Brand Colors

Color is a simple, powerful tool in the PSU Brand. Consistent use of the brand colors and colorways across print and digital formats is crucial to maintaining brand equity. 

The personality of our brand is emphasized throughout visual communications by the power of our color palettes. Our shades of green are inspired by the terrain of the Pacific Northwest, while our whole palette together feels vibrant and urban, like the city of Portland. When combined together in unapologetic ways, the results can be energetic, daring, and bold. And it's being able to communicate that tone that helps to differentiate us.

Primary Pallet 

These colors are the dominate colors of the PSU brand. The PSU Green and/or Electric Green should be used strategically and be present across all communications.

Secondary Pallet

These colors add flare and contrast to the dominate green colors of our brand and are to be used sparingly. We recommend using only one or two within any design or document.

► NOTE:  You must log in with your pdx.edu account to view or download any files found on this site.

Color application

When applying the PSU color palettes to visual communications, there’s three important things to keep in mind:

1. Building brand awareness and brand equity
2. Ensuring accessibility and readability
3. Managing the style and personality of different color combinations.

Brand Awareness

Anchoring the PSU Green in all work is critical to building brand awareness. Even in a piece that relies heavily on a flood of the Electric Green, the presence of the PSU Green in the logo mark reinforces a core color component of our brand. When activating the secondary colors to inject more color, vibrancy, and personality, be sure to include them within a larger context of PSU brand materials that utilize the PSU Green.

Accessibility

Below are color combinations that are the most successful, based on accessibility standards and readability. Each colorway exploration posits the three main green PSU shades as the background color, with variations in headline colors. The following visual should be read hierarchically, with PSU Green the most promiment, followed by Electric Green, and then Forest Green. To check if other color combinations pass accessibility standards go to webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker

*Only to be used on large text. Large text is defined as 14 point (typically 18.66px) and bold or larger, or 18 point (typically 24px) or larger.

Color Combinations

The last consideration around color combinations is managing an overall approach to style and personality. Mixing and contrasting different PSU colors together in typography or artwork does a good job at demonstrating a strong tone of voice. Color combinations should achieve the right balance between being bold, striking, and unapologetic with a degree of harmony. Some color combinations have too much tension, and result in a vibrating effect that isn’t pleasant and doesn’t provide enough contrast to be readable. It’s also critical to not go overboard with too many colors in one piece. Each panel below is limited to a two-color combo with alongside neutrals like black and/or white. Samples below indicate color relationships from the primary and secondary palettes that are most successful together in addition to others to avoid.

Additional Color Combinations

The Forest Green, Red, Blue, and Sand colors work best with PSU Green and Electric Green. But remember to apply these colors carefully, as described on the previous page, and within the larger context of other PSU core branding elements.