# ProPublica

> `propublica@1.0.0`

ProPublica is the nonprofit, independent investigative newsroom founded 2007 — winner of nine Pulitzer Prizes for journalism that "exposes abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust." The visual identity is restrained and authority-led: a warm-white canvas (#F2F1ED), warm-black body ink (#111110), a single saturated investigative red (#D92D03) as the call-to-action accent, and a quiet warm-gray scale for meta. The proprietary Feature Headline (display serif) and Tiempos Text (serif body) — paired with Brut Grotesque (sans) — carry the long-form investigative voice.


**Tags:** `propublica`, `news`, `journalism`, `nonprofit`, `investigative`, `brand`, `red`, `paper`, `light-first`

## Atoms

### Palette

**ProPublica** · `propublica@1.0.0` · Proprietary — All Rights Reserved

> The ProPublica palette as deployed on propublica.org. The Pulitzer-winning investigative nonprofit newsroom's identity is built on a quiet warm-white canvas (#F2F1ED), a warm near-black ink (#111110) for body content, and a saturated investigative red (#D92D03) used as the call-to-action and promo accent. The proprietary Feature Headline (serif display) and Tiempos Text (serif body) typefaces — paired with Brut Grotesque (sans) — carry the long-form investigative voice. 

### Fonts

| Role | Font | License | Classification |
|------|------|---------|----------------|
| `heading` | **Playfair Display** `(playfair-display@1.0.0)` | OFL-1.1 | serif |
| `body` | **Lora** `(lora@1.0.0)` | OFL-1.1 | serif |
| `sans` | **Inter** `(inter@1.0.0)` | OFL-1.1 | sans-serif |
| `mono` | **JetBrainsMono Nerd Font** `(jetbrainsmono-nerdfont@1.0.0)` | OFL-1.1 | monospace |

## Swatches

| ID | Name | Value |
|----|------|-------|
| `warm-black` | Warm Black | `#111110` |
| `black` | Black | `#000000` |
| `warm-white` | Warm White | `#F2F1ED` |
| `white` | White | `#FFFFFF` |
| `investigative-red` | Investigative Red | `#D92D03` |
| `investigative-red-deep` | Investigative Red Deep | `#A00000` |
| `theme-blue` | Theme Blue | `#304154` |
| `gray-warm` | Gray Warm | `#5A5A5A` |
| `gray-medium` | Gray Medium | `#727272` |
| `gray-quiet` | Gray Quiet | `#979797` |
| `gray-border` | Gray Border | `#C7C7C7` |
| `gray-divider` | Gray Divider | `#DFDFDF` |
| `gray-tint` | Gray Tint | `#EBEBEB` |

## Mode role mappings

### Light mode

| Role | Swatch | Hex |
|------|--------|-----|
| `background` | `warm-white` | `#F2F1ED` |
| `surface` | `gray-tint` | `#EBEBEB` |
| `surface-elevated` | `white` | `#FFFFFF` |
| `text-primary` | `warm-black` | `#111110` |
| `text-secondary` | `gray-warm` | `#5A5A5A` |
| `text-tertiary` | `gray-medium` | `#727272` |
| `primary` | `investigative-red` | `#D92D03` |
| `primary-hover` | `investigative-red-deep` | `#A00000` |
| `accent` | `investigative-red` | `#D92D03` |
| `accent-hover` | `investigative-red-deep` | `#A00000` |
| `error` | `investigative-red-deep` | `#A00000` |
| `border` | `gray-divider` | `#DFDFDF` |

### Dark mode

| Role | Swatch | Hex |
|------|--------|-----|
| `background` | `warm-black` | `#111110` |
| `surface` | `theme-blue` | `#304154` |
| `surface-elevated` | `gray-warm` | `#5A5A5A` |
| `text-primary` | `warm-white` | `#F2F1ED` |
| `text-secondary` | `gray-divider` | `#DFDFDF` |
| `text-tertiary` | `gray-border` | `#C7C7C7` |
| `primary` | `investigative-red` | `#D92D03` |
| `primary-hover` | `investigative-red-deep` | `#A00000` |
| `accent` | `investigative-red` | `#D92D03` |
| `accent-hover` | `investigative-red-deep` | `#A00000` |
| `error` | `investigative-red` | `#D92D03` |
| `border` | `gray-warm` | `#5A5A5A` |

