Colours, images and logos
How Govt.nz uses colours, images and logos.
Colours
Govt.nz uses limited colours to add emphasis to the text or content elements they're applied to.
Colour swatches
Blue and orange are the primary colours, so they're used first. Other colours are only introduced if needed. Infographics or illustrations use these colours as a starting point.
Blue
#336699
Blue on hover
#1A4D80
Orange
#D34322
Orange on hover
#B73A1E
Dark grey
#4C4C4C
Dark grey on hover
#3D3D3D
Dove
#EBEBEB
Grey
#ABABAB
White
#FFFFFF
Black
#000000
Purple
#993366
Purple on hover
#6A2347
How the colours are used
Black
Default text colour for body text and page headers.
Blue
Subtle highlight for links, buttons, alert style box and success messages.
Orange
A screaming highlight used for search buttons, warning style box and error messages.
Dark grey
For less important text, for example breadcrumbs and search result details — this text is usually smaller.
Grey
For borders and lines, for example table grid lines, above accordions and promo tiles.
Dove
A background for text to set it apart from the main content, for example breadcrumbs, and notes such as alerts or warnings.
Purple
As a contrast to the blue subtle highlight, for example visited links.
Colour accessibility
Colour accessibility is important for people who may:
- have a visual impairment
- be viewing the site in bright sunlight
- have printed a page in black and white.
Colour that has meaning
If colour has a meaning assigned to it, Govt.nz uses other methods to supplement this information. For example, a graph using colours also has text labels. For colour that has no meaning, like decorative text, or logos and brand names, accessibility guidelines are not necessarily followed.
Contrast
Govt.nz aims for good contrast between text and the background it appears on.
To be effective, the contrast ratio between text colour and the background needs to be at least 4.5:1.
For large text — 18 points/24 pixels upwards or, for bold text, 14 points/19 pixels upwards — Govt.nz uses a contrast ratio of 3:1.
You can check the contrast ratio of Govt.nz colours using an online tool.
WebAim colour contrast checker
Images
Images on the website include feature images, graphs, infographics and icons.
Govt.nz follows the NZ Government Accessibility Guidelines for images.
NZ Government Web Accessibility Standard 1.1
Copyright
Ownership of the images is listed with the copyright information.
Logos
Govt.nz uses the New Zealand government all-of-government brand in combination with the Coat of Arms. The Public Service Commission looks after the all-of-government brand.
Utility links and page information
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