Color & Typography

Primary palette

The primary color palette takes its cue from the university’s main brand colors, reinforcing a strong visual connection to Cornell. Follow these color specifications and avoid using large fields of color, opting instead for a generous amount of clear space or well-contrasting photography as a background.

Typography has an important role in expressing and reinforcing our brand. The three typefaces that support the new identity have been chosen for their modern, versatile qualities as well as their accessibility. The primary typefaces (Work Sans and Lora) should be used for most print and web materials, while the third (Cera Pro) should be limited to lockups and display typography.

• Download Work Sans and Lora

Primary typefaces

For official assets and daily use, the sans-serif typeface Work Sans and the serif typeface Lora make a great pair for both headline and body text.

Favor Work Sans for headlines and Lora for body text. Both are optimized for web use and free to download and use. Avoid using bold or extra bold weights at very small point sizes.

The new wordmark for CALS is set in Cera Pro. This typeface is a simple yet distinctive geometric san serif with a variety of weights. Reserve Cera Pro for lockups and display typography. Do not use it to re-create the official CALS wordmark, which has been carefully spaced and customized.

For default email use, substitute Arial for Work Sans and Georgia for Lora.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you create print and digital brand assets.

• Use title case for both headlines and body copy. Limit any uppercase typography to judicious display use only. 
• Left-align text blocks whenever possible. Do not force-justify text blocks.
• Limit your compositions to two or three type styles and a limited number of type sizes. Be consistent with type sizes for headers, body text and captions in a document.
• Only use type over an image if all the type is legible.
• Avoid embellishing type with drop shadows, outlines or noticeable photo darkening. 
• Keep an ample amount of clear space around text blocks and images - try not to crowd your compositions. 

An example headline

Subheaders, emphasis or call-outs at smaller sizes

Body copy. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is Cornell University’s second largest college and a pioneering practitioner of purpose-driven science. We work across disciplines to tackle the challenges of our time through world-renowned research, education and outreach. The questions we probe and the answers we seek focus on three overlapping concerns: natural and human systems; food, energy and environmental resources; and social, physical and economic well-being.