The official Chicago Blackhawks colors are red, black and white. The primary color is red (#CF0A2C), paired with black (#000000) and white (#FFFFFF). These three run across the team’s logo, jerseys and merchandise, a scheme locked in since the franchise added color to Irene Castle’s original black-and-white crest back in the 1930s.
That’s the short version. The longer story is more crowded, because the Indian head crest itself carries a whole side-palette of orange, green, yellow, gold and navy. More on that below.
Chicago Blackhawks Color Codes
Here’s the part most people actually came for. HEX and RGB for screen work, CMYK and Pantone for anything headed to a printer.
| Color | Swatch | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | #CF0A2C | 207, 10, 44 | 2, 100, 85, 6 | PMS 186 C | |
| Black | #000000 | 0, 0, 0 | 0, 0, 0, 100 | Black C | |
| White | #FFFFFF | 255, 255, 255 | 0, 0, 0, 0 | – |
A quick honesty note on white. It doesn’t carry a Pantone spec because, well, it’s the paper. And the black CMYK you’ll see floating around the web bounces between straight 0,0,0,100 and a heavier “rich black” mix. For jersey and print reproduction the flat process black holds up fine.
The Blackhawks Palette, Color by Color
The Red in the Blackhawks Palette
Red is the anchor. This is the color people mean when they say “Blackhawks red,” the one you can pick out of a crowded arena from the top row. The shade of red they landed on (#CF0A2C, PMS 186 C) fills the home sweater and does most of the heavy lifting inside the crest’s feathers and face detailing.
It wasn’t there at the start, though. The team ran black-and-white for its first decade. Red arrived with the 1935 colorization of the logo and never left.
The Black in the Blackhawks Palette
Black is the oldest color the team owns. Irene Castle’s 1926 design was a plain black circle with a white Native American profile inside, no red anywhere. These days black works as the outline color, the striping backbone, and the base of the alternate jersey when that one’s in rotation.
The White in the Blackhawks Palette
White handles the road jersey and, honestly, does a lot of quiet structural work you don’t notice. It’s the negative space in the crest, the stripe separators, the lettering. On the away sweater the stripes flip to an alternating black, red and white pattern instead of the home layout. Small thing, but it keeps both jerseys reading as the same team.
Uniform Colors: Home, Away and Alternate
Home: predominantly red, with three sets of black-and-white stripes along the sleeves and waist. The crest sits center front, tomahawk-cross “C” patches on each shoulder.
Away: white base, with alternating black, white and red striping. Same crest, same shoulder patches.
Alternate: the team has leaned on a mostly black third jersey at various points (1996 through 2007, then a return around 2008), though it hasn’t been a fixture in recent seasons. If you’re speccing merch, treat the black alternate as occasional, not core.
History and Rebranding
The Blackhawks (spelled “Black Hawks” as two words until 1986) have run since their 1926 founding by Major Frederic McLaughlin. He named them after the Blackhawk Division he served with in World War I.
His wife, silent-film star and dancer Irene Castle, sketched the first logo: a black-and-white Native head in a roundel. Color came in 1935, and the crest picked up detail and facelifts in 1938, 1941 and 1959. That 1959-era look is basically what the team wears today, and a 2017 NHL fan poll voted it the greatest uniform in league history.
The core red-black-white scheme has held steady across all six Stanley Cup wins (1934, 1938, 1961, 2010, 2013, 2015). For their 2019 Winter Classic throwback, they went all the way back to the 1926-27 black-and-white kit, a nice nod to where the whole thing started.
One thing worth naming directly: the crest and name have drawn sustained criticism from Native organizations and advocates, and that conversation is ongoing. Any brand work touching this identity should go in aware of it.
How to Use the Blackhawks Colors
Rule of thumb I stick to: HEX for anything on a screen, CMYK or Pantone for anything getting printed. So red goes out as #CF0A2C on web, and PMS 186 C at the print shop. Don’t eyedrop a HEX and hope the printer matches it, they won’t.
