Brand gradient

Clerk gradient

The gradient Clerk'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.

Source
clerk.com
Extracted
Version
5
Verified from the live site at clerk.com on 2 September 2026 (version 5).
Clerk
white text · worst 3.76:1 · AA large
white 3.76 AA largeblack 3.45 AA largebanding 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 −0.07 until the ink passes AA at the worst point (4.68:1).

white 4.68 AAblack 2.40 failsbanding high
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #37513b 0%, #9e6560 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#37513b] to-[#9e6560]
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 4.53:1).

white 5.13 AAblack 2.93 failsbanding high
Get started
hover
active
label ink passes AA on all three
css
linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #1a7e3d 0%, #006627 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-b/oklch from-[#1a7e3d] to-[#006627]

Variants

Aa
white 2.92 failsblack 1.67 failsbanding high
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #4ea966 0%, #007232 50%, #003d06 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#4ea966] via-[#007232] to-[#003d06]
Aa

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

white 6.05 AAblack 3.33 AA largebanding high
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #007232 0%, #566700 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#007232] to-[#566700]
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 6.05 AAblack 2.86 failsbanding high
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #007232 0%, #9c0097 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#007232] to-[#9c0097]
Aa

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

white 6.04 AAblack 2.83 failsbanding medium
css
linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #007232 0%, #3224ff 100%)
tailwind v4
bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#007232] to-[#3224ff]

Report — brand gradient

  • white ink: worst 3.76:1 at 100% (AA-large only); black ink: worst 3.45:1 at 0% (AA-large only) → use white text.
  • Body text fails AA everywhere on this gradient; large text (≥24px / 19px bold) is fine. Add a scrim or lower the chroma for body copy.
  • 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 3.76:1 AA-large, black 3.45:1 AA-large */
  --brand-gradient: linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #007232 0%, #ef4444 100%);
  /* hero — worst-case contrast: white 4.68:1 AA, black 2.40:1; ink passes AA at the worst point */
  --brand-gradient-hero: linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #37513b 0%, #9e6560 100%);
  --brand-gradient-hero-ink: #ffffff;
  /* button — worst-case contrast: white 5.13:1 AA, black 2.93:1 */
  --brand-gradient-button: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #1a7e3d 0%, #006627 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-hover: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #278746 0%, #006f2f 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-active: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #087535 0%, #005d1e 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="#007232"/><stop offset="7.14%" stop-color="#327233"/><stop offset="14.29%" stop-color="#497135"/><stop offset="21.43%" stop-color="#5c7036"/><stop offset="28.57%" stop-color="#6c6f37"/><stop offset="35.71%" stop-color="#7b6e38"/><stop offset="42.86%" stop-color="#8a6c3a"/><stop offset="50%" stop-color="#97693b"/><stop offset="57.14%" stop-color="#a4663c"/><stop offset="64.29%" stop-color="#b1633e"/><stop offset="71.43%" stop-color="#be5f3f"/><stop offset="78.57%" stop-color="#ca5a40"/><stop offset="85.71%" stop-color="#d75441"/><stop offset="92.86%" stop-color="#e34d43"/><stop offset="100%" stop-color="#ef4444"/></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,
              0.447,
              0.196
            ],
            "hex": "#007232"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.937,
              0.267,
              0.267
            ],
            "hex": "#ef4444"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #007232 0%, #ef4444 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklab",
          "angle": 135,
          "name": "brand",
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 3.763,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 3.453,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "The canonical brand gradient (--brand-gradient)."
    },
    "hero": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.216,
              0.318,
              0.231
            ],
            "hex": "#37513b"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.62,
              0.396,
              0.376
            ],
            "hex": "#9e6560"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #37513b 0%, #9e6560 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklab",
          "angle": 135,
          "name": "hero",
          "ink": "#ffffff",
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 4.683,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 2.403,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "Low-chroma hero background with a text-safe ink (--brand-gradient-hero)."
    },
    "button": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.102,
              0.494,
              0.239
            ],
            "hex": "#1a7e3d"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0,
              0.4,
              0.153
            ],
            "hex": "#006627"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #1a7e3d 0%, #006627 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklch",
          "hue": "shorter",
          "angle": 180,
          "name": "button",
          "ink": "#ffffff",
          "states": {
            "hover": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #278746 0%, #006f2f 100%)",
            "active": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #087535 0%, #005d1e 100%)"
          },
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 5.127,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 2.93,
              "at": 0.9841,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "Button / CTA surface with hover and active states (--brand-gradient-button)."
    }
  }
}

Colours

mcpConnect your agent — Clerk'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 clerk-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.

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