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Colors

Our beloved hues of garnet and black are among the most recognizable elements of the South Carolina color system, which also includes neutral and accent colors.

Primary Colors

Garnet, black and white are the official colors of the University of South Carolina and should always be the primary colors used in design. Accent colors should never be used in place of garnet or black.

  • Garnet

    PMS: 202
    CMYK: 9, 100, 64, 48
    HEX: #73000a
    RGB: 115, 0, 10

  • Black

    PMS: Black
    CMYK: 0, 0, 0, 100
    HEX: #000000
    RGB: 0, 0, 0

    Rich Black*

    CMYK: 40, 30, 30, 100

  • White

    CMYK: 0, 0, 0, 0
    HEX: #ffffff
    RGB: 255, 255, 255

* Rich Black should only be used for large floods of black that will be printed with the CMYK process. Use regular black for all text and other instances.

Color caution.

Digital Colors

When creating anything that will be viewed on a digital screen, use the RGB or HEX colors and not the CMYK or PMS colors. 

 

Neutral Colors

  • 90% Black

    CMYK: 0, 0, 0, 90
    HEX: #363636
    RGB: 54, 54, 54

  • 70% Black

    CMYK: 0, 0, 0, 70
    HEX: #5C5C5C
    RGB: 92, 92, 92

  • 50% Black

    CMYK: 0, 0, 0, 50
    HEX: #A2A2A2
    RGB: 162, 162, 162

  • 30% Black

    CMYK: 0, 0, 0, 30
    HEX: #C7C7C7
    RGB: 199, 199, 199

  • 10% Black

    CMYK: 0, 0, 0, 10
    HEX: #ECECEC
    RGB: 235, 235, 235

  • Warm Grey

    CMYK: 56,51,61,26
    HEX: #676156
    RGB: 103,97,86

  • Sandstorm

    CMYK: 0, 7, 15, 0
    HEX: #FFF2E3
    RGB: 255, 242, 227

 

Accent Colors

Accent colors should be used as small-space or sparing accents of color. Some accent colors pair nicely and can be used together, but don't overdo the use of accent colors in designs. See how you can combine accent colors to add context to designs.

  • Rose

    CMYK: 10, 100, 75, 5
    HEX: #CC2E40
    RGB: 204, 46, 64

  • Atlantic

    CMYK: 78, 44, 0, 7
    HEX: #466A9F
    RGB: 70, 106, 159

  • Congaree

    CMYK: 88, 63, 51, 41
    HEX: #1F414D
    RGB: 31, 65, 77

  • Horseshoe

    CMYK: 59, 26, 100, 7
    HEX: #65780B
    RGB: 101, 120, 11

  • Grass

    CMYK: 29, 0, 99, 0
    HEX: #CED318
    RGB: 206, 211, 24

  • Honeycomb

    CMYK: 0, 0, 75, 15
    HEX: #A49137 
    RGB: 164, 145, 55


Special Use Colors

Special use colors are used in icons, patterns and other supporting graphic elements. These colors should be used sparingly as accent colors. The Dark Garnet color should never be used as replacement for primary Garnet.

  • Dark Garnet

    CMYK: 20, 100, 85, 70
    HEX: #570008
    RGB: 87, 0, 8

  • Azalea

    CMYK: 30, 68, 44, 6
    HEX: #844247
    RGB: 132, 66, 71

 

Download ASE Color Swatches [zip]

 

Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

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