Colors Encyclopedia

Brand colors

Carnegie Mellon Brand Colors

Carnegie Mellon palette: #C41230, #000000, #FFFFFF. Compare HEX/RGB, WCAG contrast and CSS tokens; open independent JSON data.

Commonly referenced brand color values. This page is an independent technical reference and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Carnegie Mellon.

EducationBrand indexAPIDataset
Commonly referenced palette Carnegie Mellon
#C41230#000000#FFFFFF
Listed without an implied color hierarchy

Palette

Palette color 1#C41230RGB 196, 18, 48
Black#000000RGB 0, 0, 0
White#FFFFFFRGB 255, 255, 255

CSS Tokens

:root {
  --brand-carnegie-mellon-1: #C41230;
  --brand-carnegie-mellon-2: #000000;
  --brand-carnegie-mellon-3: #FFFFFF;
}

Accessibility Snapshot

#C41230Black 3.48:1 / White 6.04:1
#000000Black 1:1 / White 21:1
#FFFFFFBlack 21:1 / White 1:1

Brand palette context · Editorially reviewed

About Carnegie Mellon Brand Colors

Carnegie Mellon’s current core system centers Carnegie Red #C41230 with black, white, and two grays. The university describes the red as the standout color, but allows it to dominate either by area or by attention: a small critical callout can carry the identity without requiring an entire page to become red.

Secondary colors draw from tartan threads and campus architecture, but official guidance keeps them subordinate to the core palette. CMU’s data-visualization rules add an important functional layer: use few colors, never rely on color alone, label key values, and consider the cultural meaning of red—especially in financial charts. The three-color reference here is therefore a foundation, not the whole toolkit.

This unaffiliated page does not provide CMU marks or tartan artwork, represent the university, grant permissions, or replace current brand standards.

Downloadable brand colors infographic

Carnegie Mellon Brand Colors Infographic

Save an independent infographic of the commonly referenced Carnegie Mellon HEX palette and its accessibility guidance. No logo or proprietary artwork is included.

1200 × 800
Carnegie Mellon brand colors infographic showing its commonly referenced HEX palette and accessibility guidance for every listed color without assigning a color hierarchy.
Carnegie Mellon brand colors infographic. Commonly referenced brand color values. This page is an independent technical reference and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Carnegie Mellon.
Download WebPDownload SVGOpen full size

Machine-readable data

Machine-Readable Brand Color Data (JSON)

Structured brand palette data for design systems, references, automations, and AI ingestion.

AI-Ready Dataset v1.0.0
Luminance0.1238
Black text3.48:1AA Fail
White text6.04:1AA Pass
hexCanonical HEX value
rgbRed, green, blue channels
hslHue, saturation, lightness
cmykApproximate print conversion
wcagAA and AAA contrast options
harmoniesMathematical harmony sets
variantsGenerated tone variants
nearestColorsKnowledge graph neighbors
Download JSON Open API
Structured sections
Brand
{
  "slug": "carnegie-mellon",
  "name": "Carnegie Mellon",
  "category": "education",
  "brandCategory": [
    "Education",
    "education"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/brand-colors/carnegie-mellon/",
  "categoryUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/brand-colors/education/",
  "disclaimer": "Commonly referenced brand color values. This page is an independent technical reference and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Carnegie Mellon."
}
Palette
[
  {
    "name": "Palette color 1",
    "hex": "#C41230",
    "rgb": [
      196,
      18,
      48
    ],
    "hsl": [
      350,
      83,
      42
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      91,
      76,
      23
    ],
    "luminance": 0.1238,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 3.48,
      "white": 6.04
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    }
  },
  {
    "name": "Black",
    "hex": "#000000",
    "rgb": [
      0,
      0,
      0
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      0,
      0
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      100
    ],
    "luminance": 0,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1,
      "white": 21
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    }
  },
  {
    "name": "White",
    "hex": "#FFFFFF",
    "rgb": [
      255,
      255,
      255
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      0,
      100
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      0
    ],
    "luminance": 1,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 21,
      "white": 1
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ]
    }
  }
]
AI context
{
  "brandUseCases": [
    "university identity",
    "campus web systems",
    "institutional design",
    "brand reference",
    "design systems",
    "CSS tokens",
    "accessibility checks"
  ],
  "semanticGroups": [
    "education brand colors",
    "red brand palette",
    "gray brand palette",
    "warm brand palette",
    "neutral brand palette",
    "vibrant brand color",
    "dark brand color",
    "light brand color",
    "Carnegie Mellon color reference"
  ],
  "contrastSafeWith": [
    "#FFFFFF",
    "#F5F5F5",
    "#000000",
    "#1A1A1A",
    "#36454F"
  ],
  "relatedEndpoints": [
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/brand-colors/carnegie-mellon.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/brand-colors.json"
  ]
}
CSS tokens
{
  "css": "--brand-carnegie-mellon-1: #C41230;\n--brand-carnegie-mellon-2: #000000;\n--brand-carnegie-mellon-3: #FFFFFF;"
}
Accessibility
[
  {
    "hex": "#C41230",
    "contrast": {
      "black": 3.48,
      "white": 6.04
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    }
  },
  {
    "hex": "#000000",
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1,
      "white": 21
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    }
  },
  {
    "hex": "#FFFFFF",
    "contrast": {
      "black": 21,
      "white": 1
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ]
    }
  }
]
Full JSON dataset 
{
  "slug": "carnegie-mellon",
  "name": "Carnegie Mellon",
  "category": "education",
  "brandCategory": [
    "Education",
    "education"
  ],
  "disclaimer": "Commonly referenced brand color values. This page is an independent technical reference and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Carnegie Mellon.",
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/brand-colors/carnegie-mellon/",
  "categoryUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/brand-colors/education/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/brand-colors/carnegie-mellon.json",
  "colors": [
    {
      "name": "Palette color 1",
      "hex": "#C41230",
      "rgb": [
        196,
        18,
        48
      ],
      "hsl": [
        350,
        83,
        42
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        91,
        76,
        23
      ],
      "luminance": 0.1238,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 3.48,
        "white": 6.04
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Black",
      "hex": "#000000",
      "rgb": [
        0,
        0,
        0
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        0,
        0
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        100
      ],
      "luminance": 0,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1,
        "white": 21
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "White",
      "hex": "#FFFFFF",
      "rgb": [
        255,
        255,
        255
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        0,
        100
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        0
      ],
      "luminance": 1,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 21,
        "white": 1
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "brandUseCases": [
    "university identity",
    "campus web systems",
    "institutional design",
    "brand reference",
    "design systems",
    "CSS tokens",
    "accessibility checks"
  ],
  "semanticGroups": [
    "education brand colors",
    "red brand palette",
    "gray brand palette",
    "warm brand palette",
    "neutral brand palette",
    "vibrant brand color",
    "dark brand color",
    "light brand color",
    "Carnegie Mellon color reference"
  ],
  "contrastSafeWith": [
    "#FFFFFF",
    "#F5F5F5",
    "#000000",
    "#1A1A1A",
    "#36454F"
  ],
  "relatedEndpoints": [
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/brand-colors/carnegie-mellon.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/brand-colors.json"
  ]
}
Dataset manifest Version 1.0.0 Build hash published in manifest Canonical page

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