Brand gradient

Abstract gradient

The gradient Abstract'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.

Extracted
Version
3
Verified from the live site at abstract.com on 2 September 2026 (version 3).
Abstract
white text · worst 2.89:1 · fails
white 2.89 failsblack 1.14 failsbanding medium

Hero and button

Aa

Hero background

Open in maker →

Chroma ×0.35 so it can carry text; ink white (inkFor at the midpoint). L shifted −0.13 until the ink passes AA at the worst point (4.54:1).

white 4.54 AAblack 1.01 failsbanding medium
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #010101 0%, #9d6a53 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#010101] to-[#9d6a53]
Aa

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. White ink passes AA on the surface and both states (worst 15.52:1).

white 16.86 AAblack 1.07 failsbanding high
Get started
hover
active
label ink passes AA on all three
css
linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #1d1d1d 0%, #0b0b0b 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-b/oklch from-[#1d1d1d] to-[#0b0b0b]

Variants

Aa
white 10.37 AAblack 1.00 failsbanding high
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #404040 0%, #141414 50%, #000000 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#404040] via-[#141414] to-[#000000]
Aa

Primary #141414 is achromatic — harmony rotates #ff6900 instead. Partner hue from the analogous rule at the source colour's lightness.

white 2.88 failsblack 7.15 AAbanding high
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #ff6900 0%, #ff5f78 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#ff6900] to-[#ff5f78]
Aa

Complementary

Open in maker →

Primary #141414 is achromatic — harmony rotates #ff6900 instead. 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 2.41 failsblack 7.27 AAbanding medium
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #ff6900 0%, #00afdb 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#ff6900] to-[#00afdb]
Aa

Primary #141414 is achromatic — harmony rotates #ff6900 instead. Partner hue from the triadic rule at the source colour's lightness.

white 2.50 failsblack 7.27 AAbanding medium
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #ff6900 0%, #00ba86 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#ff6900] to-[#00ba86]

Report — brand gradient

  • white ink: worst 2.89:1 at 100% (fails AA); black ink: worst 1.14:1 at 0% (fails AA) → use white 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 medium: ~6px bands at 1440px — add grain 11 (≈1% 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 2.89:1, black 1.14:1 */
  --brand-gradient: linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #141414 0%, #ff6900 100%);
  /* hero — worst-case contrast: white 4.54:1 AA, black 1.01:1; ink passes AA at the worst point */
  --brand-gradient-hero: linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #010101 0%, #9d6a53 100%);
  --brand-gradient-hero-ink: #ffffff;
  /* button — worst-case contrast: white 16.86:1 AA, black 1.07:1 */
  --brand-gradient-button: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #1d1d1d 0%, #0b0b0b 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-hover: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #242424 0%, #121212 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-active: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #161616 0%, #060606 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-ink: #ffffff;
}
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="#141414"/><stop offset="7.14%" stop-color="#221a17"/><stop offset="14.29%" stop-color="#312019"/><stop offset="21.43%" stop-color="#40271b"/><stop offset="28.57%" stop-color="#502d1d"/><stop offset="35.71%" stop-color="#60331e"/><stop offset="42.86%" stop-color="#70391f"/><stop offset="50%" stop-color="#813f1f"/><stop offset="57.14%" stop-color="#92451f"/><stop offset="64.29%" stop-color="#a34b1e"/><stop offset="71.43%" stop-color="#b5511c"/><stop offset="78.57%" stop-color="#c75719"/><stop offset="85.71%" stop-color="#d95d15"/><stop offset="92.86%" stop-color="#ec630d"/><stop offset="100%" stop-color="#ff6900"/></linearGradient></defs><rect width="1440" height="600" fill="url(#bs-gradient)"/></svg>
dtcg · tokens.json
{
  "gradient": {
    "brand": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.078,
              0.078,
              0.078
            ],
            "hex": "#141414"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              1,
              0.412,
              0
            ],
            "hex": "#ff6900"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #141414 0%, #ff6900 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklab",
          "angle": 135,
          "name": "brand",
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 2.888,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 1.14,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "The canonical brand gradient (--brand-gradient)."
    },
    "hero": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.004,
              0.004,
              0.004
            ],
            "hex": "#010101"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.616,
              0.416,
              0.325
            ],
            "hex": "#9d6a53"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #010101 0%, #9d6a53 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklab",
          "angle": 135,
          "name": "hero",
          "ink": "#ffffff",
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 4.545,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 1.006,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "Low-chroma hero background with a text-safe ink (--brand-gradient-hero)."
    },
    "button": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.114,
              0.114,
              0.114
            ],
            "hex": "#1d1d1d"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.043,
              0.043,
              0.043
            ],
            "hex": "#0b0b0b"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #1d1d1d 0%, #0b0b0b 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklch",
          "hue": "shorter",
          "angle": 180,
          "name": "button",
          "ink": "#ffffff",
          "states": {
            "hover": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #242424 0%, #121212 100%)",
            "active": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #161616 0%, #060606 100%)"
          },
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 16.858,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 1.067,
              "at": 0.9841,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "Button / CTA surface with hover and active states (--brand-gradient-button)."
    }
  }
}

Colours

mcpConnect your agent — Abstract'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 abstract-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.

Abstract 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 Abstract. Owner of this brand? Request a correction or removal → Machine-readable: gradients.md