Colors

Naming structure

The colors in Designsystemet are structured with a semantic meaning. This means they are defined by function and use, not just by how they look. This makes it easier to choose the right color because you don't have to evaluate the color tone itself and can focus on what the color should communicate instead.

The color names in Designsystemet are divided into 3 parts: Name of the color scale, group (area of use), and variant. These parts describe how the colors are built up and how they should be used.

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• Name The first part and the name of the color scale. By default, Designsystemet comes with the color scales Success, Danger, Warning, Info, and Neutral. More scales can be added using the Theme Builder.

• Group Each color scale is divided into the groups Background, Surface, Border, Text, and Base. These groups describe the areas of use for the colors. For example, the Text group should be used for text and icons.

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• Variant Within each group, there are variants that describe how the colors look or should be used. For example, Tinted means the color has a hint of color in it, while Hover means the color is intended to be used for an interactive state.

Overview and explanation of colors

Each color scale consists of a total of 16 colors, designed to cover different needs in the design. Below you'll find an overview of the different colors and their intended uses.

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Background

Background colors are used to color large surfaces and are often the back layer on a website. It's common to use these colors on the body element.

• Background-default is the lightest and most neutral background color.
• Background-tinted gets a hint of color in it and can be used to create variation in the background layer.

Surface

Surface colors are used to color elements that sit above the background colors, such as panels or cards. These colors serve as foreground colors and help create depth in the design by separating elements from the background. In dark mode, these four colors become gradually lighter, with Surface-active being the lightest.

• Surface-default is completely white in light mode and is used as the standard background color for elements.
• Surface-tinted gets a hint of color in it and can be used to distinguish elements from the background.
• Surface-hover can be used for hover states for elements or to create visual hierarchies in the Surface layer when combined with Surface-tinted and Surface-active.
• Surface-active can be used for active states for elements or to strengthen the hierarchy in the Surface layer together with Surface-tinted and Surface-hover.

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Border

Border colors are used to color frames (strokes) of elements.

• Border-subtle has low contrast against background and surface colors and should only be used for decorative purposes. Common use cases are dividing lines and decorative frames. The color should not be the only visual indicator that an element is interactive.
• Border-default is used on form components or on other meaningful frames. The color has good contrast (over 3:1) against all background colors, Surface-default, and Surface-tinted.
• Border-strong has good contrast (over 3:1) against all background and surface colors and can be used on frames to make elements extra visible.

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Text

Text colors are used for text and icons.

• Text-subtle is a light text color that can be used to create variation in typography or to indicate hierarchical levels of importance. It also tries to preserve as much of the color saturation from the original color chosen in the Theme Builder. The color has good contrast (4.5:1) against all background colors, Surface-default, and Surface-tinted.
• Text-default is a text color with high contrast, optimal for readability. It should be used for the main content and the primary text on a page. This color in the Neutral variant can be a nice color to use for most of the text. The color has good contrast (4.5:1) against all background and surface colors.

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Base

Base colors are used to color solid backgrounds, such as buttons and other interactive elements. The colors help direct attention to important design elements and establish a visual hierarchy in relation to less prominent elements. At the same time, they create contrast against background and surface colors, which enhances readability and visual clarity.

The Base-hover and Base-active colors are generated based on the lightness or darkness of the Base-default color to create smooth visual transitions between states. The contrast colors become either white or black depending on the brightness of the Base-default color to ensure good contrast and readability.

• Base-default can be used to color solid backgrounds of elements. The color (hex code) chosen in the theme builder is placed under Base-default.
• Base-hover can be used for hover states for solid elements or to create visual hierarchies in the Base layer when combined with Base-default and Base-active.
• Base-active can be used for active states for solid elements or to strengthen the hierarchy in the Base layer together with Base-default and Base-hover.
• Base-contrast-subtle has good contrast (4.5:1) against the Base-default color from the same color scale and can safely be used as a text color against it.
• Base-contrast-default has good contrast (4.5:1) against the Base-default and Base-hover colors from the same color scale, and can safely be used as a text color against these.

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