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Google Brand Color Codes and Palette

The four colors in Google's logo, the hex codes most often cited for them, why to verify those codes, and how vector files, gradients and trademark rules affect their use.

Published

Contents
  1. The Four Colors in the Google Palette
  2. Why Sampled Colors Often Differ From the Real Codes
  3. Flat Colors Versus Gradients
  4. Choosing the Right Color Model for the Job
  5. Using the Palette Versus Using the Logo
  6. What the Available Evidence Does Not Cover

Google's logo palette has four colors: blue, red, yellow and green. Each has a widely circulated hex code. The supplied research could not confirm any of those codes against an official Google source, so treat the values below as commonly cited reference points. Check them against Google's own brand materials before you use them in final or client-facing work.

The Four Colors in the Google Palette

The Google wordmark and the multicolored "G" icon both use the same four hues. Design references usually list them as follows. These values come from general public circulation, not from the evidence supplied for this article.

Color | Commonly cited hex | Verification status
Blue | #4285F4 | Widely cited; not confirmed against official guidelines here
Red | #EA4335 | Widely cited; not confirmed against official guidelines here
Yellow | #FBBC05 | Widely cited, but a one-digit variant also circulates; not confirmed here
Green | #34A853 | Widely cited; not confirmed against official guidelines here

Small differences between sources are common. The yellow value, for example, appears with slightly different final digits in different references. When codes disagree by a character or two, the cause is usually one of three things: someone sampled the color from a raster image, the brand made a minor revision, or the source mixed brand colors with product interface colors. The official source settles the question. A third-party list cannot.

Why Sampled Colors Often Differ From the Real Codes

Many published Google color codes were picked with an eyedropper tool from a PNG, JPG or screenshot of the logo. That method is unreliable for three reasons:

  • Compression: JPG artifacts shift pixel values, especially along edges.
  • Anti-aliasing: pixels where two colors meet blend into intermediate shades, so a sample taken near an edge is not the true brand color.
  • Color profiles: a screenshot or export can change values when the image is converted between color spaces or shown on a different display.

A vector file defines its fills as exact values attached to shapes, so reading the fill from a genuine vector path is far more dependable than sampling pixels. Be aware, though, that a file with a vector extension can still hold an embedded raster image instead of editable paths. The extension alone does not prove the colors are stored as clean vector fills. Open the file and check that the logo is made of selectable shapes with solid fills.

Flat Colors Versus Gradients

The four-color Google logo is traditionally built from flat, solid fills. Each segment of the "G" and each letter of the wordmark carries one color. Under that construction, the four hex codes are enough to reproduce the palette.

Gradients change this. If you are working with a gradient rendition of a Google mark, four flat codes cannot recreate it. A gradient is defined by several things:

  • its color stops
  • the position of each stop
  • the blend direction
  • the gradient type, such as linear or radial

The supplied evidence includes no confirmed stop values or gradient specifications for any Google logo. Do not reconstruct a gradient by eyedropping a raster preview. Use the gradient definitions inside official vector artwork, where the stops can be read directly.

Choosing the Right Color Model for the Job

Hex codes describe screen color in RGB. They suit websites, apps, slides and other on-screen work. Print usually needs CMYK or spot-color values, and converting a hex code to CMYK automatically can give dull or shifted results, especially for saturated blues and greens. The supplied evidence includes no confirmed CMYK or spot-color equivalents for Google's palette. For print, find official print specifications rather than relying on an automatic conversion.

Knowing Google's color codes is different from having permission to use Google's brand assets. Colors on their own are generally used freely as design references. The Google logo, wordmark and icon are trademarks, however. Being able to download a logo file does not grant permission to change its colors, redraw it, alter its proportions or use it in a way that suggests endorsement.

Trademark rules decide how you may display the logo. Licensing terms decide how you may use any fonts that come with the artwork. If you are preparing a partner badge, an integration graphic or anything that shows Google's marks, follow Google's published brand terms for that use. Making a file editable does not make every edit permitted.

What the Available Evidence Does Not Cover

The research supplied for this article did not confirm any of the following:

  • official hex, RGB, CMYK or spot-color values
  • any gradient specifications
  • the dates of any palette revisions
  • the current wording of Google's brand usage terms

Everything above about those specifics is either flagged as commonly cited or framed as general practice. For production work, take exact values directly from official Google brand resources or from verified vector artwork.