Color
Five questions every design system answers about color. These are Content first’s answers, and each one points back to the reasons that chose it.
View all 41 color tokens ↓The reasons this scheme answers from
- R1Human factorsAttention on the content, they see it fresh each time
- R2Tasks and flowsRead start to end, rarely
- R3BrandWarm, present
Question 1
Which color roles does it need?
- Surface, text, action and status (chosen)
- Those and brand accents
Why Content first picks it: Reading needs few color roles.
becauseR1
surface
text
border
action
status
category
disabled
Question 2
How many emphasis levels do actions need?
- Two
- Three (chosen)
- Four
Why Content first picks it: Primary, secondary and a text link.
becauseR2
stone light8
navy light3
black light1
blue light3
green light2
amber light2
red light2
Content first’s answerMore that other schemes use
Question 3
How is the palette defined?
- Neutrals and one brand ramp (chosen)
- Shared neutrals, a ramp per brand
Why Content first picks it: Warm paper neutrals and one ink ramp.
becauseR3
- Neutrals and one brand ramp
- from color.stone.light
- from color.navy.light
- from color.black.light
- from color.blue.light
- from color.green.light
- from color.amber.light
- from color.red.light
Decisions point at primitives, so the rule lives in one place.
Question 4
How saturated is the palette?
- Muted
- Balanced (chosen)
- Vivid
Why Content first picks it: A calm, balanced palette.
becauseR3
- surface
- canvas
- → color.stone.light.50· dark → color.stone.dark.0
- default
- → color.stone.light.0· dark → color.stone.dark.50
- raised
- → color.stone.light.0· dark → color.stone.dark.100
- sunken
- → color.stone.light.100· dark → color.stone.dark.100
- selected
- → color.navy.light.100· dark → color.navy.dark.100
- inverse
- → color.stone.light.900· dark → color.stone.dark.900
- scrim
- → color.black.light.scrim· dark → color.black.dark.scrim
- text
- primary
- → color.stone.light.900· dark → color.stone.dark.900
- secondary
- → color.stone.light.700· dark → color.stone.dark.500
- muted
- → color.stone.light.600· dark → color.stone.dark.400
- inverse
- → color.stone.light.0· dark → color.stone.dark.50
- on-action
- → color.stone.light.0· dark → color.stone.dark.0
- link
- → color.navy.light.700· dark → color.navy.dark.700
- border
- default
- → color.stone.light.200· dark → color.stone.dark.100
- strong
- → color.stone.light.500· dark → color.stone.dark.300
- focus
- → color.navy.light.600· dark → color.navy.dark.700
- action
- primary.@
- → color.navy.light.600· dark → color.navy.dark.700
- primary.hover
- → color.navy.light.700· dark → color.navy.dark.800
- secondary.@
- → color.stone.light.0· dark → color.stone.dark.50
- secondary.hover
- → color.stone.light.100· dark → color.stone.dark.100
- status
- info.@
- → color.blue.light.700· dark → color.blue.dark.700
- info.subtle
- → color.blue.light.100· dark → color.blue.dark.100
- success.@
- → color.green.light.700· dark → color.green.dark.700
- success.subtle
- → color.green.light.100· dark → color.green.dark.100
- warning.@
- → color.amber.light.700· dark → color.amber.dark.700
- warning.subtle
- → color.amber.light.100· dark → color.amber.dark.100
- danger.@
- → color.red.light.700· dark → color.red.dark.700
- danger.subtle
- → color.red.light.100· dark → color.red.dark.100
- category
- 1.@
- → color.navy.light.600· dark → color.navy.dark.700
- 1.subtle
- → color.navy.light.100· dark → color.navy.dark.100
- 2.@
- → color.blue.light.600· dark → color.blue.dark.700
- 2.subtle
- → color.blue.light.100· dark → color.blue.dark.100
- 3.@
- → color.green.light.700· dark → color.green.dark.700
- 3.subtle
- → color.green.light.100· dark → color.green.dark.100
- 4.@
- → color.amber.light.700· dark → color.amber.dark.700
- 4.subtle
- → color.amber.light.100· dark → color.amber.dark.100
- 5.@
- → color.stone.light.500· dark → color.stone.dark.700
- 5.subtle
- → color.stone.light.100· dark → color.stone.dark.100
- disabled
- text
- → color.stone.light.500· dark → color.stone.dark.500
- surface
- → color.stone.light.100· dark → color.stone.dark.100
- border
- → color.stone.light.200· dark → color.stone.dark.200
Question 5
Where does color carry meaning first?
