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A little color. A new perspective.

Published Jul 22, 2026

Rainfall Notes by the Reservoir

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Five colors, endless possibilities. Select a color to copy its HEX.

A calm reservoir dashboard palette with a deep green-charcoal map, warm gray labels, sky-blue summaries, a subdued yellow station cue, and a muted mauve trend line.

The feeling

A restrained reservoir map in green charcoal, warm gray, rain blue, muted ochre, and soft mauve

Explore this palette ↓

The mood

A dark reservoir map makes a quiet field for tracing rainfall records across time. Pale warm-gray labels keep the geography clear, while sky blue, subdued yellow, and muted mauve separate summaries, the selected station, and a secondary trend.

How to use it

Build the map and chart area in Reservoir Charcoal, then use Warm Mist for titles, axes, station names, date controls, and table text. Set summary cards in Rain Sky with charcoal text. Give the active station and its matching table row a Station Ochre marker, charcoal label, and a written selected state. Draw the comparison series in Mauve Gauge, pairing its solid line with point markers while the main series uses a dashed line and direct label.

A 56% Reservoir Charcoal field supports the map, plot, navigation, and table. Rain Sky takes 28% for summary panels, and Station Ochre takes 16% for the current selection and compact date-filter states. Keep Mauve Gauge to the secondary series and small legend samples rather than a broad surface.

What to watch

Warm Mist reaches about 12.02:1 on Reservoir Charcoal, but only 1.38:1 on Rain Sky, 1.89:1 on Station Ochre, and 2.64:1 on Mauve Gauge. Use Reservoir Charcoal text on those colored surfaces instead; its ratios are about 8.73:1, 6.36:1, and 4.56:1.

Rain Sky, Station Ochre, and Mauve Gauge are too close to form reliable borders against one another, ranging from about 1.37:1 to 1.92:1. Place each panel or marker directly on Reservoir Charcoal, where every boundary exceeds 4.5:1. Repeat series and selection meaning with labels, line patterns, and marker shapes.

A considered balance

Make room for
the right colors.

Use Reservoir Charcoal for the map, plots, navigation, and table with Warm Mist labels. Set sky-blue summaries, ochre selection cues, and mauve comparison marks directly on the charcoal field, using charcoal text on each. Distinguish series with dashed or solid lines, point shapes, and direct labels.

Start with a generous background, introduce your primary color, then use the highlight sparingly. The ratios are a guide for large surfaces, not a fixed recipe.

56 Base
28 Main
16 Point
Reservoir Charcoal

Background & breathing room

Rain Sky

Cards, graphics & sections

Station Ochre

Buttons & key signals

Background · Primary · Highlight. Use text and accent colors where their roles call for them.

Text on background
12.02:1 #EFE8DC on #132D29 · AAA normal text
Text on primary
1.38:1 #EFE8DC on #A9CDE3 · Not suitable for text

The original text has low contrast (1.38:1). This example uses Reservoir Charcoal (#132D29) from the same palette instead of #EFE8DC on #A9CDE3, improving contrast to 8.73:1. This meets WCAG AA for normal text.

Text on highlight
1.89:1 #EFE8DC on #C4A94E · Not suitable for text

The original text has low contrast (1.89:1). This example uses Reservoir Charcoal (#132D29) from the same palette instead of #EFE8DC on #C4A94E, improving contrast to 6.36:1. This meets WCAG AA for normal text.

Text on accent
2.64:1 #EFE8DC on #A8869A · Not suitable for text

The original text has low contrast (2.64:1). This example uses Reservoir Charcoal (#132D29) from the same palette instead of #EFE8DC on #A8869A, improving contrast to 4.56:1. This meets WCAG AA for normal text.

Contrast is calculated for these specific pairs. Large text means at least 24 px regular or about 18.7 px bold. Check every pairing in your final design.

IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

One palette.
A world of possibilities.

See how these five colors come together in a website, a poster, a brand, and a presentation. Explore a different palette and watch the mood change.

ONDA STUDIO / WEB PREVIEW
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INDEPENDENT STUDIO · SEOUL

Design with
today’s color.

A little space for fresh ideas. A considered palette for whatever comes next.

Prepared design previews, recolored with this palette.

COLOR NOTE

Do not use Warm Mist text on Rain Sky, Station Ochre, or Mauve Gauge; their ratios are about 1.38:1, 1.89:1, and 2.64:1. Use Reservoir Charcoal text instead at about 8.73:1, 6.36:1, and 4.56:1. Do not border the three colored surfaces with one another; place them directly on Reservoir Charcoal.

From inspiration to creation

Your next idea,
in these colors.

Add a considered color direction to the design you already have in mind. Your layout and instructions stay yours.

  1. Write your design request.
  2. Choose a color guide and copy it.
  3. Paste it after your request.
  4. Review the result and check readability.

Try it in the design or AI tool you already use.

[Color guide — coloring.today / rainfall-notes-by-the-reservoir]
Apply this palette to the design requested above. Preserve the requested layout, content, and interactions. If an explicit requirement conflicts with this color guide, identify the conflict instead of silently overriding it.