## Brand semantic roles

### Colors

| Role | Swatch | Hex |
|------|--------|-----|
| `identity` | `warm-white` | `#F2F1ED` |
| `on-identity` | `warm-black` | `#111110` |
| `primary` | `investigative-red` | `#D92D03` |
| `primary-hover` | `investigative-red-deep` | `#A00000` |
| `accent` | `investigative-red` | `#D92D03` |
| `accent-hover` | `investigative-red-deep` | `#A00000` |
| `mark` | `warm-black` | `#111110` |
| `error` | `investigative-red-deep` | `#A00000` |
| `text-primary-light` | `warm-black` | `#111110` |
| `text-primary-dark` | `warm-white` | `#F2F1ED` |
| `background-light` | `warm-white` | `#F2F1ED` |
| `background-dark` | `warm-black` | `#111110` |
| `surface-light` | `gray-tint` | `#EBEBEB` |
| `surface-dark` | `theme-blue` | `#304154` |
| `text-secondary-light` | `gray-warm` | `#5A5A5A` |
| `text-tertiary-light` | `gray-medium` | `#727272` |
| `border-light` | `gray-divider` | `#DFDFDF` |

### Typography

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

## Rules

### 🛑 error (5)

#### `contrastRatio` → `text-primary`

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

> Warm Black (#111110) on warm white (#F2F1ED) gives ~16:1 — past AAA. ProPublica's investigative-feature format involves long article sessions and dense data tables; the enhanced contrast target supports that reading posture and the newsroom's commitment to accessibility. 

#### `colorChoice` → `roles.colors.accent`

- **allowed:** investigative-red, investigative-red-deep
- **forbidden:** theme-blue, gray-warm, black

> ProPublica's accent palette is intentionally minimal — a single investigative red carries CTA and emphasis semantics. Substituting the theme-blue or any gray for the accent would conflate the newsroom's deliberate monochrome-with-red voice with chrome colors. 

#### `contextRestriction` → `roles.colors.primary`

- **forbiddenContexts:** default-link, body-text
- **allowedContexts:** cta, donate, editorial-emphasis, feature-callout, support-button

> The investigative red is reserved for high-emphasis surfaces — the "Donate" / "Support" CTAs, feature callouts, and editorial bridges. Using it as the in-copy link color would dilute the high-signal weight the newsroom assigns to this color in --promo-banner tokens. 

#### `fontPairing` → `typography.display`

- **requires:** `prose`
- **minSizeRatio:** `1.5`

> ProPublica pairs Feature Headline (a tall display serif) with Tiempos Text for body prose at a clear size step. The display-to-prose hierarchy is part of the investigative-feature page identity; a 1.5× minimum ratio preserves it when open-source substitutes (Playfair Display, Lora) stand in. 

#### `forbiddenTreatment` → `logo`

- **treatments:** stretched, rotated, recolored, drop-shadow, gradient-fill, on-busy-photo

> The ProPublica wordmark is a restrained, type-led mark consistent with the newsroom's investigative-authority voice. Recoloring, stretching, rotating, or applying gradients conflicts with the brand's editorial discipline. 

### ⚠️ warning (2)

#### `accessibilityRequirement` → `*`

- **standard:** `WCAG-AAA`
- **criterion:** `1.4.6`

> WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.4.6 (Contrast Enhanced) — Level AAA. ProPublica's mission of producing journalism "in the public interest" includes universal access; the AAA target is the natural expression of that mission in the design tokens. 

#### `enumMembership` → `typography.body.fontStyle`

- **allowed:** normal, italic
- **forbidden:** oblique

> Tiempos Text ships true italics as a separate face — the Klim Type Foundry license includes the italic cut. Synthetic oblique skews are forbidden, both for the proprietary face and for the Lora substitute. 

### 💡 recommendation (1)

#### `compositionConstraint` → `roles.colors.accent`

- **pairsWith:** warm-white, white, warm-black
- **doesNotPairWith:** theme-blue, gray-warm

> Investigative red reads cleanest on the warm-white canvas or against warm-black ink. Placing it adjacent to the theme-blue or gray-warm surfaces collapses the monochrome-with-red hierarchy that defines the brand's visual restraint. 

## Provenance

- **Source:** <https://www.propublica.org/>
- **License:** `Proprietary — All Rights Reserved`
- **Attribution:** ProPublica, Inc. — visual identity captured from the deployed concatenated WordPress stylesheet at propublica.org/_static/. ProPublica, the Feature Headline / Tiempos Text / Brut Grotesque typefaces are property of ProPublica, Inc. (or their licensors, e.g., Klim Type Foundry for Tiempos). 
- **Imported:** `2026-05-19`
- **Notes:** Derived from live site CSS at https://www.propublica.org/ on 2026-05-19; no public brand guide located. The propublica-2026 theme exposes --p-color-* and --p-fonts-* custom properties in the concatenated stylesheet. Tiempos Text is licensed from Klim Type Foundry; Feature Headline and Brut Grotesque are the newsroom's proprietary cuts. Open-source substitutes — lora@1 for body prose, playfair-display@1 for the display serif role, inter@1 for sans — are referenced from the brand atom. 

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