Color
Maintaining consistent and engaging digital interfaces throughout IBM, whether applications or experiences, demands extended guidance around color usage. The following concepts provide the foundation as we strive to achieve balance and harmony through our User Interface design.
Introduction
Application of the color palette brings a unified and recognizable consistency to IBM’s array of digital products and interfaces. This consistency is grounded in a set of well-defined rules about how to work with the Carbon component library in the context of dark and light themes.
Color anatomy
Carbon’s default themes are derived from the IBM Design Language color palette. The neutral gray family is dominant in the default themes, making use of subtle shifts in value to organize content into distinct zones.
The core blue family serves as the primary action color across all IBM products and experiences. Additional colors are used sparingly and purposefully.
Alert Colors
Layering model
Colors in the neutral gray palette are layered on top of each other to create depth and spatial associations. The layering model defines the logic of how colors stack on top of each other in a UI when using the Carbon themes. Aspects of the layering model are built directly into the themes, color tokens, and components.
The layering model differs between the light and dark themes.
- In the light themes, layers alternate between White and Gray 10 with each added layer.
- In the dark themes, layers become one step lighter with each added layer.
Layering model for the White theme (left) and Gray 100 theme (right)
Implementing color
Carbon uses tokens and themes to manage color. Tokens are role-based, and themes specify the color values that serve those roles in the UI.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Theme | A theme is a collection of colors designed to create a specific aesthetic. Themes control the color value assigned to a token. For example, Gray 100 theme. |
| Token | A token is the role-based identifier that assigns a color. Unlike hex codes, tokens apply universally across themes. For example, $layer, $border-subtle, $support-error. |
| Role | A role is the systematic usage of a color assigned to a token. Roles cannot be changed between themes. |
| Value | A value is the unique visual attribute (hex code, rgba value) assigned to a token through the use of themes. |
Themes
Themes serve as an organizational framework for color in Carbon, with each theme based on a specific primary background color. And they actually get their names from their background color. There are two default light themes and two default dark themes.
The light themes are based on White and Gray 10 backgrounds, and the dark themes use Gray 100 and Gray 90 backgrounds. Within each theme, the values for the universal color tokens use the primary background color as the base of its layering model.
Global background colors
| Theme | Primary background | Token | Hex value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | Global Background Light | $background | #ffffff | |
| Gray 10 | Global Background Light | $background | #f4f4f4 | |
| Gray 90 | Global Background Dark | $background | #262626 | |
| Gray 100 | Global Background Dark | $background | #161616 |
Light themes
There are two light themes in Carbon: White and Gray 10. For enabled UI colors light themes primarily use the color range of White to Gray 20, and for text and icons uses the color range between Gray 100 and Gray 60.
All of the themes are available in Design kits.
Layering model
In the light themes, layers alternate between White and Gray 10.
- White theme: uses White as the global background color and is layered first with components using Gray 10 backgrounds. The second layer uses White and the third layer used Gray 10.
- Gray 10 theme: uses Gray 10 as the global background color and is layered first with components using White backgrounds. The second layer uses Gray 10 and the third layer used White.
Gray 10 dropdown on White background.
Avoid use of midtones.
Dark themes
There are two dark themes: Gray 90 and Gray 100. For enabled UI colors, dark themes primarily use the color range of Gray 100 through Gray 70, and for text and icons uses the color range between White and Gray 50.
All of the themes are available in Design kits.
Layering model
In the dark themes, layers become one step lighter with each added layer.
- Gray 90 theme: uses Gray 90 as the global background color and is layered first with components using Gray 80 backgrounds. The second layer uses Gray 70 and the third layer used Gray 60.
- Gray 100 theme: uses Gray 100 as the global background color and is layered first with components using Gray 90 backgrounds. The second layer uses Gray 80 and the third layer used Gray 70.