Sage and Clay

Dusty greens and softened earth tones with the saturation turned down, for a calm, grown-up feel that never strains for attention.

calm
friendly
warm

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.

Dried Sagebackground #eceee6
Linensurface #f6f7f2
Moss Shadowtext #2a2e27
Lichenmuted #5a6154
Soft Clayaccent #7a5340
Olive Leafaccent-2 #4f644c
Pale Reedborder #cfd3c5

Sample page

A page in Sage and Clay

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 Sage and Clay 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.

Linen on Moss Shadow12.8:1 (AA)
Moss Shadow on Linen12.8:1 (AA)
Dried Sage on Moss Shadow11.8:1 (AA)
Moss Shadow on Dried Sage11.8:1 (AA)
Moss Shadow on Pale Reed9.1:1 (AA)
Pale Reed on Moss Shadow9.1:1 (AA)
Linen on Soft Clay6.2:1 (AA)
Soft Clay on Linen6.2:1 (AA)
Linen on Olive Leaf6.0:1 (AA)
Olive Leaf on Linen6.0:1 (AA)
Lichen on Linen6.0:1 (AA)
Linen on Lichen6.0:1 (AA)
Dried Sage on Soft Clay5.7:1 (AA)
Soft Clay on Dried Sage5.7:1 (AA)
Dried Sage on Olive Leaf5.5:1 (AA)
Olive Leaf on Dried Sage5.5:1 (AA)
Dried Sage on Lichen5.5:1 (AA)
Lichen on Dried Sage5.5:1 (AA)
Pale Reed on Soft Clay4.4:1 (AA large)
Soft Clay on Pale Reed4.4:1 (AA large)
Olive Leaf on Pale Reed4.2:1 (AA large)
Pale Reed on Olive Leaf4.2:1 (AA large)
Lichen on Pale Reed4.2:1 (AA large)
Pale Reed on Lichen4.2:1 (AA large)

Copy the idea

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

# Sage and Clay — palette recipe

## The idea
- Dusty greens and softened earth tones with the saturation turned down, for a calm, grown-up feel that never strains for attention.

## Use it for
- Wellbeing and therapy practices
- Gardening and home goods
- Slow-living blogs and journals

## Avoid it when
- You need urgency, such as sales or alerts
- The product must feel high-tech or cutting edge

## Colours
- Dried Sage (background): #eceee6
- Linen (surface): #f6f7f2
- Moss Shadow (text): #2a2e27
- Lichen (muted): #5a6154
- Soft Clay (accent): #7a5340
- Olive Leaf (accent-2): #4f644c
- Pale Reed (border): #cfd3c5

## Accessible pairs
- Linen on Moss Shadow — 12.8:1 (AA)
- Moss Shadow on Linen — 12.8:1 (AA)
- Dried Sage on Moss Shadow — 11.8:1 (AA)
- Moss Shadow on Dried Sage — 11.8:1 (AA)
- Moss Shadow on Pale Reed — 9.1:1 (AA)
- Pale Reed on Moss Shadow — 9.1:1 (AA)
- Linen on Soft Clay — 6.2:1 (AA)
- Soft Clay on Linen — 6.2:1 (AA)
- Linen on Olive Leaf — 6.0:1 (AA)
- Olive Leaf on Linen — 6.0:1 (AA)
- Lichen on Linen — 6.0:1 (AA)
- Linen on Lichen — 6.0:1 (AA)
- Dried Sage on Soft Clay — 5.7:1 (AA)
- Soft Clay on Dried Sage — 5.7:1 (AA)
- Dried Sage on Olive Leaf — 5.5:1 (AA)
- Olive Leaf on Dried Sage — 5.5:1 (AA)
- Dried Sage on Lichen — 5.5:1 (AA)
- Lichen on Dried Sage — 5.5:1 (AA)
- Pale Reed on Soft Clay — 4.4:1 (AA large)
- Soft Clay on Pale Reed — 4.4:1 (AA large)
- Olive Leaf on Pale Reed — 4.2:1 (AA large)
- Pale Reed on Olive Leaf — 4.2:1 (AA large)
- Lichen on Pale Reed — 4.2:1 (AA large)
- Pale Reed on Lichen — 4.2:1 (AA large)

## Principles
- Keep every colour greyed down; nothing should look fresh out of the tube.
- Use soft clay for buttons and links, olive leaf for quiet highlights.
- Let linen cards sit on the sage page with a pale reed edge, not a shadow.
- Set text in moss shadow, never pure black, to match the softness.

