Color
This document provides guidance on the technical use of color in Calypso. Please see our documentation on our Brand Guide for guidance related to general color usage.
CSS Custom Properties
We use CSS custom properties for all color usage. Unless an edge case requires another solution, you should rely on theme properties.
Semantic Colors
Our naming is based on function and describes the meaning of the color, not the color name itself. This makes maintenance easier, and keeps the focus on communication over decoration.
Under the hood, Calypso relies on color values generated by Color Studio. While all hex are included by default, please avoid using them directly in favor of theme properties.
Theme Properties
All theme variables are prefixed with --color-. Their values change depending on an active dashboard color scheme.
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
--color-primary |
Primary color |
--color-accent |
Accent (aka secondary) color |
--color-neutral |
Gray color |
--color-success |
Success status |
--color-warning |
Warning status |
--color-error |
Error status |
The colors above can be suffixed with -light or -dark to quickly get a variation of the color. They are helper aliases to make picking shades easier (e.g. --color-primary-light or --color-primary-dark). In the default color scheme, these suffixes correspond to the 30 and 70 value of that color. For example, --color-primary points to Blue 50, --color-primary-light to Blue 30, and --color-primary-dark to Blue 70.
The properties listed above can also be suffixed with the corresponding index number to Color Studio values. If you need a specific value that is not covered by the light or dark helper aliases, then you can append the specific value number to the end of the variable. For example, you can use --color-accent-10 or color-neutral-90 to get a specific shade.
Additional Properties
We also have a number of properties that help make our color usage consistent, while also making updates easier to maintain.
| Variable | Defaults |
|---|---|
--color-text |
Black text color |
--color-text-subtle |
Gray text color |
--color-text-inverted |
White text color |
--color-border |
Border for UI components |
--color-border-subtle |
Less prominent border for cards and layout |
--color-border-inverted |
White border for colored components |
--color-surface |
White background color |
--color-surface-backdrop |
Light gray background color |
--color-link |
Blue hyperlink color |
Translucent Colors
Each theme property can be turned translucent for shadows and fading using color-mix:
/* Already defined */
--color-primary: var( --studio-blue-50 );
.my-selector {
border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var( --color-primary ) 50%, transparent );
}
Using Brand Colors
The colors for both internal and external brands have also been defined in one place for easier maintenance and consistent use. When using a previously unavailable brand color, please add it the theme file and use the property instead of the raw hex value.
Please note that --color-primary in the default color scheme is a different shade of blue than WordPress.com’s primary brand color.
Dashboard Color Schemes
All of the above has been systematized with WordPress.com’s dashboard color schemes in mind. Please test new designs under of all them.
Adding a New Scheme
New color schemes overwrite the theme properties defined by the default theme called Default.
Each color scheme lives in a separate file and is referenced by the calypso-color-schemes entry file.