Technology
Sony Color Codes
Sony's color is black #000000, and the wordmark has been the whole identity since 1973. The Sony color codes in Hex, RGB and CMYK can be found below. Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita founded the company on 7 May 1946 as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo; the Sony name replaced it in 1958 and comes from the Latin sonus plus the American slang sonny. Panasonic, the older of the two by 28 years, kept a blue.
Primary colors
What are Sony Primary Colors?
Sony's primary color is black #000000. Every value on this page is derived from it.
Sony publishes no public CMYK or Pantone sheet, so both are shown below as conversions and nearest matches.
Sony Black
| Hex | #000000 |
|---|---|
| RGB | 0, 0, 0 |
| HSL | hsl(0, 0%, 0%) |
| CMYK | 0%, 0%, 0%, 100%converted · approximate |
| Pantone | PMS 419 Cnearest match · not published by the brand |
Sony Hex Color Codes
Sony hex color codes are #000000 for black.
| Color | Hex |
|---|---|
| Black | #000000 |
Sony RGB Color Codes
Sony RGB color codes are 0, 0, 0 for black. Reach for RGB when a tool wants channel numbers or a CSS alpha value.
| Color | RGB |
|---|---|
| Black | rgb(0, 0, 0) |
Sony HSL Color Codes
Sony HSL color codes are 0, 0%, 0% for black. Change the third value for a lighter or darker version without moving the hue.
| Color | HSL |
|---|---|
| Black | hsl(0, 0%, 0%) |
Sony CMYK Color Code
Sony CMYK color codes are conversions from the hex, because the brand publishes none. Check a printed proof before a full run.
| Color | CMYK |
|---|---|
| Black | 0%, 0%, 0%, 100% |
Sony Pantone Color Codes
Sony Pantone color codes are nearest matches by color distance, not brand specs. The table shows the closest swatch for every color.
| Color | Nearest Pantone |
|---|---|
| Black | PMS 419 C |
Logo
Sony Logo Colors
Sony logo colors are black on white, with no second brand color anywhere in the mark.
Sony Logo Colors Palette
What the Sony Logo Colors Mean?
The Sony logo colors are the absence of a decision, held for fifty years. A wordmark with no symbol and no color has to sit on a television bezel, a camera body, a film studio card and a games console without competing with any of them, and a single black is the only value that does all four. The color work happens at the division level, which is why PlayStation blue looks nothing like this page.
Sony Logo Color History
Sony logo color history barely moves. The wordmark adopted in 1973 is still current, with the letterforms tightened rather than redrawn, and no color has ever been added to the corporate mark.
Sony Logo JPG
Sony logo in JPG. No transparency, so it is flattened onto white. Safe for documents and slide decks.
Sony Logo PNG
Sony logo in PNG, with a transparent background. Use it over a colored surface.
Sony Logo WebP
Sony logo in WebP. Same transparency as the PNG at about a third of the file size.
Sony Color Code Shades
Sony color code shades step evenly from the primary toward black, for hover states, borders and shadows.
These are interface steps, not Sony paint or trim names.
In code
Using the Sony palette
CSS custom properties
:root {
--sony-black: #000000;
}Contrast against white
| Black | 21.00:1AA ✓ |
|---|
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.