diff --git a/badge-maker/lib/make-badge.js b/badge-maker/lib/make-badge.js
index 5bd9aa4bf9..78f83d5838 100644
--- a/badge-maker/lib/make-badge.js
+++ b/badge-maker/lib/make-badge.js
@@ -23,17 +23,16 @@ module.exports = function makeBadge({
 
   const [label, message] = text
 
-  color = normalizeColor(color)
-  labelColor = normalizeColor(labelColor)
-
   // This ought to be the responsibility of the server, not `makeBadge`.
   if (format === 'json') {
     return JSON.stringify({
       label,
       message,
       logoWidth,
-      color,
-      labelColor,
+      // Only call normalizeColor for the JSON case: this is handled
+      // internally by toSvgColor in the SVG case.
+      color: normalizeColor(color),
+      labelColor: normalizeColor(labelColor),
       link: links,
       name: label,
       value: message,