colour

UI colours

Carefully select and apply user interface (UI) colours. Use them to communicate visual hierarchy, guide interactions and create a consistent brand identity.

Blue primary

The primary Volvo Cars brand colour is blue. Apply the blue colours sparingly in product interfaces. Brand colours should be used only to establish the Volvo Cars identity and communicate interactivity.

Our primary blue is contrast-compliant as a fill colour with white text overlaid.

HEX #284e80

The blue primary colour may be used in both light or dark UI call-to-actions.

Blue accents

The Volvo Cars accent colours are brighter blues. Use them for links, selections and other interactive elements. To meet colour contrast standards we have two accent colours: one for our light UI theme, and one for our dark UI theme.

HEX #1c6bba

Blue accent colour for light UI theme.

HEX #1f78d1

Blue accent colour for dark UI theme.

Themes

Our design system offers two distinct themes to support light and dark UI creation. Both themes include specific foreground and background colours. Our palettes are optimised to meet colour contrast compliance.

rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.96)

rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.64)

HEX #2a609d

HEX #bf2012

HEX #d5d5d5

HEX #ebebeb

HEX #ffffff

HEX #fafafa

Examples

Two phones side by side, left screen shows an example of the Light UI colour theme, and the right screen shows the same view but in the dark UI theme.
Light theme (left) and dark theme (right).

Proportions

The following colour proportion wheels help you understand the overall balance of colour usage across Volvo Cars for both light and dark UI themes.

Light theme donut (without toggle UI)
These proportions help clarify how often each colour occurs across both UI themes.

Usage

Every colour plays a specific role when applied to UI. Some colours show up constantly, while others play a subtle, more supportive role. To ensure consistent colour usage, we offer the following guidance.

Background / primary

Use as the primary background colour for light UI.

Background / secondary

Use as the secondary background colour for light UI.

Foreground / primary

Use for styling primary content such as text and icons. May sit on top of any light UI background colours.

Foreground / secondary

Use for styling secondary content such as text and icons. May sit on top of any light UI background colours.

Blue / primary *

Key brand colour. Use to style primary UI buttons (call-to-actions), which contain white text labels. Only use as a primary button fill colour.

* Used in both themes currently.

Blue / accent

Use the accent colour to style standalone buttons/links and selected UI states within light UI. May sit on top of any light UI background colour.

Alerts

Use for highlighting errors, invalid data and destructive actions. May sit on top of any light UI background colour.

Ornamental / border

Use to visually group or separate UI elements within light UI.

Ornamental / divider

Use to visually group or separate UI elements within light UI.

Contrast ratios

We have ensured that all critical colour pairings meet the minimum accessible contrast ratio set by WCAG (AA, 4.5:1). This applies to all colour pairings across both light and dark UI themes.

Foreground colours on primary background colour

Visual shows light UI foreground colours on primary light UI background colour. This visual also displays the resulting colour contrast ratios.
* Contrast ratios below 4.5:1 must only occur with non-critical UI and never content.

Foreground colours on secondary background colour

Visual shows light UI foreground colours on secondary light UI background colour. This visual also displays the resulting colour contrast ratios.
* Contrast ratios below 4.5:1 must only occur with non-critical UI and never content.

Button label contrasts

Visual shows white text label contrasts on both primary blue and accent blue colours for light UI buttons.

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