Technology
IBM Color Codes
IBM's color is blue #1F70C1, the value behind a nickname the company never chose. The IBM color codes in Hex, RGB and CMYK can be found below. Paul Rand drew the eight-bar mark in 1972, and it has run unchanged for more than fifty years. Lenovo bought the PC division, and the ThinkPad, in 2005.
Primary colors
What are IBM Primary Colors?
IBM's primary color is blue #1F70C1, a mid blue rather than the navy that the Big Blue nickname suggests.
IBM publishes no single public CMYK or Pantone sheet for the corporate mark, so both are shown below as conversions and nearest matches.
IBM Blue
| Hex | #1F70C1 |
|---|---|
| RGB | 31, 112, 193 |
| HSL | hsl(210, 72%, 44%) |
| CMYK | 84%, 42%, 0%, 24%converted · approximate |
| Pantone | PMS 300 Cnearest match · not published by the brand |
IBM Hex Color Codes
IBM hex color codes are #1F70C1 for blue.
| Color | Hex |
|---|---|
| Blue | #1F70C1 |
IBM RGB Color Codes
IBM RGB color codes are 31, 112, 193 for blue. Reach for RGB when a tool wants channel numbers or a CSS alpha value.
| Color | RGB |
|---|---|
| Blue | rgb(31, 112, 193) |
IBM HSL Color Codes
IBM HSL color codes are 210, 72%, 44% for blue. Change the third value for a lighter or darker version without moving the hue.
| Color | HSL |
|---|---|
| Blue | hsl(210, 72%, 44%) |
IBM CMYK Color Code
IBM CMYK color codes are conversions from the hex, because the brand publishes none. Check a printed proof before a full run.
| Color | CMYK |
|---|---|
| Blue | 84%, 42%, 0%, 24% |
IBM Pantone Color Codes
IBM Pantone color codes are nearest matches by color distance, not brand specs. The table shows the closest swatch for every color.
| Color | Nearest Pantone |
|---|---|
| Blue | PMS 300 C |
Logo
IBM Logo Colors
IBM logo colors are one blue, laid across eight horizontal bars.
IBM Logo Colors Palette
What the IBM Logo Colors Mean?
The IBM logo colors are the reason for Big Blue, along with a dress code of white shirts and blue suits that made the association stick in the 1980s. The stripes are not decoration. Rand replaced a thirteen-bar version with eight because the photocopiers of the day couldn't render narrow stripes cleanly, so the fix was fewer and thicker ones. A design constraint from 1972 office equipment is still visible in the mark.
IBM Logo Color History
IBM logo color history has a modern fork worth knowing about. The corporate blue on this page is the print and identity value, while IBM's Carbon design system specifies #0F62FE for interface work, a brighter blue meant for links and buttons on screen. Both are current, and they are not interchangeable: one is the logo, the other is the UI.
IBM Logo Fonts
IBM logo fonts are custom. The mark itself is drawn, not set. For everything around it IBM used Helvetica for about five decades and replaced it in 2017 with IBM Plex, which is released under an open license and free to use.
IBM Logo JPG
IBM logo in JPG. No transparency, so it is flattened onto white. Safe for documents and slide decks.
IBM Logo PNG
IBM logo in PNG, with a transparent background. Use it over a colored surface.
IBM Logo WebP
IBM logo in WebP. Same transparency as the PNG at about a third of the file size.
IBM Color Code Shades
IBM color code shades step evenly from the primary toward black, for hover states, borders and shadows.
These are interface steps, not IBM paint or trim names.
In code
Using the IBM palette
CSS custom properties
:root {
--ibm-blue: #1F70C1;
}Contrast against white
| Blue | 5.07:1AA ✓ |
|---|
Brand colors are chosen for recognition, not for legibility. A failing value here is normal. It means use it as a fill, not as text.