Here’s a copy-ready block for the three core colors:
“ :root { --blackhawks-red: #CF0A2C; --blackhawks-black: #000000; --blackhawks-white: #FFFFFF; } `
If your project also needs the crest’s secondary tones (the tomahawk cross uses yellow and green, the fuller logo palette adds orange, a warm gold and a deep navy blue), pull those separately rather than forcing them into the main three. They’re accent colors, not brand colors, and mixing the two roles is where a lot of fan-site palettes go sideways.
Relevant Resources
- Comparing the whole league? Start with the full NHL team color codes hub for every roster of hex values in one place.
- The Blackhawks’ old-school rival: Detroit Red Wings colors, another Original Six red-and-white identity.
- Their current divisional rival scheme: St. Louis Blues colors.
- Fellow Original Six palette worth a look: Toronto Maple Leafs colors.
- Building something around that primary hue? Browse a set of red color palettes for pairings that play well with a bold crimson.
FAQ on The Chicago Blackhawks Colors
What are the Chicago Blackhawks colors?
The official Chicago Blackhawks colors are red, black and white. Red (#CF0A2C) leads the palette, with black and white filling out the logo, uniforms and merchandise for this Original Six NHL team based in Chicago, Illinois.
What are the Chicago Blackhawks color codes in HEX and RGB?
Red is #CF0A2C, RGB 207, 10, 44. Black is #000000, RGB 0, 0, 0. White is #FFFFFF, RGB 255, 255, 255. These Blackhawks hex codes drive the team’s digital branding and web use.
What is the Chicago Blackhawks Pantone color?
The primary red matches Pantone PMS 186 C. Black maps to Pantone Black C. White carries no Pantone value. Use these PMS codes for print and jersey reproduction, since HEX values alone won’t match on a press.
When did the Chicago Blackhawks adopt their current colors?
The team ran black and white from its 1926 founding. Red joined in the 1935 logo colorization. The current red-black-white uniform look settled around 1959 and has held steady since, across every era of the franchise.
What is the primary color of the Chicago Blackhawks?
Red is the primary color. This is the shade fans call “Blackhawks red,” and it dominates the home jersey while filling the feathers and detailing inside the Indian head crest designed by Irene Castle.
Are the Chicago Blackhawks colors the same as the Detroit Red Wings?
Both Original Six teams run red and white, so they read similar at a glance. But the Blackhawks add black as a third core color and a busier multi-color crest, while the Red Wings palette stays cleaner.
How many colors are in the Chicago Blackhawks logo?
The core identity is three colors, but the full logo palette runs to six or more. The Indian head crest and tomahawk cross add orange, green, yellow, gold and a deep navy alongside the red, black and white.
What colors is the Blackhawks home jersey?
The home jersey is predominantly red, trimmed with three sets of black-and-white stripes on the sleeves and waist. The away sweater flips to white with alternating black, white and red striping instead.
Does the Chicago Blackhawks black alternate jersey use different colors?
No new brand colors. The black alternate leans on the same red-black-white scheme, just with black as the dominant base. The team wore versions of it on and off between the mid-1990s and around 2011.
What do the Chicago Blackhawks colors mean?
The palette ties back to the team’s crest rather than abstract symbolism. Red, black and white frame the profile, while the crest’s warmer tones nod to the feathered headdress. The scheme signals heritage more than a single emotion.
Conclusion
The Chicago Blackhawks colors come down to red, black and white, with #CF0A2C carrying the load across the team jerseys, crest and fan gear.
Keep the hex codes for screen work and the Pantone values (PMS 186 C for that red) for anything you send to print.
Beyond the core three, the Indian head logo hides a fuller palette of gold, green and navy, so grab those separately if a project needs them.
Almost a century on from Irene Castle’s 1926 design, this Original Six color scheme still reads as pure Chicago hockey.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008. Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients. His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8. He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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