Ember Dusk

Glowing coals in a dark room: warm brown-black surfaces, firelit cream text and a blazing orange accent.

warm
bold
luxurious

The colours

Each colour has one job. The mock layout uses only pairs that pass AA, and the list shows every pair that is readable, measured rather than guessed.

Charred Oakbackground #1f1512
Hearth Stonesurface #2b1e19
Firelit Creamtext #f4e7da
Warm Ashmuted #c2aa96
Live Emberaccent #ff7a45
Candle Glowaccent-2 #e9c46a
Smoke Lineborder #4a362d

Sample page

A page in Ember Dusk

Every word here is drawn in this palette's own colours, using only pairs that pass AA.

Main action

A card on the surface

Secondary details sit a step quieter than the main text.

A small mock layout drawn in the Ember Dusk colours.

Accessible pairs

AA pairs (4.5:1 or more) suit body text; AA large pairs (3:1 or more) are for text 24px and larger.

Charred Oak on Firelit Cream14.7:1 (AA)
Firelit Cream on Charred Oak14.7:1 (AA)
Firelit Cream on Hearth Stone13.3:1 (AA)
Hearth Stone on Firelit Cream13.3:1 (AA)
Candle Glow on Charred Oak10.7:1 (AA)
Charred Oak on Candle Glow10.7:1 (AA)
Candle Glow on Hearth Stone9.7:1 (AA)
Hearth Stone on Candle Glow9.7:1 (AA)
Firelit Cream on Smoke Line9.3:1 (AA)
Smoke Line on Firelit Cream9.3:1 (AA)
Charred Oak on Warm Ash8.1:1 (AA)
Warm Ash on Charred Oak8.1:1 (AA)
Hearth Stone on Warm Ash7.3:1 (AA)
Warm Ash on Hearth Stone7.3:1 (AA)
Charred Oak on Live Ember6.9:1 (AA)
Live Ember on Charred Oak6.9:1 (AA)
Candle Glow on Smoke Line6.8:1 (AA)
Smoke Line on Candle Glow6.8:1 (AA)
Hearth Stone on Live Ember6.2:1 (AA)
Live Ember on Hearth Stone6.2:1 (AA)
Smoke Line on Warm Ash5.1:1 (AA)
Warm Ash on Smoke Line5.1:1 (AA)
Live Ember on Smoke Line4.4:1 (AA large)
Smoke Line on Live Ember4.4:1 (AA large)

Copy the idea

The Ember Dusk recipe — its idea, colours, accessible pairs and rules — ready to paste into a design tool or an AI assistant, or as design tokens.

# Ember Dusk — palette recipe

## The idea
- Glowing coals in a dark room: warm brown-black surfaces, firelit cream text and a blazing orange accent.

## Use it for
- Restaurants and bars
- Evening events and music venues
- Story-led brand pages

## Avoid it when
- The content is long technical reference
- The brand should feel cool, clean or clinical

## Colours
- Charred Oak (background): #1f1512
- Hearth Stone (surface): #2b1e19
- Firelit Cream (text): #f4e7da
- Warm Ash (muted): #c2aa96
- Live Ember (accent): #ff7a45
- Candle Glow (accent-2): #e9c46a
- Smoke Line (border): #4a362d

## Accessible pairs
- Charred Oak on Firelit Cream — 14.7:1 (AA)
- Firelit Cream on Charred Oak — 14.7:1 (AA)
- Firelit Cream on Hearth Stone — 13.3:1 (AA)
- Hearth Stone on Firelit Cream — 13.3:1 (AA)
- Candle Glow on Charred Oak — 10.7:1 (AA)
- Charred Oak on Candle Glow — 10.7:1 (AA)
- Candle Glow on Hearth Stone — 9.7:1 (AA)
- Hearth Stone on Candle Glow — 9.7:1 (AA)
- Firelit Cream on Smoke Line — 9.3:1 (AA)
- Smoke Line on Firelit Cream — 9.3:1 (AA)
- Charred Oak on Warm Ash — 8.1:1 (AA)
- Warm Ash on Charred Oak — 8.1:1 (AA)
- Hearth Stone on Warm Ash — 7.3:1 (AA)
- Warm Ash on Hearth Stone — 7.3:1 (AA)
- Charred Oak on Live Ember — 6.9:1 (AA)
- Live Ember on Charred Oak — 6.9:1 (AA)
- Candle Glow on Smoke Line — 6.8:1 (AA)
- Smoke Line on Candle Glow — 6.8:1 (AA)
- Hearth Stone on Live Ember — 6.2:1 (AA)
- Live Ember on Hearth Stone — 6.2:1 (AA)
- Smoke Line on Warm Ash — 5.1:1 (AA)
- Warm Ash on Smoke Line — 5.1:1 (AA)
- Live Ember on Smoke Line — 4.4:1 (AA large)
- Smoke Line on Live Ember — 4.4:1 (AA large)

## Principles
- Keep the page dark and let the ember accent be the brightest thing on it.
- Use dark text on ember and candle fills; light text belongs on the dark grounds.
- Separate layers with the hearth surface and a smoke line, not with glows.
- Use candle glow for small highlights such as ratings or badges.

