MTV color palette
EntertainmentMTV's brand color system is defined by its iconic vibrant yellow paired with bold black and white, reflecting a youthful and energetic identity. The palette is simple and high-contrast, supporting MTV's dynamic visual style across digital and broadcast platforms.
mtv.comMTV colors
Click any swatch to copy its hex. Hover for RGB and HSL.
Brand colors
The colors people recognise.- MTV YellowPrimary255, 214, 0
- MTV BlackSecondary0, 0, 0
- MTV WhiteAccent255, 255, 255
Surfaces
Page, cards and dividers.- MTV WhiteBackground255, 255, 255
- MTV Light GraySurface245, 245, 245
- MTV Border GrayBorder224, 224, 224
Text
Three tiers of copy.- MTV BlackText0, 0, 0
- MTV Medium GraySecondary text117, 117, 117
- MTV Muted GrayMuted text189, 189, 189
Semantic
Feedback and state colors.- MTV GreenSuccess0, 230, 118
- MTV OrangeWarning255, 145, 0
- MTV RedError255, 23, 68
- MTV BlueInfo41, 121, 255
Use MTV's colors in your project
Pick a format, copy or download. Everything below is generated from the exact hex values above.
mtv-palette-colors.css · Paste into your global stylesheet.
:root {
--info: #2979FF;
--error: #FF1744;
--accent: #FFFFFF;
--border: #E0E0E0;
--primary: #FFD600;
--success: #00E676;
--surface: #F5F5F5;
--warning: #FF9100;
--secondary: #000000;
--text-muted: #BDBDBD;
--background: #FFFFFF;
--text-primary: #000000;
--text-secondary: #757575;
}Contrast and accessibility
Every text tone tested against every surface, per WCAG 2.1.
Text on background
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
21.0:1
Pass
Text on surface
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
19.3:1
Pass
Secondary text on background
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
4.6:1
Pass
Secondary text on surface
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
4.2:1
Fail
Muted text on background
Needs 3:1 for large text
1.9:1
Fail
Muted text on surface
Needs 3:1 for large text
1.7:1
Fail
MTV gray and neutral colors
The quiet part of the MTV palette: page background, card surfaces, dividers and the three text tones that sit on them. Click a value to copy it.
- MTV WhiteBackground
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
- MTV Light GraySurface
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
- MTV Border GrayBorder
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
- MTV BlackText
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
- MTV Medium GraySecondary text
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
- MTV Muted GrayMuted text
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
About MTV's colors
MTV's palette is built around a high-contrast yellow and black combination, emphasizing energy and visibility. White and neutral grays provide balance for digital and print applications.
Primary yellow contrasts sharply with black for maximum impact.
White and grays are used to support content legibility.
Accent colors are reserved for status and feedback messaging.
Psychology
The bright yellow conveys youthfulness, excitement, and creativity, while black anchors the brand with authority and boldness. The palette is designed to be instantly recognizable and to stand out in crowded visual environments.
Evolution
MTV's core yellow and black palette has remained consistent since its early years, maintaining strong brand recognition. Minor adjustments have been made to gray tones and accent colors for digital clarity.
Where MTV uses each color
- Primary
MTV Yellow is used for the logo, key buttons, and highlights across the website and on-air graphics.
- Secondary
MTV Black appears in navigation bars, text, and backgrounds for high contrast.
- Accent
MTV White is used for backgrounds, text, and to provide separation between elements.
- Backgrounds
White and light gray backgrounds are common in app screens and web pages.
- Text
Black is the primary text color, with medium and muted grays for secondary and disabled text.
- Semantic
Green, orange, red, and blue are used for success, warning, error, and informational states in UI feedback.
MTV color questions
Hex codes, RGB values, neutrals and how to use the palette.
The official MTV brand color is MTV Yellow, with the hex code #FFD600.
MTV Yellow (#FFD600) is RGB(255, 214, 0) and CMYK(0, 16, 100, 0).
MTV uses a range of grays including MTV Light Gray (#F5F5F5), Border Gray (#E0E0E0), Medium Gray (#757575), and Muted Gray (#BDBDBD) for backgrounds, borders, and secondary text.
Use MTV Yellow (#FFD600) for primary branding and highlights, black and white for contrast, and the designated grays for UI structure and legibility. Semantic colors are reserved for status indicators and feedback.
The secondary color is MTV Black, #000000, and the accent is MTV White, #FFFFFF. Together with the primary they make up the three brand colors at the top of this page.
3 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 MTV's colors consistently when it generates UI.
Make something in the spirit of MTV
Start from this palette's mood and get an original 13-color system for your own project, contrast-checked and ready to export.