Soft Sand Estuary
Soft Sand Estuary: a pastel split complementary palette of #EEF5FF, #DDE7FD, #FECDB2, #CCCD94, #A6C3DF. Light, playful and welcoming; best contrast 1.66:1.
A balanced palette of 5 colors drawing on white, beige, yellow, with a tight lightness range that stays soft and cohesive. Its lightest and darkest colors reach a contrast of 1.66:1, better for large type and decoration. Open any color for its conversions, shades, harmonies and contrast.
Colors
- ≈ Snow#EEF5FF
A very light, neutral white (Snow) that brings space and clarity. Dark text reads well on it.
- ≈ Veiling Waterfalls#DDE7FD
A very light, neutral blue (Veiling Waterfalls) that brings quiet confidence. Dark text reads well on it.
- ≈ Peach and Quiet#FECDB2
A very light, muted pink (Peach and Quiet) that brings a warm, expressive tone. Dark text reads well on it.
- ≈ Seedling#CCCD94
A light, muted green (Seedling) that brings a fresh, natural feel. Dark text reads well on it.
- ≈ Sky High#A6C3DF
A light, muted blue (Sky High) that brings quiet confidence. Dark text reads well on it.
Tags
Psychology
Meaning
Applications
Similar palettes
Accessibility
- On white1.82:1Poor 1/5
- On black19.14:1Excellent 5/5
- Color blind friendly92% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ≈ White | Background | #EEF5FF | 97% |
| ≈ Fog | Accent | #DDE7FD | 93% |
| ≈ Apricot | Surface | #FECDB2 | 88% |
| ≈ Sand | Primary | #CCCD94 | 83% |
| ≈ Silver | Text | #A6C3DF | 81% |
No palette color is readable as text on the background, so use #0A1C2C for text.
:root {
--color-background: #eef5ff;
--color-surface: #fecdb2;
--color-primary: #cccd94;
--color-accent: #dde7fd;
--color-text: #0a1c2c;
}
@theme {
--color-background: #eef5ff;
--color-surface: #fecdb2;
--color-primary: #cccd94;
--color-accent: #dde7fd;
--color-ink: #0a1c2c;
}
About this palette
Soft Sand Estuary is palette number 304 of Tintly's fifteen million generated palettes. It is a pastel palette built on a split complementary scheme, and it is anchored by Sand (#CCCD94), the most saturated of its five colors.
The palette reads as light, playful and welcoming. Its colors run from White (#EEF5FF) at the light end to Silver (#A6C3DF) at the dark end, covering 81% to 97% perceptual lightness, so it has real range rather than five similar tones.
The five colors
1. ≈ White #EEF5FF: suggested role background. It is a near-neutral color with 97% lightness and a chroma of 0.015, so it behaves like a neutral.
2. ≈ Fog #DDE7FD: suggested role accent. It is a blue color with 93% lightness and a chroma of 0.032.
3. ≈ Apricot #FECDB2: suggested role surface. It is a orange color with 88% lightness and a chroma of 0.067.
4. ≈ Sand #CCCD94: suggested role primary. It is a yellow color with 83% lightness and a chroma of 0.075.
5. ≈ Silver #A6C3DF: suggested role text. It is a blue color with 81% lightness and a chroma of 0.051.
Harmony and structure
One hue is paired with the two hues flanking its opposite. You keep most of the energy of a complementary scheme with less tension and more variety.
In this palette the hues fall in the blue, orange and yellow families, spread across 216 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 4 chromatic colors lean warm and 2 lean cool. Its average chroma of 0.048 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 White (#EEF5FF) with Silver (#A6C3DF) at a contrast ratio of 1.66:1, 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 (#EEF5FF), so this page suggests #0A1C2C for text, a darkened Silver that reaches 15.74:1. Check any pair you use in the contrast checker.
Under protanopia (reduced red sensitivity), #EEF5FF and #DDE7FD and #FECDB2 and #CCCD94 may look alike, so avoid using that difference alone to carry meaning. Under deuteranopia (reduced green sensitivity), #EEF5FF and #DDE7FD may look alike, so avoid using that difference alone to carry meaning. Under tritanopia (reduced blue sensitivity), #EEF5FF and #DDE7FD may look alike, so avoid using that difference alone to carry meaning.
How to use it
Suggested roles: #EEF5FF as the background, #FECDB2 for cards and surfaces, #CCCD94 as the primary brand color, #DDE7FD as the accent, and #0A1C2C for text (a computed darker shade of Silver, because no palette color is readable on that background). A reliable starting split is 60% background and surface, 30% primary and 10% accent.
Use the lone hue as the dominant brand color and the two flanking hues as secondary and accent colors.
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 Soft Sand Estuary accessible?
Its best pair reaches 1.66:1 (#EEF5FF on #A6C3DF). 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?
Sand (#CCCD94) 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.