# The Linux Foundation

> `linux-foundation@1.0.0`

The Linux Foundation (LF) is a vendor-neutral 501(c)(6) home for the Linux kernel and an umbrella over a constellation of open-source ecosystems — Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), OpenJS, Open Mainframe Project, Hyperledger, Academy Software Foundation, OpenSSF, and many others. The brand voice is institutional and ecosystem-scaled: the Foundation does not market individual projects; it stewards the legal, infrastructure, and trademark layer beneath them. Visually, LF leans on a corporate deep-blue identity — LF Dark Blue (#003778) wordmark with a bright cyan-blue arc (#0094FF) — on a clean white canvas.


**Tags:** `linux-foundation`, `lf`, `foundation`, `open-source`, `brand`, `blue`, `institutional`

## Atoms

### Palette

**The Linux Foundation** · `linux-foundation@1.0.0` · Proprietary — All Rights Reserved

> The Linux Foundation brand palette is anchored on a deep corporate blue scale — LF Dark Blue (#003778), LF Darker Blue (#003764), and LF Bright Blue (#0094FF) — captured directly from the resolved fills of the official LF stacked-color logo distributed via linuxfoundation.org. The Foundation's brand voice is institutional and ecosystem-scaled: stewardship of Linux, Kubernetes, CNCF, OpenJS, and dozens of other industry-spanning open-source projects. 

### Fonts

| Role | Font | License | Classification |
|------|------|---------|----------------|
| `heading` | **Inter** `(inter@1.0.0)` | OFL-1.1 | sans-serif |
| `body` | **Inter** `(inter@1.0.0)` | OFL-1.1 | sans-serif |
| `mono` | **Source Code Pro** `(source-code-pro@1.0.0)` | OFL-1.1 | monospace |

## Swatches

| ID | Name | Value |
|----|------|-------|
| `lf-dark-blue` | LF Dark Blue | `#003778` |
| `lf-darker-blue` | LF Darker Blue | `#003764` |
| `lf-bright-blue` | LF Bright Blue | `#0094FF` |
| `lf-blue-hover` | LF Blue Hover | `#005FB8` |
| `lf-black` | LF Black | `#0B1320` |
| `lf-charcoal` | LF Charcoal | `#1A2434` |
| `lf-gray` | LF Gray | `#5D6573` |
| `lf-light-gray` | LF Light Gray | `#D6DAE0` |
| `lf-off-white` | LF Off-White | `#F4F5F7` |
| `lf-white` | LF White | `#FFFFFF` |
| `lf-warning` | LF Warning Amber | `#E0A100` |
| `lf-error` | LF Error Red | `#C03030` |

## Mode role mappings

### Light mode

| Role | Swatch | Hex |
|------|--------|-----|
| `background` | `lf-white` | `#FFFFFF` |
| `surface` | `lf-off-white` | `#F4F5F7` |
| `surface-elevated` | `lf-white` | `#FFFFFF` |
| `text-primary` | `lf-dark-blue` | `#003778` |
| `text-secondary` | `lf-gray` | `#5D6573` |
| `text-tertiary` | `lf-blue-hover` | `#005FB8` |
| `primary` | `lf-dark-blue` | `#003778` |
| `primary-hover` | `lf-darker-blue` | `#003764` |
| `accent` | `lf-bright-blue` | `#0094FF` |
| `accent-hover` | `lf-blue-hover` | `#005FB8` |
| `warning` | `lf-warning` | `#E0A100` |
| `warning-hover` | `lf-bright-blue` | `#0094FF` |
| `error` | `lf-error` | `#C03030` |
| `success` | `lf-bright-blue` | `#0094FF` |
| `border` | `lf-light-gray` | `#D6DAE0` |

### Dark mode

| Role | Swatch | Hex |
|------|--------|-----|
| `background` | `lf-black` | `#0B1320` |
| `surface` | `lf-charcoal` | `#1A2434` |
| `surface-elevated` | `lf-charcoal` | `#1A2434` |
| `text-primary` | `lf-white` | `#FFFFFF` |
| `text-secondary` | `lf-light-gray` | `#D6DAE0` |
| `text-tertiary` | `lf-bright-blue` | `#0094FF` |
| `primary` | `lf-bright-blue` | `#0094FF` |
| `primary-hover` | `lf-blue-hover` | `#005FB8` |
| `accent` | `lf-bright-blue` | `#0094FF` |
| `accent-hover` | `lf-blue-hover` | `#005FB8` |
| `warning` | `lf-warning` | `#E0A100` |
| `warning-hover` | `lf-bright-blue` | `#0094FF` |
| `error` | `lf-error` | `#C03030` |
| `success` | `lf-bright-blue` | `#0094FF` |
| `border` | `lf-gray` | `#5D6573` |

## Brand semantic roles

### Colors

| Role | Swatch | Hex |
|------|--------|-----|
| `identity` | `lf-dark-blue` | `#003778` |
| `on-identity` | `lf-white` | `#FFFFFF` |
| `primary` | `lf-dark-blue` | `#003778` |
| `primary-hover` | `lf-darker-blue` | `#003764` |
| `accent` | `lf-bright-blue` | `#0094FF` |
| `accent-hover` | `lf-blue-hover` | `#005FB8` |
| `mark` | `lf-dark-blue` | `#003778` |
| `background` | `lf-white` | `#FFFFFF` |
| `surface` | `lf-off-white` | `#F4F5F7` |
| `text-primary` | `lf-dark-blue` | `#003778` |
| `text-secondary` | `lf-gray` | `#5D6573` |
| `warning` | `lf-warning` | `#E0A100` |
| `error` | `lf-error` | `#C03030` |
| `success` | `lf-bright-blue` | `#0094FF` |
| `border` | `lf-light-gray` | `#D6DAE0` |

