Five roles, not ten colours
- Ground: the background of almost everything, light or dark
- Text: one colour for body text, with enough contrast against the ground
- Accent: the one colour people remember you by, used sparingly
- Support: a muted relative of the accent, for surfaces and details
- Status: green, amber and red for yes, wait and error, and nothing else
Choose the accent first
The accent is the brand's signature. Pick one, test it against the ground, and check that text on it is readable. If you are torn between two, pick the one that sets you apart from your closest competitors.
Contrast is not optional
Text against background should have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1. That is not only accessibility; it is the difference between a page that looks professional and one that looks washed out. Check with a contrast tool before you decide.
Write down the rules
Where the accent goes and where it does not. Whether images are warm or cool. Whether gradients are allowed. Three to five sentences are enough, and those sentences are what let an AI make images and pages in the palette without guessing.
Use the palette in AI images
Give the model the colour codes and the roles: “ground #F4F1EA, accent #1D5C4A, muted and matte, no neon”. Then you get images that fit the rest, instead of default AI blue.
In Marshi
Build the palette with the free tool, from a color, an image or your website, and take it into Marshi. Images and pages Marshi makes can follow it. The brand check still reads type and a logo from a page.