Design with the "Sage and Clay" palette.
The idea: Dusty greens and softened earth tones with the saturation turned down, for a calm, grown-up feel that never strains for attention.
It suits: Wellbeing and therapy practices.
It suits: Gardening and home goods.
It suits: Slow-living blogs and journals.
Do not choose it when: You need urgency, such as sales or alerts.
Do not choose it when: The product must feel high-tech or cutting edge.
Use #eceee6 (Dried Sage) as the background colour.
Use #f6f7f2 (Linen) as the surface colour.
Use #2a2e27 (Moss Shadow) as the text colour.
Use #5a6154 (Lichen) as the muted colour.
Use #7a5340 (Soft Clay) as the accent colour.
Use #4f644c (Olive Leaf) as the accent-2 colour.
Use #cfd3c5 (Pale Reed) 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: Linen on Moss Shadow — 12.8:1 (AA).
Pair: Moss Shadow on Linen — 12.8:1 (AA).
Pair: Dried Sage on Moss Shadow — 11.8:1 (AA).
Pair: Moss Shadow on Dried Sage — 11.8:1 (AA).
Pair: Moss Shadow on Pale Reed — 9.1:1 (AA).
Pair: Pale Reed on Moss Shadow — 9.1:1 (AA).
Pair: Linen on Soft Clay — 6.2:1 (AA).
Pair: Soft Clay on Linen — 6.2:1 (AA).
Pair: Linen on Olive Leaf — 6.0:1 (AA).
Pair: Olive Leaf on Linen — 6.0:1 (AA).
Pair: Lichen on Linen — 6.0:1 (AA).
Pair: Linen on Lichen — 6.0:1 (AA).
Pair: Dried Sage on Soft Clay — 5.7:1 (AA).
Pair: Soft Clay on Dried Sage — 5.7:1 (AA).
Pair: Dried Sage on Olive Leaf — 5.5:1 (AA).
Pair: Olive Leaf on Dried Sage — 5.5:1 (AA).
Pair: Dried Sage on Lichen — 5.5:1 (AA).
Pair: Lichen on Dried Sage — 5.5:1 (AA).
Pair: Pale Reed on Soft Clay — 4.4:1 (AA large).
Pair: Soft Clay on Pale Reed — 4.4:1 (AA large).
Pair: Olive Leaf on Pale Reed — 4.2:1 (AA large).
Pair: Pale Reed on Olive Leaf — 4.2:1 (AA large).
Pair: Lichen on Pale Reed — 4.2:1 (AA large).
Pair: Pale Reed on Lichen — 4.2:1 (AA large).
Follow this rule: Keep every colour greyed down; nothing should look fresh out of the tube.
Follow this rule: Use soft clay for buttons and links, olive leaf for quiet highlights.
Follow this rule: Let linen cards sit on the sage page with a pale reed edge, not a shadow.
Follow this rule: Set text in moss shadow, never pure black, to match the softness.
Apply the idea and the rules above; do not copy any existing website.

:root {
  --color-background: #eceee6;
  --color-surface: #f6f7f2;
  --color-text: #2a2e27;
  --color-muted: #5a6154;
  --color-accent: #7a5340;
  --color-accent-2: #4f644c;
  --color-border: #cfd3c5;
}

Download brief (.md)

Where it fits

Use it for

Wellbeing and therapy practices
Gardening and home goods
Slow-living blogs and journals

Avoid it when

You need urgency, such as sales or alerts
The product must feel high-tech or cutting edge

Principles

Keep every colour greyed down; nothing should look fresh out of the tube.
Use soft clay for buttons and links, olive leaf for quiet highlights.
Let linen cards sit on the sage page with a pale reed edge, not a shadow.
Set text in moss shadow, never pure black, to match the softness.

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