Colours

Online colours

For online applications you can select from the 17 communication colours in the central government visual identity palette, with an additional palette of seven shades of grey. There are also colour guidelines for insets, links, messages and notices and the use of a focus colour. In order to ensure readability, the contrast between the text and background colours must always comply with the relevant requirements.

17 online communication colours

In principle you should select one main colour and possibly one or two additional light tints to fill out the website, magazine or app. You may also want to use 20%-grade tinting for insets, diagrams and tables.

The central government online colours are also available as a colour swatch library. The hex and RGB colour values can be downloaded as an .ase file, which can be imported into Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign.

Colours and contrast requirements

To ensure that your texts and interactive elements are readable, there should be adequate contrast with the background colour. For more on this, see the information on contrast. You can measure the contrast between two colours with a colour contrast checker. Central government uses the AA norm of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Offline colours

The basic colour of the central government is blue. In addition to the shade of blue of the logo, the central government uses 17 communication colors (Dutch). Colour gradients are possible within those colours.

The communication colours are inspired by the colorful Dutch landscape and Dutch painting. These colors make it possible to show the diversity of the national government. There are specifications for each type of use per colour. Click on description of the colour to find a specification.

Logo colour

The logo of the central government is in blue. It is inspired by the Dutch light. Blue of peace and reliability. Blue of tradition, lasting values and harmony and balance. Usually the wordmark is black or white, depending on the background colour. For offline use, there are specifications for the colour of the government logo (Dutch). For online applications you need to follow the instructions (Dutch).

More information

For help please contact 1logo@buza.nl