### Typography

| Role | Font role key |
|------|---------------|
| `display` | `heading` |
| `prose` | `body` |
| `code` | `mono` |

## Rules

### 🛑 error (5)

#### `forbiddenTreatment` → `logo`

- **treatments:** recolored, rotated, stretched, skewed, drop-shadow, combined-with-other-mark, hyphenated, abbreviated, displayed-in-parts, elements-superimposed

> The Linux Foundation Trademark Usage Guidelines forbid color variations on the LF logos, design-element modifications, scale changes, and combining the LF mark with any other mark, hyphenation, abbreviation, or partial display. Recoloring, rotation, drop-shadows, and superimposed elements all fall within the policy's explicit prohibitions. 

#### `colorChoice` → `roles.colors.identity`

- **allowed:** lf-dark-blue, lf-bright-blue
- **forbidden:** lf-gray, lf-warning, lf-error

> The Linux Foundation identity is the LF Dark Blue wordmark with the LF Bright Blue accent arc. Substituting the gray, amber, or red supporting hues for the brand identity color conflicts with the policy's color-variation prohibition. 

#### `contextRestriction` → `trademark.use`

- **forbiddenContexts:** verb-form, noun-form, pluralized, possessive, domain-name, product-name, more-prominent-than-host-brand, implied-endorsement, unauthorized-certification-claim, book-magazine-cover-without-permission

> Per the LF Trademark Usage Guidelines: "A trademark should never be used as a verb or noun. A trademark should be used only as an adjective followed by the generic name/noun." LF marks cannot be pluralized, used possessively, incorporated into domain names or product names, displayed more prominently than the host brand, used to claim certification, or appear on commercial book/magazine covers without permission. 

#### `contrastRatio` → `text-primary`

- **against:** `background`
- **minRatio:** `7`
- **standard:** `WCAG-AAA`

> LF Dark Blue (#003778) on LF White exceeds 12:1 — clears WCAG AAA decisively. The Foundation's policy and governance documentation surfaces benefit from AAA-grade legibility. 

#### `accessibilityRequirement` → `*`

- **standard:** `WCAG-AA`
- **criterion:** `1.4.3`

> WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast Minimum) — Level AA. The Linux Foundation's role as a public steward of open-source infrastructure makes broad accessibility a load-bearing brand attribute. 

### ⚠️ warning (1)

#### `contrastRatio` → `roles.colors.accent`

- **against:** `background`
- **minRatio:** `3`
- **standard:** `WCAG-AA-large`

> LF Bright Blue (#0094FF) on White sits around 3.3:1 — clears AA-large for headlines and accent surfaces but does NOT clear AA for body text. Reserve the bright-blue accent for headings, callouts, and the arc graphic; use LF Dark Blue (#003778) or LF Darker Blue (#003764) for small-text foreground. 

### 💡 recommendation (2)

#### `fontPairing` → `typography.heading`

- **requires:** `body`
- **minSizeRatio:** `1.5`

> LF documentation surfaces use a single humanist sans for heading and body. Maintain at least a 1.5× heading-to-body ratio to preserve hierarchy on long-form governance documents, member directories, and announcement pages. 

#### `compositionConstraint` → `roles.colors.primary`

- **pairsWith:** lf-white, lf-off-white, lf-bright-blue
- **doesNotPairWith:** lf-warning, lf-error

> LF Dark Blue reads cleanest on the white canvas with the LF Bright Blue arc as accent. Placing it adjacent to the warning amber or error red introduces chromatic tension that undermines the institutional voice — those status hues are for advisories, not for compositions with the brand identity. 

## Provenance

- **Source:** <https://www.linuxfoundation.org/legal/trademark-usage>
- **License:** `Proprietary — All Rights Reserved`
- **Attribution:** The Linux Foundation, the Linux Foundation logo, "Linux", and associated marks are trademarks of The Linux Foundation (or, in the case of "Linux", licensed via the Linux Mark Institute on behalf of Linus Torvalds). Brand-atoms' encoding draws from the LF Trademark Usage Guidelines at linuxfoundation.org/legal/trademark-usage and the canonical fill values resolved from the official LF stacked-color SVG at linuxfoundation.org/hubfs/lf-stacked-color.svg. 
- **Imported:** `2026-05-19`
- **Notes:** The LF Trademark Usage Guidelines establish the rules encoded below. Per that policy, the LF marks (1) must be used only as an adjective followed by a generic noun, never as a verb or pluralized form, (2) cannot be altered, combined with other marks, hyphenated, abbreviated, or displayed in parts, (3) cannot be used as domain names or in product names, (4) cannot appear more prominently than the user's own brand, and (5) require the registered ® or ™ symbol on first use per the registration status of the specific mark. The Foundation does not publish formal hex values; #003778 / #003764 / #0094FF are the resolved fills in the official stacked-color SVG. 

---

*Generated by the brand-atoms converter. Source: `linux-foundation@1.0.0` from the encyclopedia.*