Tetradic Color Palette
Two complementary pairs (90° apart) — the richest stable harmony; pick one dominant pair and two supporting hues. Palette anchors: #264653, #E76F51, #2A9D8F.
tetradicrich
#264653
#E76F51
#2A9D8F
#E9C46A
#F5F5F5
#264653 #e76f51 #2a9d8f #e9c46a #f5f5f5
#264653 #E76F51 #2A9D8F #E9C46A #F5F5F5
Semantic roles
Assigned deterministically: lightest = background, darkest = text, most saturated = primary.
| background | #F5F5F5 | |
| surface | #E9C46A | |
| text | #264653 | |
| text-muted | #2A9D8F | |
| primary | #2A9D8F | |
| secondary | #E76F51 | |
| accent | #E9C46A |
CSS variables
:root {
--background: #f5f5f5;
--surface: #e9c46a;
--text: #264653;
--text-muted: #2a9d8f;
--primary: #2a9d8f;
--secondary: #e76f51;
--accent: #e9c46a;
}Accessibility matrix
Text color (rows) on background (columns). Green = WCAG AA pass for normal text (≥4.5:1).
| Text \ BG | #264653 | #E76F51 | #2A9D8F | #E9C46A | #F5F5F5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #264653 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 9.3 |
| #E76F51 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 2.8 |
| #2A9D8F | 3.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
| #E9C46A | 6.0 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
| #F5F5F5 | 9.3 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 |
Under deuteranopia
Machado et al. (2009) simulation, severity 1.0 — approximation, not a medical tool.
Colors in this palette
#264653
rgb(38, 70, 83)
#E76F51
rgb(231, 111, 81)
#2A9D8F
rgb(42, 157, 143)
#E9C46A
rgb(233, 196, 106)
#F5F5F5
Whitesmoke
Similar palettes
FAQ
How do I use the tetradic color palette in CSS?
Copy the CSS variables below into :root and use var(--primary), var(--background) etc. Full palette: #264653, #E76F51, #2A9D8F, #E9C46A, #F5F5F5.
Do these colors pass accessibility checks?
See the WCAG matrix on this page: every text-on-background pairing with ratio ≥ 4.5 passes AA for normal text; ≥ 3 passes AA for large text and UI components.