, black rather than white text must be used in order to meet web accessibility regulations.

ColourPantoneCMYK valueRGB valueHex codeRAL code Partner colour
  PMS 136 0 39 77 0 255 154 50 #f9a851 RAL 1017 Black
  PMS Cool Grey 4 27 22 21 0 171 170 171 #b8b8b9 RAL 7047 Black
  PMS 2593 48 74 6 0 125 72 143 #925c9e RAL 4008 White
  PMS 179 5 77 68 0 216 72 65 #e55f53 RAL 2012 Black
  PMS Green 100 0 65 0 0 154 114 #0aaa87 RAL 6033 Black
  PMS 306 81 3 5 0 0 164 221 #00aee0 RAL 5024 Black
  PMS Yellow 012 2 12 100 0 251 207 0 #fcd804 RAL 1016 Black
  PMS 294 100 86 29 22 0 34 91 #002d6d RAL 5002 White
  PMS 1945 23 100 73 13 151 10 47 #ac193c RAL 3027 White
  PMS Warm Grey 2 20 20 23 0 193 182 172 #cdc3ba RAL 7047  Black
  PMS 283 39 14 0 0 134 179 226 #93bfe9 RAL 5024 Black
  PMS Cool Grey 11 65 57 52 29 68 68 72 #555559 RAL 7015 White
  PMS 178  0 78 59 0  237 86 86  #ed5656  Black

The additional colours below and available for use digitally – both colours should be used in combination with white:

ColourHex code
  #415dec
  #067f7c 

Colours and accessibility

It is important you think carefully about what colours you use. Some colour combinations prove problematic for those with colour vision deficiencies. Web accessibility regulations also require specific contrast ratios between a foreground colour and a background colour online, so follow these rules to ensure your colour combinations are accessible:

  • Avoid green/red, blue/purple and light green/yellow.
  • Avoid using colour alone to convey meaning – for example, don’t signpost by saying “click on the green button” (not everyone will know it is green) and consider using alternative design elements to aid meaning. For example, a line graph using a combination of lines comprised of dots, dashes, squares etc, which don’t rely on colour-coding, will ensure those with colour vision deficiencies can still interpret the information in the graph.
  • Ensure there is an appropriate contrast between your background and foreground colour. The contrast ratio must be at these 4.5/1 for digital content. To ensure you’re using an appropriate contrast ratio, use one of the colour combinations provided on this page. If you want to use a combination not included on this page, please ensure it still adheres to our brand guidelines and to the colour contrast ratios stated here – the WebAIM contrast checker can help you do this. Please note, link text, eg where words are hyperlinked mid-sentence, should also have 3:1 contrast to the colour of the surrounding text.

Examples or suitable colour contrast

 White on black and vice versa provides a suitable contrast

 

 Black on orange and vice versa provides a suitable contrast

 

 Black on green and vice versa provides a suitable contrast

 

 Black on bright blue and vice versa provides a suitable contrast

 

 Black on light blue and vice versa provides a suitable contrast

 

 White on dark green and vice versa provides a suitable contrast

 

 White on mid blue and vice versa provides a suitable contrast

 

 White on dark blue and vice versa provides a suitable contrast

 

 White on purple and vice versa provides a suitable contrast

 

 Black on yellow and vice versa provides a suitable contrast

 

 White on red and vice versa provides a suitable contrast

 

 Black on light cool grey and vice versa provides a suitable contrast

 

 White on dark cool grey and vice versa provides a suitable contrast

 

 Black on warm grey and vice versa provides a suitable contrast

 

Tints

You can also use the colour palette at 30% or 70% opacity to allow for greater flexibility in your design.

ColourPantoneCMYK valueRGB valueHex codeRAL codePartner colour
  PMS 136 @ 70% 0 27 54 0 253 193 129 #fdc182 RAL 1017 Black
  PMS Cool Grey 4 @ 70% 18 14 14 0 207 206 207 #cfcefc RAL 7047 Black
  PMS 2593 @ 70% 29 45 4 0 181 147 189 #b593bd RAL 4009 Black
  PMS 179 @ 70% 3 51 35 0 238 147 141 #ee938d RAL 3015 Black
  PMS Green @ 70% 58 3 430 106 190 165 #6abea5 RAL 6027 Black
  PMS 306 @ 70% 53 6 2 0 105 194 233 #69c2e9 RAL 1016 Black
  PMS Yellow 012 @ 70% 2 7 70 0 252 226 107 #fce26b RAL 1016 Black
  PMS 294 @ 70% 69 50 22 2 94 119 156 #5e779c RAL 5014 White
  PMS 1945 @ 70% 20 74 32 1 200 100 128 #c86480 RAL 4003 White or black*
  PMS Warm Grey 2 @ 70% 12 12 15 0 221 214 208 #ddd6d0 RAL 9002 Black
  PMS 283 @ 70% 26 9 0 0 182 211 240 #b6d3f0 RAL 7047 Black
  PMS Cool Grey 11 @ 70% 50 42 40 5 133 133 136 #858588 RAL 9022 White or black*
  PMS 136 @ 30% 0 12 23 0 255 226 195 #ffe2c3 RAL 1015 Black 
  PMS Cool Grey 4 @ 30% 7 5 5 0 234 234 234 #eaeaea RAL 9003 Black 
  PMS 2593 @ 30% 10 16 2 0 224 210 227 #e0d2e3 RAL 7047 Black 
  PMS 179 @ 30% 1 20 11 0 248 210 208 #f8d2d0 RAL 3015 Black 
  PMS Green @ 30% 25 1 18 0 191 224 212 #bfe0d4 RAL 6019 Black 
  PMS 306 @ 30% 23 2 1 0 192 226 245 #c0e2f5 RAL 7047 Black 
  PMS Yellow @ 30% 1 2 30 0 254 242 190 #fef2be RAL 1015 Black 
  PMS 294 @ 30% 24 16 9 0 191 200 214 #bfc8d6 RAL 7047 Black 
  PMS 1945 @ 30% 7 27 10 0 232 193 203 #e8c1cb RAL 3015 Black 
  PMS Warm Grey 2 @ 30% 5 5 5 0 240 237 235 #f0edeb RAL 160-3 Black 
  PMS 283 @ 30% 10 3 0 0 224 236 248 #e0ecf8 RAL 9003 Black 
  PMS Cool Grey 11 @ 30% 20 17 17 0 203 200 200 #cbc8c8 RAL 7047 Black 

 

*Please note, these colour combinations, when used for text and a background, are only suitable if using large bold text (at least 14pt or 19 pixels). Please avoid this colour combination for normal text.