Accessibility Workflow

Accessible Palette Generator

Start from one base color and turn it into real UI roles for text, surfaces, borders, accents, and primary actions. This workflow checks each important pair with WCAG and APCA before you export anything.

Output

6 semantic UI roles

Generated for readable interfaces, token handoff, and design reviews that need more than a pretty palette.

Inputs

Generate from one base color

The first release keeps the input simple: one base HEX in, accessible UI roles out. That makes it fast to audit a brand or feature color before it spreads through components.

Generated roles

Token-ready accessibility roles

brand

Primary

#0071F4

Scale step 500

Surface

#DDF2FF

Scale step 50

Text

#001F74

Scale step 900

Muted Text

#004BB8

Scale step 700

Border

#7FD1FF

Scale step 200

Accent

#005ED5

Scale step 600

WCAG 13.81 · APCA 90.7 Lc

Body Text on Surface

Body text ready

Preview Pair

Readable UI starts when body text stays calm, clear, and durable.

This shared preview block is meant for future APCA, WCAG, palette, and design-token workflows.

Foreground

#001F74

Background

#DDF2FF

Use this pair for paragraphs, settings text, and product copy that has to stay comfortable over longer reading sessions.

WCAG 4.18 · APCA 65.1 Lc

Primary Action

Action pair needs review

Button fills flip the pair direction, which is useful for testing CTA readability and action emphasis.

Foreground

#0071F4

Background

#DDF2FF

The button preview uses the surface color for label text on a primary action background, which mirrors common product CTA patterns.

WCAG 5.58 · APCA 68.9 Lc

Accent on Surface

Accent stands out

Surface Preview

Accent surfaces need distinction, not just decoration.

Cards, settings drawers, and dark surfaces benefit from stronger perceptual separation than simple decorative panels.

Foreground

#005ED5

Background

#DDF2FF

Accent colors should feel assertive enough for chips, highlights, or status markers without collapsing into the background.

Text on Surface

13.81 / 90.7 Lc

Pass

Body text should be the strongest pairing in the palette because it carries dense interface reading.

  • Text #001F74
  • Surface #DDF2FF
  • Steps 900 on 50

Muted Text on Surface

7.48 / 76.4 Lc

Pass

Muted text still needs enough separation for helper copy, metadata, and secondary labels to remain useful.

  • Muted #004BB8
  • Surface #DDF2FF
  • Steps 700 on 50

Primary Action Pair

4.18 / 65.1 Lc

Caution

Primary buttons need visible emphasis and readable label contrast when the surface color is reused for button text.

  • Primary #0071F4
  • Surface text #DDF2FF
  • Primary step 500

Accent Visibility

5.58 / 68.9 Lc

Pass

Accent roles should stand out enough for emphasis states, badges, or highlighted controls against the base surface.

  • Accent #005ED5
  • Surface #DDF2FF
  • Accent step 600

Border Visibility

1.49 / 20.1 Lc

Caution

Borders do not need body-text contrast, but they do need enough separation to define cards, inputs, and containers.

  • Border #7FD1FF
  • Surface #DDF2FF
  • Border step 200

Why this is useful

This tool helps when one brand color has to become a usable interface system

People usually do not land here because they want another palette gallery. They land here because they need to choose accessible text colors, find a workable button color, improve dark mode readability, or turn a base brand color into semantic roles that engineering can actually use.

Common jobs to solve

Use it when you need body text on light surfaces, muted labels that still read well, stronger CTA colors, or borders that do not disappear in product UI.

Who this helps

Useful for product designers, design-system teams, and front-end engineers who need semantic roles, not just isolated swatches.

Recommended workflow

Generate roles here, export stable values into the Design Token Color Exporter, then validate high-risk text and surface pairs with the APCA checker.

What you get from one input color

  • - A starting primary color for actions and emphasis
  • - A surface color that gives text room to breathe
  • - Text and muted text candidates that are easier to read
  • - Border and accent roles that are easier to apply in real components

Need the strategy behind it?

The companion guide explains why beautiful brand palettes still fail in UI, how APCA and WCAG inform different decisions, and how to move from color exploration into token-ready implementation.

Related Tool Paths