Brand gradient

Costco gradient

The gradient Costco'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.

#e31837 #005daa #005dab

Open in the maker Costco colors →Full brand page →retail

Source: costco.com
Extracted: 2 September 2026
Version: 4

Costco

white text · worst 4.71:1 · AA

white 4.71 AAblack 3.15 AA largebanding medium

Hero and button

Hero background

Open in maker →

Chroma ×0.35 so it can carry text; ink white (inkFor at the midpoint). L shifted −0.01 until the ink passes AA at the worst point (4.53:1).

white 4.53 AAblack 3.05 AA largebanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #a36663 0%, #455c76 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#a36663] to-[#455c76]

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 −0.06 so white ink passes AA on the surface and both states (worst 4.51:1).

white 5.12 AAblack 3.11 AA largebanding high

Get started

hover

active

label ink passes AA on all three

css

linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #dc0431 0%, #ba001d 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-b/oklch from-[#dc0431] to-[#ba001d]

Variants

Tonal ramp

Open in maker →

white 2.38 failsblack 2.25 failsbanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #ff8382 0%, #e31837 50%, #930013 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#ff8382] via-[#e31837] to-[#930013]

Analogous

Open in maker →

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

white 4.70 AAblack 4.39 AA largebanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #e31837 0%, #d81789 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#e31837] to-[#d81789]

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 4.01 AA largeblack 4.43 AA largebanding medium

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #e31837 0%, #158c94 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#e31837] to-[#158c94]

Triadic

Open in maker →

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

white 3.90 AA largeblack 4.45 AA largebanding medium

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #e31837 0%, #1b9514 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#e31837] to-[#1b9514]

Report — brand gradient

white ink: worst 4.71:1 at 1% (AA); black ink: worst 3.15:1 at 100% (AA-large only) → use white text.
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 4.71:1 AA, black 3.15:1 AA-large */
  --brand-gradient: linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #e31837 0%, #005daa 100%);
  /* hero — worst-case contrast: white 4.53:1 AA, black 3.05:1 AA-large; ink passes AA at the worst point */
  --brand-gradient-hero: linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #a36663 0%, #455c76 100%);
  --brand-gradient-hero-ink: #ffffff;
  /* button — worst-case contrast: white 5.12:1 AA, black 3.11:1 AA-large */
  --brand-gradient-button: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #dc0431 0%, #ba001d 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-hover: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #e71f3a 0%, #c90021 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-active: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #d10028 0%, #ab0019 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="#e31837"/><stop offset="7.14%" stop-color="#d72d44"/><stop offset="14.29%" stop-color="#cc3a4f"/><stop offset="21.43%" stop-color="#c04358"/><stop offset="28.57%" stop-color="#b44a61"/><stop offset="35.71%" stop-color="#a84f6a"/><stop offset="42.86%" stop-color="#9b5472"/><stop offset="50%" stop-color="#8f5779"/><stop offset="57.14%" stop-color="#825a81"/><stop offset="64.29%" stop-color="#745c88"/><stop offset="71.43%" stop-color="#665d8f"/><stop offset="78.57%" stop-color="#565e96"/><stop offset="85.71%" stop-color="#445e9d"/><stop offset="92.86%" stop-color="#2e5ea3"/><stop offset="100%" stop-color="#005daa"/></linearGradient></defs><rect width="1440" height="600" fill="url(#bs-gradient)"/></svg>

dtcg · tokens.json

{
  "gradient": {
    "brand": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.89,
              0.094,
              0.216
            ],
            "hex": "#e31837"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0,
              0.365,
              0.667
            ],
            "hex": "#005daa"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #e31837 0%, #005daa 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklab",
          "angle": 135,
          "name": "brand",
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 4.71,
              "at": 0.0092,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 3.146,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "The canonical brand gradient (--brand-gradient)."
    },
    "hero": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.639,
              0.4,
              0.388
            ],
            "hex": "#a36663"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.271,
              0.361,
              0.463
            ],
            "hex": "#455c76"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #a36663 0%, #455c76 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklab",
          "angle": 135,
          "name": "hero",
          "ink": "#ffffff",
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 4.528,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 3.046,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "Low-chroma hero background with a text-safe ink (--brand-gradient-hero)."
    },
    "button": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.863,
              0.016,
              0.192
            ],
            "hex": "#dc0431"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.729,
              0,
              0.114
            ],
            "hex": "#ba001d"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #dc0431 0%, #ba001d 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklch",
          "hue": "shorter",
          "angle": 180,
          "name": "button",
          "ink": "#ffffff",
          "states": {
            "hover": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #e71f3a 0%, #c90021 100%)",
            "active": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #d10028 0%, #ab0019 100%)"
          },
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 5.116,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 3.106,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "Button / CTA surface with hover and active states (--brand-gradient-button)."
    }
  }
}

Colours

#e31837 #005daa #005dab

mcpConnect your agent — Costco'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 costco-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.

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