Ethereal Espresso as a scale
Eleven steps from #3e2723, built by moving lightness in OKLCh and keeping the hue where it is. Every step is gamut-mapped by giving up chroma, never by clipping channels — clipping is what turns a light blue purple.
| Stop | Hex | OKLCh L | Chroma | On white | On black | APCA on white | ΔE00 from the step above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | #fff2ef | 97.0% | 0.015 ·capped | 1.10:1 | 19.17:1 | 0 | — |
| 100 | #ffe3de | 93.8% | 0.031 ·capped | 1.21:1 | 17.33:1 | 10 | 5.8 |
| 200 | #eccdc8 | 87.4% | 0.036 | 1.48:1 | 14.18:1 | 23 | 4.9 |
| 300 | #d7b9b3 | 81.0% | 0.036 | 1.83:1 | 11.48:1 | 34 | 5.1 |
| 400 | #c2a59f | 74.6% | 0.036 | 2.29:1 | 9.18:1 | 45 | 5.5 |
| 500 | #ae918c | 68.2% | 0.036 | 2.90:1 | 7.24:1 | 55 | 6.0 |
| 600 | #9a7e79 | 61.8% | 0.036 | 3.73:1 | 5.63:1 | 65 | 6.6 |
| 700 | #876b66 | 55.4% | 0.036 | 4.85:1 | 4.33:1 | 74 | 7.4 |
| 800 | #735954 | 49.0% | 0.036 | 6.37:1 | 3.30:1 | 82 | 7.0 |
| 900 | #49312d | 34.0% | 0.036 | 11.93:1 | 1.76:1 | 97 | 13.8 |
| 950 | #1f0b08 | 18.0% | 0.036 | 18.94:1 | 1.11:1 | 105 | 12.0 |
What is true of this ramp
- 10 of the 10 adjacent pairs differ by ΔE00 2 or more. Every step here is a step a reader can see.
- The tightest pair is 100 to200, at ΔE00 4.9.
- 2 steps had to give up chroma to stay inside sRGB — 50, 100. A wider display would show them more vividly.
- 4 steps clear 4.5:1 on white (700, 800, 900, 950), and 7 on black (50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600).
Harmonies from Ethereal Espresso
complement
the hue directly opposite, at the same lightness. #163338 (+180°)
analogous
the two neighbours 30° either side. #3d262d (+-30°), #3b2a1b (+30°)
split complement
the two hues either side of the opposite, 30° apart from it. #18342e (+150°), #1d303e (+210°)
triad
the circle divided in three. #203324 (+120°), #272d40 (+240°)
tetrad
the circle divided in four. #2b311c (+90°), #163338 (+180°), #312a3d (+270°)
The ramp as CSS
:root {
--ethereal-espresso-50: #fff2ef;
--ethereal-espresso-100: #ffe3de;
--ethereal-espresso-200: #eccdc8;
--ethereal-espresso-300: #d7b9b3;
--ethereal-espresso-400: #c2a59f;
--ethereal-espresso-500: #ae918c;
--ethereal-espresso-600: #9a7e79;
--ethereal-espresso-700: #876b66;
--ethereal-espresso-800: #735954;
--ethereal-espresso-900: #49312d;
--ethereal-espresso-950: #1f0b08;
}