Brand gradient

3M gradient

The gradient 3M's published colour tokens imply, derived by a pure function of the palette: primary → secondary in OKLab (OKLCH shorter hue when the hues are more than 140° apart; a tonal ramp when they are within ΔE 0.15), then a hero background with an ink that passes AA at the worst point along the line, a button surface with hover and active states, and the variant contact sheet. Same inputs, same gradients, forever — which is what makes them citable; the same values are served as --brand-gradient in the brand's brand.css.

#ff0000 #c80000 #0033cc

Open in the maker 3M colors →Full brand page →industrial

Source: 3m.com
Extracted: 2 September 2026
Version: 4

black text · worst 2.69:1 · fails

white 1.99 failsblack 2.69 failsbanding high

Hero and button

Hero background

Open in maker →

Chroma ×0.35 so it can carry text; ink white (inkFor at the midpoint). L shifted −0.23 until the ink passes AA at the worst point (4.55:1).

white 4.55 AAblack 1.18 failsbanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #906e67 0%, #742e24 50%, #34060b 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#906e67] via-[#742e24] to-[#34060b]

Button / CTA

Open in maker →

ΔL 0.08 top→bottom in the primary's hue (a lit surface, not a rainbow); hover L +0.03, active L −0.03. L shifted −0.09 so white ink gets as close as the ±0.1 bound allows to AA on the surface and both states (worst 4.24:1). Ink is below AA (4.24:1 at the worst point) — use it for large text only, or pick a darker/lighter primary for buttons.

white 4.60 AAblack 3.29 AA largebanding high

Get started

hover

active

label ink below AA — large text only

css

linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #ec0000 0%, #c20000 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-b/oklch from-[#ec0000] to-[#c20000]

Variants

Tonal ramp

Open in maker →

white 1.99 failsblack 2.69 failsbanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #ff9e8e 0%, #ff0000 50%, #a90000 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#ff9e8e] via-[#ff0000] to-[#a90000]

Analogous

Open in maker →

Partner hue from the analogous rule at the source colour's lightness.

white 3.98 AA largeblack 5.17 AAbanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #ff0000 0%, #f40084 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#ff0000] to-[#f40084]

Complementary

Open in maker →

Partner hue from the complementary rule at the source colour's lightness. ΔH 180° > 140° — interpolating in oklch (shorter hue) keeps the midpoint saturated.

white 3.36 AA largeblack 5.23 AAbanding medium

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #ff0000 0%, #009aac 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#ff0000] to-[#009aac]

Triadic

Open in maker →

Partner hue from the triadic rule at the source colour's lightness.

white 3.27 AA largeblack 5.24 AAbanding medium

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #ff0000 0%, #00a447 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#ff0000] to-[#00a447]

Report — brand gradient

white ink: worst 1.99:1 at 0% (fails AA); black ink: worst 2.69:1 at 100% (fails AA) → use black text.
Neither ink passes AA at the worst point — treat as decorative or add a scrim (rgba(0,0,0,.35) typically lifts white ink past 4:1).
Banding high: ~8px bands at 1440px — add grain 17 (≈2% soft-light noise) or shorten the ramp.

Export

The custom properties below are byte-identical to the gradient block in brand.css; the DTCG token is what tokens.json carries.

css custom properties · brand.css

:root {
  /* Brand gradient (derived) */
  /* worst-case contrast: white 1.99:1, black 2.69:1 */
  --brand-gradient: linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #ff9e8e 0%, #ff0000 50%, #a90000 100%);
  /* hero — worst-case contrast: white 4.55:1 AA, black 1.18:1; ink passes AA at the worst point */
  --brand-gradient-hero: linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #906e67 0%, #742e24 50%, #34060b 100%);
  --brand-gradient-hero-ink: #ffffff;
  /* button — worst-case contrast: white 4.60:1 AA, black 3.29:1 AA-large */
  --brand-gradient-button: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #ec0000 0%, #c20000 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-hover: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #f70000 0%, #d20000 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-active: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #dc0000 0%, #b30000 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-ink: #ffffff;
  /* button ink: 4.2:1 — below AA */
}

