Calm Sky Canyon
Calm Sky Canyon: a muted tetradic palette of #3C6461, #74799E, #AF838E, #BCAE79, #9FD7F7. Relaxed, mature and easy to live with; best contrast 4.24:1.
A balanced palette of 5 colors drawing on teal, purple, red, with a moderate lightness range. Its lightest and darkest colors reach a contrast of 4.24:1, better for large type and decoration. Open any color for its conversions, shades, harmonies and contrast.
Colors
- ≈ Mediterranea#3C6461
A medium, muted teal (Mediterranea) that brings a cool, trustworthy tone. White text sits comfortably on it.
- ≈ Stormy Horizon#74799E
A medium, muted purple (Stormy Horizon) that brings quiet luxury. Best for large type, icons and decoration.
- ≈ Old Rose#AF838E
A medium, muted red (Old Rose) that brings a bold, confident accent. Dark text reads well on it.
- ≈ Nettle#BCAE79
A light, muted yellow (Nettle) that brings attention without aggression. Dark text reads well on it.
- ≈ Mr Freeze#9FD7F7
A very light, muted blue (Mr Freeze) that brings quiet confidence. Dark text reads well on it.
Tags
Psychology
Meaning
Applications
Similar palettes
Accessibility
- On white6.58:1Good 3/5
- On black13.53:1Excellent 5/5
- Color blind friendly96% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ≈ Slate | Text | #3C6461 | 47% |
| ≈ Slate | Accent | #74799E | 59% |
| ≈ Taupe | Surface | #AF838E | 66% |
| ≈ Khaki | Primary | #BCAE79 | 75% |
| ≈ Sky | Background | #9FD7F7 | 85% |
No palette color is readable as text on the background, so use #02201E for text.
:root {
--color-background: #9fd7f7;
--color-surface: #af838e;
--color-primary: #bcae79;
--color-accent: #74799e;
--color-text: #02201e;
}
@theme {
--color-background: #9fd7f7;
--color-surface: #af838e;
--color-primary: #bcae79;
--color-accent: #74799e;
--color-ink: #02201e;
}
About this palette
Calm Sky Canyon is palette number 210 of Tintly's fifteen million generated palettes. It is a muted palette built on a tetradic scheme, and it is anchored by Sky (#9FD7F7), the most saturated of its five colors.
The palette reads as relaxed, mature and easy to live with. Its colors run from Sky (#9FD7F7) at the light end to Slate (#3C6461) at the dark end, covering 47% to 85% perceptual lightness, so it has real range rather than five similar tones.
The five colors
1. ≈ Slate #3C6461: suggested role text. It is a teal color with 47% lightness and a chroma of 0.046.
2. ≈ Slate #74799E: suggested role accent. It is a violet color with 59% lightness and a chroma of 0.057.
3. ≈ Taupe #AF838E: suggested role surface. It is a rose color with 66% lightness and a chroma of 0.056.
4. ≈ Khaki #BCAE79: suggested role primary. It is a yellow color with 75% lightness and a chroma of 0.072.
5. ≈ Sky #9FD7F7: suggested role background. It is a cyan color with 85% lightness and a chroma of 0.073.
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 teal, violet, rose, yellow and cyan families, spread across 276 degrees of the OKLCH hue circle. Muted palettes keep chroma between 0.035 and 0.09, and lightness between 48% and 84%, which is why the set feels consistent.
Temperature and mood
Overall the palette is temperature-balanced: 2 of its 5 chromatic colors lean warm and 2 lean cool. Its average chroma of 0.061 makes the saturation balanced.
That combination suits editorial websites, lifestyle and home brands and portfolios, and it is a good fit when you want a design to feel relaxed, mature and easy to live with.
Accessibility and contrast
The strongest pairing is Slate (#3C6461) with Sky (#9FD7F7) at a contrast ratio of 4.24:1, which is WCAG AA large. Across all 10 possible pairs, 0 reach the 4.5:1 AA level for normal text and 1 more reach 3:1 for large text.
No other palette color reaches 4.5:1 on the background (#9FD7F7), so this page suggests #02201E for text, a darkened Slate that reaches 11.02:1. Check any pair you use in the contrast checker.
All five colors stay distinguishable under protanopia, deuteranopia and tritanopia simulations, which is a good sign, although it is no substitute for testing with real users.
How to use it
Suggested roles: #9FD7F7 as the background, #AF838E for cards and surfaces, #BCAE79 as the primary brand color, #74799E as the accent, and #02201E for text (a computed darker shade of Slate, 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 muted palette include editorial websites, lifestyle and home brands, portfolios and calm dashboards. 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.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Calm Sky Canyon accessible?
Its best pair reaches 4.24:1 (#3C6461 on #9FD7F7). 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?
Khaki (#BCAE79) 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 editorial websites, lifestyle and home brands, portfolios and calm dashboards, where a relaxed, mature and easy to live with feel works well.