# Sage and clay — palette recipe

## The idea

- Dusty sage leaves and unglazed clay, softened almost to grey, for a calm, grown-up feel that never shouts.
- Mood: calm, warm, serious

## Use it for

- Wellbeing and slow-living brands
- Interior and homeware shops
- Landscape and garden studios

## Avoid it when

- The product needs urgency or excitement
- Calls to action must stand out strongly

## Colours

- Dry sage (background): #eceee6
- Linen (surface): #f7f8f3
- Olive bark (text): #2a3027
- Lichen (muted): #575f52
- Deep sage (accent): #52623f
- Raw clay (accent-2): #e3cdb3
- Dried grass (border): #cfd3c4

## Accessible pairs

- Linen on Olive bark — 12.7:1 (AA)
- Olive bark on Linen — 12.7:1 (AA)
- Dry sage on Olive bark — 11.6:1 (AA)
- Olive bark on Dry sage — 11.6:1 (AA)
- Dried grass on Olive bark — 8.9:1 (AA)
- Olive bark on Dried grass — 8.9:1 (AA)
- Olive bark on Raw clay — 8.8:1 (AA)
- Raw clay on Olive bark — 8.8:1 (AA)
- Lichen on Linen — 6.2:1 (AA)
- Linen on Lichen — 6.2:1 (AA)
- Deep sage on Linen — 6.2:1 (AA)
- Linen on Deep sage — 6.2:1 (AA)
- Dry sage on Lichen — 5.7:1 (AA)
- Lichen on Dry sage — 5.7:1 (AA)
- Deep sage on Dry sage — 5.6:1 (AA)
- Dry sage on Deep sage — 5.6:1 (AA)
- Dried grass on Lichen — 4.4:1 (AA large)
- Lichen on Dried grass — 4.4:1 (AA large)
- Deep sage on Dried grass — 4.3:1 (AA large)
- Dried grass on Deep sage — 4.3:1 (AA large)
- Lichen on Raw clay — 4.3:1 (AA large)
- Raw clay on Lichen — 4.3:1 (AA large)
- Deep sage on Raw clay — 4.3:1 (AA large)
- Raw clay on Deep sage — 4.3:1 (AA large)

## Principles

- Dry sage covers about 65% of the page and linen about 25%, for cards and content panels
- Deep sage is the accent for buttons and links, around 5%; keep every colour low in saturation
- Raw clay marks tags and small highlights, with olive bark text on it
- Lichen for captions, labels and secondary details
- Let soft dried grass lines and generous space do the work instead of strong contrast in colour