Chicago Tribune color palette
MediaChicago Tribune's color identity is anchored by a deep blue, reflecting its historic and authoritative presence in American journalism. The palette uses classic, muted tones with a strong emphasis on legibility and tradition.
chicagotribune.comChicago Tribune colors
Click any swatch to copy its hex. Hover for RGB and HSL.
Brand colors
The colors people recognise.- Tribune BluePrimary0, 51, 102
- Tribune WhiteSecondary255, 255, 255
- Tribune SilverAccent179, 179, 179
Surfaces
Page, cards and dividers.- Tribune Light GrayBackground245, 245, 245
- Tribune Surface GraySurface230, 230, 230
- Tribune Border GrayBorder204, 204, 204
Text
Three tiers of copy.- Tribune CharcoalText34, 34, 34
- Tribune Medium GraySecondary text85, 85, 85
- Tribune Muted GrayMuted text136, 136, 136
Semantic
Feedback and state colors.- Tribune Success GreenSuccess46, 133, 64
- Tribune Warning GoldWarning229, 160, 0
- Tribune Error RedError198, 12, 48
- Tribune Info BlueInfo0, 87, 184
Use Chicago Tribune's colors in your project
Pick a format, copy or download. Everything below is generated from the exact hex values above.
chicago-tribune-palette-colors.css · Paste into your global stylesheet.
:root {
--info: #0057B8;
--error: #C60C30;
--accent: #B3B3B3;
--border: #CCCCCC;
--primary: #003366;
--success: #2E8540;
--surface: #E6E6E6;
--warning: #E5A000;
--secondary: #FFFFFF;
--text-muted: #888888;
--background: #F5F5F5;
--text-primary: #222222;
--text-secondary: #555555;
}Contrast and accessibility
Every text tone tested against every surface, per WCAG 2.1.
Text on background
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
14.6:1
Pass
Text on surface
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
12.7:1
Pass
Secondary text on background
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
6.8:1
Pass
Secondary text on surface
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
6.0:1
Pass
Muted text on background
Needs 3:1 for large text
3.3:1
Pass
Muted text on surface
Needs 3:1 for large text
2.8:1
Fail
Chicago Tribune gray and neutral colors
The quiet part of the Chicago Tribune palette: page background, card surfaces, dividers and the three text tones that sit on them. Click a value to copy it.
- Tribune Light GrayBackground
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- Tribune Surface GraySurface
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- Tribune Border GrayBorder
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- Tribune CharcoalText
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- Tribune Medium GraySecondary text
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- Tribune Muted GrayMuted text
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About Chicago Tribune's colors
Chicago Tribune's palette is rooted in deep blue and neutral grays, emphasizing trust, tradition, and readability. The colors are chosen for clarity and to reinforce the brand's journalistic authority.
Primary blue contrasts with white for strong visual hierarchy.
Neutral grays support content legibility.
Accent colors are reserved for alerts and highlights.
Psychology
The deep blue conveys trustworthiness and stability, key traits for a news organization. Neutral grays and whites create a sense of clarity and seriousness.
Evolution
The palette has remained largely stable, with Tribune Blue as a consistent anchor. Minor adjustments to gray tones have improved digital readability over time.
Where Chicago Tribune uses each color
- Primary
Tribune Blue is used in the masthead, navigation bar, and key brand elements.
- Secondary
Tribune White serves as the main background for articles and sections.
- Accent
Tribune Silver is applied to UI elements such as dividers and secondary buttons.
- Backgrounds
Tribune Light Gray is used as the default page background.
- Text
Tribune Charcoal is the primary color for headlines and body text.
- Semantic
Success, warning, error, and info colors are used for alerts, notifications, and status indicators.
Chicago Tribune color questions
Hex codes, RGB values, neutrals and how to use the palette.
The official Chicago Tribune brand color is Tribune Blue, hex code #003366.
Tribune Blue (#003366) in RGB is (0, 51, 102) and in CMYK is (100, 50, 0, 60).
Chicago Tribune uses a range of grays: Tribune Light Gray (#F5F5F5), Surface Gray (#E6E6E6), Border Gray (#CCCCCC), and several text grays like Charcoal (#222222) and Muted Gray (#888888).
Use Tribune Blue for branding and navigation, neutrals for backgrounds and surfaces, and semantic colors only for alerts or status. Maintain high contrast for readability, especially in digital applications.
The secondary color is Tribune White, #FFFFFF, and the accent is Tribune Silver, #B3B3B3. Together with the primary they make up the three brand colors at the top of this page.
5 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 Chicago Tribune's colors consistently when it generates UI.
Make something in the spirit of Chicago Tribune
Start from this palette's mood and get an original 13-color system for your own project, contrast-checked and ready to export.