Financial Times color palette
MediaFinancial Times is recognized for its distinctive salmon pink color, which defines its print and digital presence. The palette is understated, using soft neutrals and darks to maintain a professional, authoritative tone.
ft.comFinancial Times colors
Click any swatch to copy its hex. Hover for RGB and HSL.
Brand colors
The colors people recognise.- FT SalmonPrimary255, 241, 224
- FT CharcoalSecondary51, 48, 46
- FT BlueAccent0, 91, 127
Surfaces
Page, cards and dividers.- FT WhiteBackground255, 255, 255
- FT Light SalmonSurface245, 235, 221
- FT Pale TaupeBorder209, 199, 183
Text
Three tiers of copy.- FT CharcoalText51, 48, 46
- FT Mid CharcoalSecondary text102, 97, 92
- FT Muted GreyMuted text160, 156, 151
Semantic
Feedback and state colors.- FT GreenSuccess61, 153, 112
- FT AmberWarning255, 180, 0
- FT RedError215, 38, 61
- FT Info BlueInfo0, 119, 182
Use Financial Times's colors in your project
Pick a format, copy or download. Everything below is generated from the exact hex values above.
financial-times-palette-colors.css · Paste into your global stylesheet.
:root {
--info: #0077B6;
--error: #D7263D;
--accent: #005B7F;
--border: #D1C7B7;
--primary: #FFF1E0;
--success: #3D9970;
--surface: #F5EBDD;
--warning: #FFB400;
--secondary: #33302E;
--text-muted: #A09C97;
--background: #FFFFFF;
--text-primary: #33302E;
--text-secondary: #66615C;
}Contrast and accessibility
Every text tone tested against every surface, per WCAG 2.1.
Text on background
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
13.1:1
Pass
Text on surface
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
11.1:1
Pass
Secondary text on background
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
6.1:1
Pass
Secondary text on surface
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
5.2:1
Pass
Muted text on background
Needs 3:1 for large text
2.7:1
Fail
Muted text on surface
Needs 3:1 for large text
2.3:1
Fail
Financial Times background, border and text colors
The quiet part of the Financial Times palette: page background, card surfaces, dividers and the three text tones that sit on them. Click a value to copy it.
- FT WhiteBackground
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
- FT Light SalmonSurface
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
- FT Pale TaupeBorder
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
- FT CharcoalText
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
- FT Mid CharcoalSecondary text
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
- FT Muted GreyMuted text
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
About Financial Times's colors
The Financial Times color system is built around its iconic salmon pink, complemented by neutral tones and deep accents for clarity and authority. The palette is designed for readability and brand recognition across print and digital.
Primary salmon pink contrasts with deep charcoal for legibility.
Accent blue is used sparingly for calls to action and highlights.
Neutral backgrounds and borders support content hierarchy.
Psychology
The salmon pink evokes tradition and trust, setting FT apart from competitors. Deep neutrals and blue accents reinforce professionalism and reliability.
Evolution
The core salmon pink has remained consistent since the newspaper's inception, with digital adaptations refining supporting neutrals for accessibility. The palette has evolved to include more UI-specific tones for modern digital interfaces.
Where Financial Times uses each color
- Primary
FT Salmon is used as the background for the masthead and key brand elements.
- Secondary
FT Charcoal appears in navigation bars, footers, and primary text.
- Accent
FT Blue is used for links, buttons, and interactive elements.
- Backgrounds
FT White and FT Light Salmon are used for article backgrounds and content areas.
- Text
Charcoal and mid-charcoal are used for headlines and body copy, with muted grey for metadata.
- Semantic
Green, amber, red, and info blue are used for status indicators, notifications, and alerts.
Financial Times color questions
Hex codes, RGB values, neutrals and how to use the palette.
The official Financial Times brand color is FT Salmon, hex #FFF1E0.
FT Salmon (#FFF1E0) is RGB(255, 241, 224). In print, FT uses a custom mix to achieve its signature salmon tint.
FT Charcoal (#33302E) is used for primary text and navigation, while FT Muted Grey (#A09C97) is used for secondary text and UI elements.
Use FT Salmon (#FFF1E0) for brand-defining backgrounds, FT Charcoal (#33302E) for text, and FT Blue (#005B7F) for interactive elements. Maintain strong contrast for readability and accessibility.
The secondary color is FT Charcoal, #33302E, and the accent is FT Blue, #005B7F. 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 Financial Times's colors consistently when it generates UI.
Make something in the spirit of Financial Times
Start from this palette's mood and get an original 13-color system for your own project, contrast-checked and ready to export.