Design with the "Ember Dusk" palette.
The idea: Glowing coals in a dark room: warm brown-black surfaces, firelit cream text and a blazing orange accent.
It suits: Restaurants and bars.
It suits: Evening events and music venues.
It suits: Story-led brand pages.
Do not choose it when: The content is long technical reference.
Do not choose it when: The brand should feel cool, clean or clinical.
Use #1f1512 (Charred Oak) as the background colour.
Use #2b1e19 (Hearth Stone) as the surface colour.
Use #f4e7da (Firelit Cream) as the text colour.
Use #c2aa96 (Warm Ash) as the muted colour.
Use #ff7a45 (Live Ember) as the accent colour.
Use #e9c46a (Candle Glow) as the accent-2 colour.
Use #4a362d (Smoke Line) as the border colour.
Set body text only in pairs marked AA (at least 4.5:1); pairs marked AA large (at least 3:1) are for text 24px and larger.
Pair: Charred Oak on Firelit Cream — 14.7:1 (AA).
Pair: Firelit Cream on Charred Oak — 14.7:1 (AA).
Pair: Firelit Cream on Hearth Stone — 13.3:1 (AA).
Pair: Hearth Stone on Firelit Cream — 13.3:1 (AA).
Pair: Candle Glow on Charred Oak — 10.7:1 (AA).
Pair: Charred Oak on Candle Glow — 10.7:1 (AA).
Pair: Candle Glow on Hearth Stone — 9.7:1 (AA).
Pair: Hearth Stone on Candle Glow — 9.7:1 (AA).
Pair: Firelit Cream on Smoke Line — 9.3:1 (AA).
Pair: Smoke Line on Firelit Cream — 9.3:1 (AA).
Pair: Charred Oak on Warm Ash — 8.1:1 (AA).
Pair: Warm Ash on Charred Oak — 8.1:1 (AA).
Pair: Hearth Stone on Warm Ash — 7.3:1 (AA).
Pair: Warm Ash on Hearth Stone — 7.3:1 (AA).
Pair: Charred Oak on Live Ember — 6.9:1 (AA).
Pair: Live Ember on Charred Oak — 6.9:1 (AA).
Pair: Candle Glow on Smoke Line — 6.8:1 (AA).
Pair: Smoke Line on Candle Glow — 6.8:1 (AA).
Pair: Hearth Stone on Live Ember — 6.2:1 (AA).
Pair: Live Ember on Hearth Stone — 6.2:1 (AA).
Pair: Smoke Line on Warm Ash — 5.1:1 (AA).
Pair: Warm Ash on Smoke Line — 5.1:1 (AA).
Pair: Live Ember on Smoke Line — 4.4:1 (AA large).
Pair: Smoke Line on Live Ember — 4.4:1 (AA large).
Follow this rule: Keep the page dark and let the ember accent be the brightest thing on it.
Follow this rule: Use dark text on ember and candle fills; light text belongs on the dark grounds.
Follow this rule: Separate layers with the hearth surface and a smoke line, not with glows.
Follow this rule: Use candle glow for small highlights such as ratings or badges.
Apply the idea and the rules above; do not copy any existing website.

:root {
  --color-background: #1f1512;
  --color-surface: #2b1e19;
  --color-text: #f4e7da;
  --color-muted: #c2aa96;
  --color-accent: #ff7a45;
  --color-accent-2: #e9c46a;
  --color-border: #4a362d;
}

Download brief (.md)

Where it fits

Use it for

Restaurants and bars
Evening events and music venues
Story-led brand pages

Avoid it when

The content is long technical reference
The brand should feel cool, clean or clinical

Principles

Keep the page dark and let the ember accent be the brightest thing on it.
Use dark text on ember and candle fills; light text belongs on the dark grounds.
Separate layers with the hearth surface and a smoke line, not with glows.
Use candle glow for small highlights such as ratings or badges.

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