Associated Press color palette
MediaAssociated Press (AP) uses a stark, minimalist color palette centered on bold red and black, reflecting its journalistic authority and clarity. The brand's visual identity is built on high contrast and simplicity, with red as the signature accent.
apnews.comAssociated Press colors
Click any swatch to copy its hex. Hover for RGB and HSL.
Brand colors
The colors people recognise.- AP RedPrimary255, 50, 46
- AP BlackSecondary0, 0, 0
- AP WhiteAccent255, 255, 255
Surfaces
Page, cards and dividers.- AP WhiteBackground255, 255, 255
- AP Light GraySurface245, 245, 245
- AP Border GrayBorder224, 224, 224
Text
Three tiers of copy.- AP CharcoalText34, 34, 34
- AP Medium GraySecondary text102, 102, 102
- AP Muted GrayMuted text153, 153, 153
Semantic
Feedback and state colors.- AP Success GreenSuccess46, 133, 64
- AP Warning YellowWarning255, 180, 0
- AP Error RedError208, 2, 27
- AP Info BlueInfo33, 118, 174
Use Associated Press's colors in your project
Pick a format, copy or download. Everything below is generated from the exact hex values above.
associated-press-palette-colors.css · Paste into your global stylesheet.
:root {
--info: #2176AE;
--error: #D0021B;
--accent: #FFFFFF;
--border: #E0E0E0;
--primary: #FF322E;
--success: #2E8540;
--surface: #F5F5F5;
--warning: #FFB400;
--secondary: #000000;
--text-muted: #999999;
--background: #FFFFFF;
--text-primary: #222222;
--text-secondary: #666666;
}Contrast and accessibility
Every text tone tested against every surface, per WCAG 2.1.
Text on background
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
15.9:1
Pass
Text on surface
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
14.6:1
Pass
Secondary text on background
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
5.7:1
Pass
Secondary text on surface
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
5.3:1
Pass
Muted text on background
Needs 3:1 for large text
2.8:1
Fail
Muted text on surface
Needs 3:1 for large text
2.6:1
Fail
Associated Press gray and neutral colors
The quiet part of the Associated Press palette: page background, card surfaces, dividers and the three text tones that sit on them. Click a value to copy it.
- AP WhiteBackground
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- AP Light GraySurface
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- AP Border GrayBorder
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- AP CharcoalText
- HEX
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- AP Medium GraySecondary text
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- AP Muted GrayMuted text
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About Associated Press's colors
AP's palette is dominated by a high-contrast red, black, and white scheme, emphasizing clarity and urgency. The use of neutral grays supports readability and a modern news aesthetic.
Primary red is paired with black for strong visual impact.
White and light gray backgrounds maintain legibility.
Accent and semantic colors are used sparingly for clarity.
Psychology
Red communicates urgency and draws attention, suitable for breaking news. Black and gray tones convey seriousness and professionalism.
Evolution
The AP color palette has remained stable for decades, consistently using red and black as core brand colors. Minor adjustments have been made to grays and UI tones for digital platforms.
Where Associated Press uses each color
- Primary
AP Red is used in the logo, key buttons, and highlights for breaking news.
- Secondary
AP Black is used for the logo text and primary navigation elements.
- Accent
AP White serves as the main background and negative space.
- Backgrounds
AP White and Light Gray are used for backgrounds on the website and app interfaces.
- Text
AP Charcoal and Medium Gray are used for primary and secondary text, ensuring readability.
- Semantic
Success, warning, error, and info colors are used for alerts, notifications, and status indicators.
Associated Press color questions
Hex codes, RGB values, neutrals and how to use the palette.
The primary Associated Press brand color is AP Red, with the hex code #FF322E.
AP Red (#FF322E) in RGB is (255, 50, 46) and in CMYK is (0, 80, 82, 0).
AP uses several grays: AP Light Gray (#F5F5F5) for surfaces, AP Border Gray (#E0E0E0) for dividers, and AP Charcoal (#222222) for text.
AP Red (#FF322E) should be reserved for highlights and key actions, while black, white, and grays form the foundation of backgrounds and text for clarity.
The secondary color is AP Black, #000000, and the accent is AP White, #FFFFFF. Together with the primary they make up the three brand colors at the top of this page.
4 of 6 text and background pairings meet WCAG 2.1 AA contrast. The contrast section above shows every pairing with its exact ratio.
Use the export block on this page. It gives you CSS custom properties, a Tailwind config, W3C design tokens or a shadcn/ui theme built from these exact hex values, with copy and download buttons.
Yes. Export the Claude Code skill, Cursor rules or Codex prompt from the same block. The agent then applies Associated Press's colors consistently when it generates UI.
Make something in the spirit of Associated Press
Start from this palette's mood and get an original 13-color system for your own project, contrast-checked and ready to export.