Black black doesn’t really exist (SEE: Vantablack, Black 3.0). Moreover, hard blacks can ‘hurt’ on screen, whereas grey blacks look faded in print. Black is actually a pretty hard colour. EIL has a different black for print and digital. Pure black is never used. The print black is not a rich black, but should always be used with overprint on.
Campuses Each of the campuses is associated with a primary colour — this is used in campus specific communication or branding. For example, social media profiles, video borders, city platforms or campus signage. Countries use the colour of the campus capital.
Secondary
Beyond the 6 primaries, the aesthetic of Ecole Intuit Lab calls for many colours. The choice of colour is fairly flexible based on the creative in question.
Here is a selection of lights (for highlights), base (colour), and darks that can be used together to create coherent communication.
Combinations
You are free to combine colours as you see fit for the most part, but here are some guidelines to prevent unfortunate results:
Contrast
Especially when using text, be mindful of contrast. Web standards recommend, for AA (minimum) and AAA (high) the following contrasts: (use this tool to check)
AA
AAA
Normal Text
16px + Regular
4.5:1
7:1
Large Text
18.66px + Bold, or 24px +
3:1
4.5:1
The primary colours have been chosen such that EIL Black text always passes contrast checks on them.
Avoid coloured text unless in EIL Sans Bold and adequately large.
Avoid using coloured text on coloured backgrounds, even if it passes a contrast check.
Pairing
Most creative surfaces are expected to have ONE main colour: other colour accents may be used, but let the creative be memorable for a single colour. That said, if combining colours:
When placing colours next to each other, create energy in their contrast. ‘Bright’ is the brief.
Do not place similar colours next to each other.
Although this guideline is met with exceptions, avoid in general, having two colour blocks touch each other. They are always separated by white space, or black outlines.
Colours are never used directly atop each other without a white or black delineator.
