Gentle Sky Estuary
Gentle Sky Estuary: a pastel tetradic palette of #BFC3A7, #89D7E4, #DBCFFB, #FDDEDA, #DDFBEA. Light, playful and welcoming; best contrast 1.64:1.
A balanced palette of 5 colors drawing on beige, teal, purple, with a tight lightness range that stays soft and cohesive. Its lightest and darkest colors reach a contrast of 1.64:1, better for large type and decoration. Open any color for its conversions, shades, harmonies and contrast.
Colors
- ≈ Lush#BFC3A7
A light, muted yellow (Lush) that brings a bright, hopeful note. Dark text reads well on it.
- ≈ Water Nymph#89D7E4
A light, muted teal (Water Nymph) that brings clean, modern calm. Dark text reads well on it.
- ≈ Neon Boneyard#DBCFFB
A very light, muted purple (Neon Boneyard) that brings quiet luxury. Dark text reads well on it.
- ≈ Strawberry Blonde#FDDEDA
A very light, neutral pink (Strawberry Blonde) that brings gentle playfulness. Dark text reads well on it.
- ≈ Candied Snow#DDFBEA
A very light, muted teal (Candied Snow) that brings clean, modern calm. Dark text reads well on it.
Tags
Psychology
Meaning
Applications
Similar palettes
Accessibility
- On white1.81:1Poor 1/5
- On black19.06:1Excellent 5/5
- Color blind friendly87% similarExcellent 5/5
Contrast is the best any color in the palette reaches on a plain white or black background. Color blind friendly shows how much of the difference between the colors is kept under the common kinds of color blindness.
| Color | Role | HEX | Lightness |
|---|---|---|---|
| ≈ Ash | Text | #BFC3A7 | 81% |
| ≈ Sky | Primary | #89D7E4 | 83% |
| ≈ Fog | Surface | #DBCFFB | 88% |
| ≈ Apricot | Accent | #FDDEDA | 93% |
| ≈ Ivory | Background | #DDFBEA | 96% |
No palette color is readable as text on the background, so use #1A1C06 for text.
:root {
--color-background: #ddfbea;
--color-surface: #dbcffb;
--color-primary: #89d7e4;
--color-accent: #fddeda;
--color-text: #1a1c06;
}
@theme {
--color-background: #ddfbea;
--color-surface: #dbcffb;
--color-primary: #89d7e4;
--color-accent: #fddeda;
--color-ink: #1a1c06;
}
About this palette
Gentle Sky Estuary is palette number 17,288 of Tintly's fifteen million generated palettes. It is a pastel palette built on a tetradic scheme, and it is anchored by Sky (#89D7E4), the most saturated of its five colors.
The palette reads as light, playful and welcoming. Its colors run from Ivory (#DDFBEA) at the light end to Ash (#BFC3A7) at the dark end, covering 81% to 96% perceptual lightness, so it has real range rather than five similar tones.
The five colors
1. ≈ Ash #BFC3A7: suggested role text. It is a yellow color with 81% lightness and a chroma of 0.038.
2. ≈ Sky #89D7E4: suggested role primary. It is a cyan color with 83% lightness and a chroma of 0.079.
3. ≈ Fog #DBCFFB: suggested role surface. It is a violet color with 88% lightness and a chroma of 0.061.
4. ≈ Apricot #FDDEDA: suggested role accent. It is a red color with 93% lightness and a chroma of 0.035.
5. ≈ Ivory #DDFBEA: suggested role background. It is a green color with 96% lightness and a chroma of 0.039.
Harmony and structure
Four hues are spaced around the wheel in two complementary pairs. It is the richest scheme, and the hardest to balance.
In this palette the hues fall in the yellow, cyan, violet, red and green families, spread across 271 degrees of the OKLCH hue circle. Pastel palettes keep chroma between 0.03 and 0.08, and lightness between 80% and 96%, which is why the set feels consistent.
Temperature and mood
Overall the palette is temperature-balanced: 1 of its 5 chromatic colors lean warm and 1 lean cool. Its average chroma of 0.05 makes the saturation soft.
That combination suits baby and children's brands, wedding stationery and spring campaigns, and it is a good fit when you want a design to feel light, playful and welcoming.
Accessibility and contrast
The strongest pairing is Ash (#BFC3A7) with Ivory (#DDFBEA) at a contrast ratio of 1.64:1, which is below the WCAG AA minimum of 4.5:1. Across all 10 possible pairs, 0 reach the 4.5:1 AA level for normal text and 0 more reach 3:1 for large text.
No other palette color reaches 4.5:1 on the background (#DDFBEA), so this page suggests #1A1C06 for text, a darkened Ash that reaches 15.71:1. Check any pair you use in the contrast checker.
Under protanopia (reduced red sensitivity), #89D7E4 and #DBCFFB may look alike, so avoid using that difference alone to carry meaning. Under deuteranopia (reduced green sensitivity), #89D7E4 and #DBCFFB and #FDDEDA and #DDFBEA may look alike, so avoid using that difference alone to carry meaning.
How to use it
Suggested roles: #DDFBEA as the background, #DBCFFB for cards and surfaces, #89D7E4 as the primary brand color, #FDDEDA as the accent, and #1A1C06 for text (a computed darker shade of Ash, because no palette color is readable on that background). A reliable starting split is 60% background and surface, 30% primary and 10% accent.
Let one hue take most of the space and use the others sparingly. Control the mood with lightness and saturation rather than hue.
Typical uses for a pastel palette include baby and children's brands, wedding stationery, spring campaigns and wellness and beauty websites. Open it in the generator to lock the colors you love and reroll the rest, or in the visualizer to see it on real layouts.
More palettes like this
Frequently asked questions
Is Gentle Sky Estuary accessible?
Its best pair reaches 1.64:1 (#BFC3A7 on #DDFBEA). 0 of 10 pairs reach WCAG AA for normal text. Always check the exact text and background you use.
Which color should be the main brand color?
Sky (#89D7E4) is the most saturated color that is neither the lightest nor the darkest, which makes it the natural primary.
What is this palette good for?
It suits baby and children's brands, wedding stationery, spring campaigns and wellness and beauty websites, where a light, playful and welcoming feel works well.