svg · brand gradient

<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="1440" height="600" viewBox="0 0 1440 600"><defs><linearGradient id="bs-gradient" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x1="210" y1="-210" x2="1230" y2="810"><stop offset="0%" stop-color="#ff9e8e"/><stop offset="3.57%" stop-color="#ff9786"/><stop offset="7.14%" stop-color="#ff907f"/><stop offset="10.71%" stop-color="#ff8977"/><stop offset="14.29%" stop-color="#ff826f"/><stop offset="17.86%" stop-color="#ff7a67"/><stop offset="21.43%" stop-color="#ff725f"/><stop offset="25%" stop-color="#ff6a57"/><stop offset="28.57%" stop-color="#ff614f"/><stop offset="32.14%" stop-color="#ff5846"/><stop offset="35.71%" stop-color="#ff4e3d"/><stop offset="39.29%" stop-color="#ff4333"/><stop offset="42.86%" stop-color="#ff3527"/><stop offset="46.43%" stop-color="#ff2419"/><stop offset="50%" stop-color="#ff0000"/><stop offset="53.57%" stop-color="#f90000"/><stop offset="57.14%" stop-color="#f20000"/><stop offset="60.71%" stop-color="#ec0000"/><stop offset="64.29%" stop-color="#e60000"/><stop offset="67.86%" stop-color="#e00000"/><stop offset="71.43%" stop-color="#d90000"/><stop offset="75%" stop-color="#d30000"/><stop offset="78.57%" stop-color="#cd0000"/><stop offset="82.14%" stop-color="#c70000"/><stop offset="85.71%" stop-color="#c10000"/><stop offset="89.29%" stop-color="#bb0000"/><stop offset="92.86%" stop-color="#b50000"/><stop offset="96.43%" stop-color="#af0000"/><stop offset="100%" stop-color="#a90000"/></linearGradient></defs><rect width="1440" height="600" fill="url(#bs-gradient)"/></svg>

dtcg · tokens.json

{
  "gradient": {
    "brand": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              1,
              0.62,
              0.557
            ],
            "hex": "#ff9e8e"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              1,
              0,
              0
            ],
            "hex": "#ff0000"
          },
          "position": 0.5
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.663,
              0,
              0
            ],
            "hex": "#a90000"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #ff9e8e 0%, #ff0000 50%, #a90000 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklch",
          "hue": "shorter",
          "angle": 135,
          "name": "brand",
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 1.994,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 2.687,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#000000"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "The canonical brand gradient (--brand-gradient)."
    },
    "hero": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.565,
              0.431,
              0.404
            ],
            "hex": "#906e67"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.455,
              0.18,
              0.141
            ],
            "hex": "#742e24"
          },
          "position": 0.5
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.204,
              0.024,
              0.043
            ],
            "hex": "#34060b"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #906e67 0%, #742e24 50%, #34060b 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklch",
          "hue": "shorter",
          "angle": 135,
          "name": "hero",
          "ink": "#ffffff",
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 4.553,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 1.177,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "Low-chroma hero background with a text-safe ink (--brand-gradient-hero)."
    },
    "button": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.925,
              0,
              0
            ],
            "hex": "#ec0000"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.761,
              0,
              0
            ],
            "hex": "#c20000"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #ec0000 0%, #c20000 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklch",
          "hue": "shorter",
          "angle": 180,
          "name": "button",
          "ink": "#ffffff",
          "states": {
            "hover": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #f70000 0%, #d20000 100%)",
            "active": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #dc0000 0%, #b30000 100%)"
          },
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 4.599,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 3.294,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "Button / CTA surface with hover and active states (--brand-gradient-button)."
    }
  }
}

Colours

#ff0000 #c80000 #0033cc

mcpConnect your agent — 3M's gradients on demand

live endpoint

Point any MCP client at the shared gradients endpoint and your agent gets the same engine as this page — make_gradient returns CSS with the interpolation space, Tailwind v4, SVG, a PNG URL, a DTCG token and the contrast report in one call; brand_gradients derives the whole contact sheet from a brand or a palette. Read-only, no key. Every gradient is a /gradients/new/… link: open it, refine, paste it back.

endpointhttps://mcp.brandsweets.com/gradients/mcp

claude mcp add --transport http brandsweets-gradients https://mcp.brandsweets.com/gradients/mcp

try this prompt

›brand_gradients for 3m-com — give me the hero CSS and the ink that passes AA, then a version in oklch

Want the agent to remember your picks and write them into a living brand? Create a free BrandSweets workspace.

3M and its marks belong to their owner. This page uses the name nominatively to describe gradients derived from the brand's published colour values; it does not reproduce logos or other brand assets, and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by 3M. Owner of this brand? Request a correction or removal → Machine-readable: gradients.md