# Midnight Ink — palette recipe

## The idea
- A dark blue-black canvas with soft moonlit text and a single lamp-gold accent, made for long sessions at night.

## Use it for
- Code tools and developer docs
- Music, film and night-time apps
- Premium product launches

## Avoid it when
- Readers print the pages or read long text in daylight
- The audience expects a bright, cheerful tone

## Colours
- Night Sky (background): #12141a
- Shadowed Desk (surface): #1c1f28
- Moonlight (text): #e8e6e1
- Cloud Grey (muted): #a2a7b3
- Lamp Gold (accent): #f2b84b
- Starlight Blue (accent-2): #7fb6e6
- Dusk Line (border): #2f3340

## Accessible pairs
- Moonlight on Night Sky — 14.8:1 (AA)
- Night Sky on Moonlight — 14.8:1 (AA)
- Moonlight on Shadowed Desk — 13.2:1 (AA)
- Shadowed Desk on Moonlight — 13.2:1 (AA)
- Lamp Gold on Night Sky — 10.3:1 (AA)
- Night Sky on Lamp Gold — 10.3:1 (AA)
- Dusk Line on Moonlight — 10.1:1 (AA)
- Moonlight on Dusk Line — 10.1:1 (AA)
- Lamp Gold on Shadowed Desk — 9.2:1 (AA)
- Shadowed Desk on Lamp Gold — 9.2:1 (AA)
- Night Sky on Starlight Blue — 8.5:1 (AA)
- Starlight Blue on Night Sky — 8.5:1 (AA)
- Cloud Grey on Night Sky — 7.6:1 (AA)
- Night Sky on Cloud Grey — 7.6:1 (AA)
- Shadowed Desk on Starlight Blue — 7.6:1 (AA)
- Starlight Blue on Shadowed Desk — 7.6:1 (AA)
- Dusk Line on Lamp Gold — 7.0:1 (AA)
- Lamp Gold on Dusk Line — 7.0:1 (AA)
- Cloud Grey on Shadowed Desk — 6.8:1 (AA)
- Shadowed Desk on Cloud Grey — 6.8:1 (AA)
- Dusk Line on Starlight Blue — 5.8:1 (AA)
- Starlight Blue on Dusk Line — 5.8:1 (AA)
- Cloud Grey on Dusk Line — 5.2:1 (AA)
- Dusk Line on Cloud Grey — 5.2:1 (AA)

## Principles
- Never use pure black or pure white; the softened pair is gentler on the eyes.
- Use lamp gold for one primary action and for focus rings, nothing else.
- Put dark text on gold buttons, not light text.
- Raise layers by lightening the surface, not by adding shadows.
- Use starlight blue for links inside long text.