Text: Warm Mist #EFE8DC
Primary: Rain Sky #A9CDE3
Highlight: Station Ochre #C4A94E
Accent: Mauve Gauge #A8869A
Background: Reservoir Charcoal #132D29

Mood: A restrained reservoir map in green charcoal, warm gray, rain blue, muted ochre, and soft mauve
Suggested uses: Data dashboards
Application note: Use Reservoir Charcoal for the map, plots, navigation, and table with Warm Mist labels. Set sky-blue summaries, ochre selection cues, and mauve comparison marks directly on the charcoal field, using charcoal text on each. Distinguish series with dashed or solid lines, point shapes, and direct labels.
Avoid: Do not use Warm Mist text on Rain Sky, Station Ochre, or Mauve Gauge; their ratios are about 1.38:1, 1.89:1, and 2.64:1. Use Reservoir Charcoal text instead at about 8.73:1, 6.36:1, and 4.56:1. Do not border the three colored surfaces with one another; place them directly on Reservoir Charcoal.
Use approximately 56% background, 28% primary, and 16% highlight across large surfaces. These ratios are a starting point, not a rigid rule. Use text and accent colors according to their roles.

Keep the original HEX values. Choose readable text/background pairings without silently changing the palette. Do not introduce unrelated colors.
[Color guide — coloring.today / rainfall-notes-by-the-reservoir]
Apply this palette to the design requested above. Preserve the requested layout, content, and interactions. If an explicit requirement conflicts with this color guide, identify the conflict instead of silently overriding it.

Text: Warm Mist #EFE8DC
Primary: Rain Sky #A9CDE3
Highlight: Station Ochre #C4A94E
Accent: Mauve Gauge #A8869A
Background: Reservoir Charcoal #132D29

Mood: A restrained reservoir map in green charcoal, warm gray, rain blue, muted ochre, and soft mauve
Suggested uses: Data dashboards
Application note: Use Reservoir Charcoal for the map, plots, navigation, and table with Warm Mist labels. Set sky-blue summaries, ochre selection cues, and mauve comparison marks directly on the charcoal field, using charcoal text on each. Distinguish series with dashed or solid lines, point shapes, and direct labels.
Avoid: Do not use Warm Mist text on Rain Sky, Station Ochre, or Mauve Gauge; their ratios are about 1.38:1, 1.89:1, and 2.64:1. Use Reservoir Charcoal text instead at about 8.73:1, 6.36:1, and 4.56:1. Do not border the three colored surfaces with one another; place them directly on Reservoir Charcoal.
Use approximately 56% background, 28% primary, and 16% highlight across large surfaces. These ratios are a starting point, not a rigid rule. Use text and accent colors according to their roles.

Use these semantic tokens consistently. Keep the original HEX values.
:root {
  --color-text: #EFE8DC;
  --color-primary: #A9CDE3;
  --color-highlight: #C4A94E;
  --color-accent: #A8869A;
  --color-background: #132D29;
}
Background is the canvas, text is readable copy, primary is a key surface, highlight draws attention, and accent adds small secondary details.
[Color guide — coloring.today / rainfall-notes-by-the-reservoir]
Apply this palette to the design requested above. Preserve the requested layout, content, and interactions. If an explicit requirement conflicts with this color guide, identify the conflict instead of silently overriding it.

Text: Warm Mist #EFE8DC
Primary: Rain Sky #A9CDE3
Highlight: Station Ochre #C4A94E
Accent: Mauve Gauge #A8869A
Background: Reservoir Charcoal #132D29

Mood: A restrained reservoir map in green charcoal, warm gray, rain blue, muted ochre, and soft mauve
Suggested uses: Data dashboards
Application note: Use Reservoir Charcoal for the map, plots, navigation, and table with Warm Mist labels. Set sky-blue summaries, ochre selection cues, and mauve comparison marks directly on the charcoal field, using charcoal text on each. Distinguish series with dashed or solid lines, point shapes, and direct labels.
Avoid: Do not use Warm Mist text on Rain Sky, Station Ochre, or Mauve Gauge; their ratios are about 1.38:1, 1.89:1, and 2.64:1. Use Reservoir Charcoal text instead at about 8.73:1, 6.36:1, and 4.56:1. Do not border the three colored surfaces with one another; place them directly on Reservoir Charcoal.
Use approximately 56% background, 28% primary, and 16% highlight across large surfaces. These ratios are a starting point, not a rigid rule. Use text and accent colors according to their roles.

Text/background contrast: 12.02:1. This is one measured pair, not a guarantee for the whole palette. Check every actual text/background pairing against WCAG AA. Prefer readable combinations from the original colors, keep visible keyboard focus, and never communicate state through color alone. If no original pairing meets the requirement, propose a separately labeled derived color with its original HEX, proposed HEX, purpose and measured contrast. Never overwrite the source palette.

This guide preserves the original HEX values. Review the output before using it.

Bring it into your project

Five colors.
Ready to use.

Copy the same colors as semantic CSS variables. Every preview and prompt on this page uses this palette.

:root {
  --color-text: #EFE8DC;
  --color-primary: #A9CDE3;
  --color-highlight: #C4A94E;
  --color-accent: #A8869A;
  --color-background: #132D29;
}

A little more inspiration.

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