Brand gradient

Character gradient

The gradient Character'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.

#11181c #1f2937

Open in the maker Character colors →Full brand page →ai

Source: character.ai
Extracted: 2 September 2026
Version: 3

Character

white text · worst 9.79:1 · AA

white 9.79 AAblack 1.00 failsbanding high

Hero and button

Hero background

Open in maker →

Chroma ×0.35 so it can carry text; ink white (inkFor at the midpoint). Passes AA for that ink at the worst point (9.82:1) without adjusting L.

white 9.82 AAblack 1.00 failsbanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #414445 0%, #151719 50%, #000101 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#414445] via-[#151719] to-[#000101]

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 14.79:1).

white 16.29 AAblack 1.09 failsbanding high

Get started

hover

active

label ink passes AA on all three

css

linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #1a2126 0%, #080f13 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-b/oklch from-[#1a2126] to-[#080f13]

Variants

Tonal ramp

Open in maker →

white 9.79 AAblack 1.00 failsbanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #3d4549 0%, #11181c 50%, #000101 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#3d4549] via-[#11181c] to-[#000101]

Analogous

Open in maker →

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

white 17.93 AAblack 1.17 failsbanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #11181c 0%, #111819 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#11181c] to-[#111819]

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 17.83 AAblack 1.16 failsbanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #11181c 0%, #1d1510 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#11181c] to-[#1d1510]

Triadic

Open in maker →

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

white 17.87 AAblack 1.16 failsbanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #11181c 0%, #201218 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#11181c] to-[#201218]

Report — brand gradient

white ink: worst 9.79:1 at 0% (AA); black ink: worst 1.00:1 at 98% (fails AA) → use white text.
Black text disappears completely at 98% (1.00:1 crossing).
Banding high: ~27px bands at 1440px — add grain 49 (≈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 9.79:1 AA, black 1.00:1 */
  --brand-gradient: linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #3d4549 0%, #11181c 50%, #000101 100%);
  /* hero — worst-case contrast: white 9.82:1 AA, black 1.00:1; ink passes AA at the worst point */
  --brand-gradient-hero: linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #414445 0%, #151719 50%, #000101 100%);
  --brand-gradient-hero-ink: #ffffff;
  /* button — worst-case contrast: white 16.29:1 AA, black 1.09:1 */
  --brand-gradient-button: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #1a2126 0%, #080f13 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-hover: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #21292d 0%, #0f161a 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-active: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #131a1e 0%, #04090c 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="#3d4549"/><stop offset="3.57%" stop-color="#3a4246"/><stop offset="7.14%" stop-color="#363e42"/><stop offset="10.71%" stop-color="#333b3f"/><stop offset="14.29%" stop-color="#30373c"/><stop offset="17.86%" stop-color="#2c3438"/><stop offset="21.43%" stop-color="#293135"/><stop offset="25%" stop-color="#262e32"/><stop offset="28.57%" stop-color="#232a2f"/><stop offset="32.14%" stop-color="#20272b"/><stop offset="35.71%" stop-color="#1d2428"/><stop offset="39.29%" stop-color="#1a2125"/><stop offset="42.86%" stop-color="#171e22"/><stop offset="46.43%" stop-color="#141b1f"/><stop offset="50%" stop-color="#11181c"/><stop offset="53.57%" stop-color="#0f1619"/><stop offset="57.14%" stop-color="#0c1417"/><stop offset="60.71%" stop-color="#0a1114"/><stop offset="64.29%" stop-color="#080f12"/><stop offset="67.86%" stop-color="#060d0f"/><stop offset="71.43%" stop-color="#050b0d"/><stop offset="75%" stop-color="#04090a"/><stop offset="78.57%" stop-color="#030708"/><stop offset="82.14%" stop-color="#020506"/><stop offset="85.71%" stop-color="#010405"/><stop offset="89.29%" stop-color="#010303"/><stop offset="92.86%" stop-color="#000202"/><stop offset="96.43%" stop-color="#000202"/><stop offset="100%" stop-color="#000101"/></linearGradient></defs><rect width="1440" height="600" fill="url(#bs-gradient)"/></svg>

dtcg · tokens.json

{
  "gradient": {
    "brand": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.239,
              0.271,
              0.286
            ],
            "hex": "#3d4549"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.067,
              0.094,
              0.11
            ],
            "hex": "#11181c"
          },
          "position": 0.5
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0,
              0.004,
              0.004
            ],
            "hex": "#000101"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #3d4549 0%, #11181c 50%, #000101 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklch",
          "hue": "shorter",
          "angle": 135,
          "name": "brand",
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 9.786,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 1.005,
              "at": 0.9841,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "The canonical brand gradient (--brand-gradient)."
    },
    "hero": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.255,
              0.267,
              0.271
            ],
            "hex": "#414445"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.082,
              0.09,
              0.098
            ],
            "hex": "#151719"
          },
          "position": 0.5
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0,
              0.004,
              0.004
            ],
            "hex": "#000101"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #414445 0%, #151719 50%, #000101 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklch",
          "hue": "shorter",
          "angle": 135,
          "name": "hero",
          "ink": "#ffffff",
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 9.824,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 1.005,
              "at": 0.9841,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "Low-chroma hero background with a text-safe ink (--brand-gradient-hero)."
    },
    "button": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.102,
              0.129,
              0.149
            ],
            "hex": "#1a2126"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.031,
              0.059,
              0.075
            ],
            "hex": "#080f13"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #1a2126 0%, #080f13 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklch",
          "hue": "shorter",
          "angle": 180,
          "name": "button",
          "ink": "#ffffff",
          "states": {
            "hover": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #21292d 0%, #0f161a 100%)",
            "active": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #131a1e 0%, #04090c 100%)"
          },
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 16.286,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 1.088,
              "at": 0.9841,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "Button / CTA surface with hover and active states (--brand-gradient-button)."
    }
  }
}

Colours

#11181c #1f2937

mcpConnect your agent — Character'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 character-ai — 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.

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