- Status in tables
- Links and actions (chosen)
- Brand moments
Why Content first picks it: Color marks links inside the text.
becauseR2
- button · 13 keys
- input · 8 keys
- control · 3 keys
- badge · 10 keys
- card · 2 keys
- table · 3 keys
- tabs · 3 keys
- overlay · 4 keys
When to use
- A selected row or itemUse: color.surface.selected. Not: Bold text only. A tint shows the choice clearly on warm paper.
- An error messageUse: color.status.danger and a plain sentence. Not: Color alone. The sentence says what to fix; color only draws the eye.
- A linkUse: color.text.link, underlined. Not: Color without underline. Readers expect links to be underlined inside text.
- A statusUse: Badge pill with a word. Not: An icon alone. Status is rare; a word is clear.
- The action that completes the taskUse: Button primary, one per section. Not: Two primaries side by side. One clear action per section.
- An alternative or cancelUse: Button ghost as a text link. Not: A second boxed button. A link feels lighter and does not compete.
- Delete or removeUse: Button secondary with the full verb, then confirm. Not: Button primary. Naming the verb and confirming prevents a mistake.
All color tokens
41 tokens · each decision and the primitive it points to
- color.stone.light · 8
color.stone.light.50#FFFDF8color.stone.light.0#FFFFFFcolor.stone.light.100#F6F2EAcolor.stone.light.900#1F1B16color.stone.light.700#4A4339color.stone.light.600#61594Dcolor.stone.light.200#E4DDD0color.stone.light.500#7A7062 - color.navy.light · 3
color.navy.light.100#E3EAF3color.navy.light.700#162C49color.navy.light.600#1E3A5F - color.black.light · 1
color.black.light.scrim#0000008C - color.blue.light · 3
color.blue.light.700#083C93color.blue.light.100#E1ECFFcolor.blue.light.600#0B4FC0 - color.green.light · 2
color.green.light.700#1F7A3Acolor.green.light.100#E3F4EA - color.amber.light · 2
color.amber.light.700#8A5600color.amber.light.100#FFF3D6 - color.red.light · 2
color.red.light.700#C42B2Bcolor.red.light.100#FDE7E7 - Decisions · 41
color.surface.canvas{color.stone.light.50}color.surface.default{color.stone.light.0}color.surface.raised{color.stone.light.0}color.surface.sunken{color.stone.light.100}color.surface.selected{color.navy.light.100}color.surface.inverse{color.stone.light.900}color.surface.scrim{color.black.light.scrim}color.text.primary{color.stone.light.900}color.text.secondary{color.stone.light.700}color.text.muted{color.stone.light.600}color.text.inverse{color.stone.light.0}color.text.on-action{color.stone.light.0}color.text.link{color.navy.light.700}color.border.default{color.stone.light.200}color.border.strong{color.stone.light.500}color.border.focus{color.navy.light.600}color.action.primary.@{color.navy.light.600}color.action.primary.hover{color.navy.light.700}color.action.secondary.@{color.stone.light.0}color.action.secondary.hover{color.stone.light.100}color.status.info.@{color.blue.light.700}color.status.info.subtle{color.blue.light.100}color.status.success.@{color.green.light.700}color.status.success.subtle{color.green.light.100}color.status.warning.@{color.amber.light.700}color.status.warning.subtle{color.amber.light.100}color.status.danger.@{color.red.light.700}color.status.danger.subtle{color.red.light.100}color.category.1.@{color.navy.light.600}color.category.1.subtle{color.navy.light.100}color.category.2.@{color.blue.light.600}color.category.2.subtle{color.blue.light.100}color.category.3.@{color.green.light.700}color.category.3.subtle{color.green.light.100}color.category.4.@{color.amber.light.700}color.category.4.subtle{color.amber.light.100}color.category.5.@{color.stone.light.500}color.category.5.subtle{color.stone.light.100}color.disabled.text{color.stone.light.500}color.disabled.surface{color.stone.light.100}color.disabled.border{color.stone.light.200}
Decisions reference primitives, so changing one primitive updates every decision and component that uses it.
Color in Content first: balanced. A calm, balanced palette. Color marks links inside the text.