Brand gradient

Max gradient

The gradient Max'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.

#a5bcde #71b8f2

Open in the maker Max colors →Full brand page →media

Source: max.com
Extracted: 2 September 2026
Version: 2

Max

black text · worst 5.51:1 · AA

white 1.10 failsblack 5.51 AAbanding high

Hero and button

Hero background

Open in maker →

Chroma ×0.35 so it can carry text; ink black (inkFor at the midpoint). Passes AA for that ink at the worst point (5.50:1) without adjusting L.

white 1.11 failsblack 5.50 AAbanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #eff4f7 0%, #b3bbc7 50%, #7c838f 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#eff4f7] via-[#b3bbc7] to-[#7c838f]

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. Black ink passes AA on the surface and both states (worst 8.45:1).

white 1.69 failsblack 9.41 AAbanding high

Get started

hover

active

label ink passes AA on all three

css

linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #b2c9eb 0%, #99afd1 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-b/oklch from-[#b2c9eb] to-[#99afd1]

Variants

Tonal ramp

Open in maker →

white 1.10 failsblack 5.51 AAbanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #e7f6ff 0%, #a5bcde 50%, #6f84a4 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#e7f6ff] via-[#a5bcde] to-[#6f84a4]

Analogous

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

white 1.90 failsblack 10.83 AAbanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #a5bcde 0%, #8ac4de 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#a5bcde] to-[#8ac4de]

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 1.88 failsblack 10.71 AAbanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #a5bcde 0%, #d8b47c 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklch from-[#a5bcde] to-[#d8b47c]

Triadic

Open in maker →

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

white 1.93 failsblack 10.56 AAbanding high

css

linear-gradient(135deg in oklab, #a5bcde 0%, #e0abab 100%)

tailwind v4

bg-linear-to-br/oklab from-[#a5bcde] to-[#e0abab]

Report — brand gradient

white ink: worst 1.10:1 at 0% (fails AA); black ink: worst 5.51:1 at 100% (AA) → use black text.
Banding high: ~12px bands at 1440px — add grain 26 (≈2% 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 1.10:1, black 5.51:1 AA */
  --brand-gradient: linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #e7f6ff 0%, #a5bcde 50%, #6f84a4 100%);
  /* hero — worst-case contrast: white 1.11:1, black 5.50:1 AA; ink passes AA at the worst point */
  --brand-gradient-hero: linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #eff4f7 0%, #b3bbc7 50%, #7c838f 100%);
  --brand-gradient-hero-ink: #000000;
  /* button — worst-case contrast: white 1.69:1, black 9.41:1 AA */
  --brand-gradient-button: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #b2c9eb 0%, #99afd1 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-hover: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #bbd3f5 0%, #a2b9db 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-active: linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #a8bfe1 0%, #8fa6c7 100%);
  --brand-gradient-button-ink: #000000;
}

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="#e7f6ff"/><stop offset="3.57%" stop-color="#e2f2fd"/><stop offset="7.14%" stop-color="#dceefa"/><stop offset="10.71%" stop-color="#d7eaf8"/><stop offset="14.29%" stop-color="#d2e6f5"/><stop offset="17.86%" stop-color="#cde2f3"/><stop offset="21.43%" stop-color="#c8def1"/><stop offset="25%" stop-color="#c3daee"/><stop offset="28.57%" stop-color="#bed5ec"/><stop offset="32.14%" stop-color="#bad1ea"/><stop offset="35.71%" stop-color="#b5cde7"/><stop offset="39.29%" stop-color="#b1c9e5"/><stop offset="42.86%" stop-color="#adc5e3"/><stop offset="46.43%" stop-color="#a9c0e0"/><stop offset="50%" stop-color="#a5bcde"/><stop offset="53.57%" stop-color="#a1b8da"/><stop offset="57.14%" stop-color="#9db4d6"/><stop offset="60.71%" stop-color="#99b0d1"/><stop offset="64.29%" stop-color="#95accd"/><stop offset="67.86%" stop-color="#91a8c9"/><stop offset="71.43%" stop-color="#8da4c5"/><stop offset="75%" stop-color="#8aa0c1"/><stop offset="78.57%" stop-color="#869cbc"/><stop offset="82.14%" stop-color="#8298b8"/><stop offset="85.71%" stop-color="#7e94b4"/><stop offset="89.29%" stop-color="#7a90b0"/><stop offset="92.86%" stop-color="#768cac"/><stop offset="96.43%" stop-color="#7388a8"/><stop offset="100%" stop-color="#6f84a4"/></linearGradient></defs><rect width="1440" height="600" fill="url(#bs-gradient)"/></svg>

dtcg · tokens.json

{
  "gradient": {
    "brand": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.906,
              0.965,
              1
            ],
            "hex": "#e7f6ff"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.647,
              0.737,
              0.871
            ],
            "hex": "#a5bcde"
          },
          "position": 0.5
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.435,
              0.518,
              0.643
            ],
            "hex": "#6f84a4"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #e7f6ff 0%, #a5bcde 50%, #6f84a4 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklch",
          "hue": "shorter",
          "angle": 135,
          "name": "brand",
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 1.104,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 5.512,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#000000"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "The canonical brand gradient (--brand-gradient)."
    },
    "hero": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.937,
              0.957,
              0.969
            ],
            "hex": "#eff4f7"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.702,
              0.733,
              0.78
            ],
            "hex": "#b3bbc7"
          },
          "position": 0.5
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.486,
              0.514,
              0.561
            ],
            "hex": "#7c838f"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(135deg in oklch shorter hue, #eff4f7 0%, #b3bbc7 50%, #7c838f 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklch",
          "hue": "shorter",
          "angle": 135,
          "name": "hero",
          "ink": "#000000",
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 1.108,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 5.5,
              "at": 1,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#000000"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "Low-chroma hero background with a text-safe ink (--brand-gradient-hero)."
    },
    "button": {
      "$type": "gradient",
      "$value": [
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.698,
              0.788,
              0.922
            ],
            "hex": "#b2c9eb"
          },
          "position": 0
        },
        {
          "color": {
            "colorSpace": "srgb",
            "components": [
              0.6,
              0.686,
              0.82
            ],
            "hex": "#99afd1"
          },
          "position": 1
        }
      ],
      "$extensions": {
        "com.brandsweets": {
          "kind": "linear",
          "css": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #b2c9eb 0%, #99afd1 100%)",
          "interpolation": "oklch",
          "hue": "shorter",
          "angle": 180,
          "name": "button",
          "ink": "#000000",
          "states": {
            "hover": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #bbd3f5 0%, #a2b9db 100%)",
            "active": "linear-gradient(180deg in oklch shorter hue, #a8bfe1 0%, #8fa6c7 100%)"
          },
          "contrast": {
            "white": {
              "ratio": 1.687,
              "at": 0,
              "passesAA": false,
              "passesAALarge": false
            },
            "black": {
              "ratio": 9.407,
              "at": 0.9841,
              "passesAA": true,
              "passesAALarge": true
            },
            "suggestedInk": "#000000"
          }
        }
      },
      "$description": "Button / CTA surface with hover and active states (--brand-gradient-button)."
    }
  }
}

Colours

#a5bcde #71b8f2

mcpConnect your agent — Max'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 max-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.

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