The official Pittsburgh Penguins colors are black, Pittsburgh gold and white. The primary color is black (#000000), paired with Pittsburgh gold (#FFB81C) and white (#FFFFFF). These colors show up across the team’s logo, jerseys and merchandise, locked in since the 2016-17 rebrand that dropped Vegas gold.
Pittsburgh Penguins color codes (HEX, RGB, CMYK, Pantone)
Here’s the part most designers actually come for. Copy what you need.
| Color | Swatch | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | #000000 | 0, 0, 0 | 0, 0, 0, 100 | Black C | |
| Pittsburgh Gold | #FFB81C | 255, 184, 28 | 0, 28, 89, 0 | PMS 1235 C | |
| White | #FFFFFF | 255, 255, 255 | 0, 0, 0, 0 | N/A |
One honesty note. Black C and PMS 1235 C line up with the shades the team and the rest of Pittsburgh’s clubs use. White has no Pantone match because plain white doesn’t need one. If you need a print-exact match, confirm PMS 1235 C against your own proof, since gold shifts a lot depending on stock and coating.
The colors up close
Black in the Penguins palette
Black (#000000) is the anchor. It fills the home sweater, the away lettering and most of the negative space in the logo. The team didn’t start here, though. Pittsburgh only moved to black as a base shade in January 1980, switching over to match the Steelers and Pirates and give the whole city one look. Boston fought it. The Bruins argued black and gold was theirs alone, and the Penguins won the dispute by pointing to the 1920s Pittsburgh Pirates hockey club, which wore the combo first.
Gold in the Penguins palette
The current gold is the richer, deeper “Pittsburgh gold” (#FFB81C), not the paler metallic tone the team ran for years. This is the gold from the 1991 and 1992 Cup teams. It sits in the triangle behind the skating penguin, and that triangle is a nod to the Golden Triangle, the downtown wedge where the three rivers meet. Honestly, this shade is the whole reason fans pushed for the rebrand. The lighter version never felt like Pittsburgh.
White in the Penguins palette
White (#FFFFFF) does the quiet work. It’s the base of the road jersey and the breathing room around the black and gold, so nothing muddies up. Not glamorous, but pull it out and the logo falls apart.
Uniform colors: home, away, alternate
Home is black with Pittsburgh gold striping and white trim. Away flips to a white base with black and gold accents. Over the years the team has rolled out throwbacks and one-offs, including the fan-loved “Robo Pen” sweater and a Winter Classic set inspired by the old 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates hockey club. Those come and go. The black-gold-white core stays put.
Color history and the rebrand timeline
The Penguins didn’t always wear black and gold. Not even close.
When they debuted in 1967, the team skated in a powder blue and white kit, with darker striping. The road set leaned on a navy blue trim. Then came January 1980, and the full switch to black and gold to match the city’s other teams.
They won back-to-back Cups in 1991 and 1992 in that classic Pittsburgh gold. In 1992-93 the logo got the sharp, angular “flying penguin” redesign. Around 2000 the team introduced a lighter Vegas gold on an alternate, and by 2002-03 that shade had taken over full-time. Fans grumbled about it for more than a decade. In 2014-15 the old Pittsburgh gold returned as a third jersey, and at the start of the 50th season in 2016-17 the team made it official again, retiring Vegas gold for good. That’s the palette on the ice today.
Using the palette in your own work
For screen work, use the HEX or RGB straight from the table. For anything headed to print, hand your printer the CMYK or the Pantone values instead, because #FFB81C on a monitor and gold ink on paper are two different animals.
Here’s a drop-in CSS block so you’re not retyping hex codes at midnight:
“ :root { --pens-black: #000000; --pens-gold: #FFB81C; --pens-white: #FFFFFF; } `
If you’re building a fan page or a mock jersey, keep black as the workhorse and let the gold do the accent work. Gold-on-gold gets loud fast. Need ideas for pairing that tone with neighbors, warmer neutrals or a second accent? A run-through of gold-based palette combinations is a decent starting point.
Related resources
- See how this set fits the rest of the league on the full NHL team color codes hub.
- Go deeper on the crest itself in the Pittsburgh Penguins logo breakdown.
- Compare with a division rival’s scheme in the Philadelphia Flyers colors guide.
- Check another Metro club with the New Jersey Devils colors reference.
- Look at a bold red-and-black contrast in the Chicago Blackhawks colors page.
- Or a blue-heavy build with the Tampa Bay Lightning colors rundown.
FAQ on The Pittsburgh Penguins Colors
What are the Pittsburgh Penguins colors?
The Pittsburgh Penguins colors are black, Pittsburgh gold and white.
Black (#000000) leads, backed by Pittsburgh gold (#FFB81C) and white. This black and gold color scheme runs through the logo, jerseys and every piece of official team merchandise.
What are the Pittsburgh Penguins color codes (HEX and RGB)?
The Penguins color codes are black #000000, RGB (0, 0, 0); Pittsburgh gold #FFB81C, RGB (255, 184, 28); and white #FFFFFF, RGB (255, 255, 255).
Use these hex color values for web, app and digital work.
What is the Pittsburgh Penguins Pantone color?
The Penguins Pantone colors are Black C for black and PMS 1235 C for Pittsburgh gold. White carries no Pantone match.
These print codes line up with the same gold the Steelers and Pirates use.
When did the Penguins adopt their current colors?
Pittsburgh switched to black and gold in January 1980 to match the city’s other teams.
They returned to the deeper Pittsburgh gold in the 2016-17 season, their 50th, retiring the lighter Vegas gold worn from 2002 through 2016.
What is the primary color of the Pittsburgh Penguins?
Black is the primary color. It dominates the home jersey, fills most of the skating penguin logo and frames the gold triangle.
Pittsburgh gold is the main secondary, with white handling contrast throughout the palette.
Are the Penguins colors the same as the Boston Bruins?
Close, but not identical. Both the Penguins and Boston Bruins wear black and gold, which is exactly why Boston protested Pittsburgh’s 1980 switch.
The Bruins lean yellow-gold; Pittsburgh’s #FFB81C reads warmer and richer.
What is Pittsburgh gold versus Vegas gold?
Pittsburgh gold (#FFB81C) is the deeper athletic gold from the 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cup teams.
Vegas gold was a paler, metallic shade worn from 2002 to 2016, before fan pressure brought the classic tone back.
What colors are the Pittsburgh Penguins jersey?
The home jersey is black with Pittsburgh gold striping and white trim. The road version flips to white with black and gold accents.
Alternates and throwbacks shift, but that black-gold-white core stays fixed.
Conclusion
The Pittsburgh Penguins colors come down to three: black, Pittsburgh gold and white, carried across the crest, the home and away jerseys, and the merchandise.
Grab the hex, RGB, CMYK and Pantone codes from the table and you’re set for screen or print.
Remember the shade story too. The team chased down its Pittsburgh gold after the Vegas gold years, tying its look back to the Golden Triangle and the wider black and gold of Steel City.
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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