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Espresso and caramel: a dark-roast palette that photographs latte art beautifully.

Slate green with chalk cream and a coral — nostalgic without being twee.

Rust, pine and sun — high-visibility earth tones that read at a distance and on a trail sign.

Champagne gold on ink-navy with a violet undertone — hotels and spirits use it because it reads expensive at any size.

Flame orange on charcoal — the sports and energy palette; one accent yellow for stats and highlights.

Amber and oxblood on smoky brown — a fireside dark mode that photographs whisky, leather and wool.

Blackberry and bark with a wheat highlight on a plum-black surface — late-autumn, quiet, slightly gothic.

Terracotta, stone and olive on linen — the earth-tone default for ceramics, skincare and anything hand-made.

Fired clay and ash on a dark umber — the earthy dark mode; warm enough that the dark surface reads as material, not void.

Sepia, faded ochre and a teal shadow on aged paper — the photograph-in-a-drawer palette, tuned so it still passes AA.

Tangerine, teal and mustard on cream — the 1960s lounge trio, one of the few retro palettes with real hue contrast.

Ink-black and ribbon-red on manila — the correspondence palette; all the vintage comes from the paper colour.

Cranberry, pine and brass on a charcoal night — the holiday palette without the clichés, because the surface is cold.