Brand gradient

Astro gradient

The gradient Astro'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
6
Verified from the live site at astro.build on 3 September 2026 (version 6).
Astro
black text · worst 4.63:1 · AA
white 2.15 failsblack 4.63 AAbanding high

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 −0.20 until the ink passes AA at the worst point (4.65:1).

white 4.65 AAblack 1.89 failsbanding medium
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #263d57 0%, #597890 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#263d57] to-[#597890]
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. L shifted −0.08 so white ink passes AA on the surface and both states (worst 4.72:1).

white 5.36 AAblack 2.77 failsbanding high
Get started
hover
active
label ink passes AA on all three
css
linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #236cb9 0%, #00549f 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-b/oklch from-[#236cb9] to-[#00549f]

Variants

Aa
white 2.27 failsblack 2.16 failsbanding high
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #69b0ff 0%, #3178c6 50%, #00428c 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#69b0ff] via-[#3178c6] to-[#00428c]
Aa

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

white 4.39 AA largeblack 4.61 AAbanding high
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #3178c6 0%, #35819b 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#3178c6] to-[#35819b]
Aa

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 4.11 AA largeblack 4.54 AAbanding high
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #3178c6 0%, #986d2f 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#3178c6] to-[#986d2f]
Aa

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

white 4.51 AAblack 4.22 AA largebanding high
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #3178c6 0%, #c93a57 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#3178c6] to-[#c93a57]

Report — brand gradient

  • white ink: worst 2.15:1 at 100% (fails AA); black ink: worst 4.63:1 at 0% (AA) → use black text.
  • Banding high: ~22px bands at 1440px — add grain 43 (≈3% 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 2.15:1, black 4.63:1 AA */
  --brand-gradient: linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #3178c6 0%, #54b9ff 100%);
  /* hero — worst-case contrast: white 4.65:1 AA, black 1.89:1; ink passes AA at the worst point */
  --brand-gradient-hero: linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #263d57 0%, #597890 100%);
  --brand-gradient-hero-ink: #ffffff;
  /* button — worst-case contrast: white 5.36:1 AA, black 2.77:1 */
  --brand-gradient-button: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #236cb9 0%, #00549f 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-hover: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #2e75c3 0%, #0f5da8 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-active: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #1863af 0%, #004b95 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="#3178c6"/><stop offset="7.14%" stop-color="#337dca"/><stop offset="14.29%" stop-color="#3681ce"/><stop offset="21.43%" stop-color="#3886d2"/><stop offset="28.57%" stop-color="#3a8ad6"/><stop offset="35.71%" stop-color="#3d8fda"/><stop offset="42.86%" stop-color="#3f93de"/><stop offset="50%" stop-color="#4298e2"/><stop offset="57.14%" stop-color="#449de6"/><stop offset="64.29%" stop-color="#47a1ea"/><stop offset="71.43%" stop-color="#49a6ef"/><stop offset="78.57%" stop-color="#4cabf3"/><stop offset="85.71%" stop-color="#4fb0f7"/><stop offset="92.86%" stop-color="#51b4fb"/><stop offset="100%" stop-color="#54b9ff"/></linearGradient></defs><rect width="1440" height="600" fill="url(#bs-gradient)"/></svg>
dtcg · tokens.json
{
  "gradient": {
    "brand": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.192,
              0.471,
              0.776
            ],
            "hex": "#3178c6"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.329,
              0.725,
              1
            ],
            "hex": "#54b9ff"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #3178c6 0%, #54b9ff 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklab",
          "angle": 135,
          "name": "brand",
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 2.152,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 4.633,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#000000"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "The canonical brand gradient (--brand-gradient)."
    },
    "hero": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.149,
              0.239,
              0.341
            ],
            "hex": "#263d57"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.349,
              0.471,
              0.565
            ],
            "hex": "#597890"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #263d57 0%, #597890 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklab",
          "angle": 135,
          "name": "hero",
          "ink": "#ffffff",
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 4.652,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 1.888,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "Low-chroma hero background with a text-safe ink (--brand-gradient-hero)."
    },
    "button": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.137,
              0.424,
              0.725
            ],
            "hex": "#236cb9"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0,
              0.329,
              0.624
            ],
            "hex": "#00549f"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #236cb9 0%, #00549f 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklch",
          "hue": "shorter",
          "angle": 180,
          "name": "button",
          "ink": "#ffffff",
          "states": {
            "hover": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #2e75c3 0%, #0f5da8 100%)",
            "active": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #1863af 0%, #004b95 100%)"
          },
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 5.361,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 2.769,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "Button / CTA surface with hover and active states (--brand-gradient-button)."
    }
  }
}

Colours

mcpConnect your agent — Astro'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 astro-build — 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.

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