Colors

Midnight is our signature

Colour is one of the fastest ways people recognise us. Our palette comes from one place: the desert under the night sky, from midnight to first light.

Midnight navy is the heart of the palette. It carries the logo, the headlines and our dark surfaces. Dune gives us warmth. Dawn and Oasis are the light of the sky — a glow, never a flood. Gulf is the colour of action.

Our hero colours

Primary colour

Midnight: the night sky

Midnight appears in every piece of North communication: in the logo, in headlines, or as the whole canvas. It says calm, depth and trust, and it lets the star shine.

  • Logos and headlines on light
  • Dark surfaces, covers and dividers
  • Product chrome and sidebars

Midnight 80 #273156 is the core. Midnight 95 is the dark-mode canvas.

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Warm neutral

Dune: sand and paper

Dune is our light. Where most technology brands default to cold white and grey, we use warm sand. It makes long documents comfortable and gives the brand its human temperature.

  • Dune 05 (Cream) for page and slide backgrounds
  • Dune 10 for panels and visual containers
  • Dune 20 for dividers and borders on Cream
  • Ink (Dune 95) for long-form body copy in print

Proposal

A four-week NorthStar pilot

Users

120

Departments

1

Accent colours

Dawn and Oasis: first light

Dawn (peach) and Oasis (aqua) are the colours of the sky at sunrise, the two ends of our Aurora gradient. Use them as a glow, a highlight or an illustration fill — never for body text on light backgrounds.

  • Dawn brings warmth: human stories, callouts, highlights. NorthEdge signal.
  • Oasis brings clarity: AI activity, focus, links on dark. NorthStar signal.
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Secondary colour

Gulf: the action colour

Bright, clear Gulf blue is our secondary colour. It is the colour of doing things.

  • Buttons and calls to action on light (Gulf 70)
  • Links and focus rings
  • The first series in charts
  • Diagrams and infrastructure illustrations

Gulf 60 #227ED1 is the brand blue for graphics and large type. It is 4.2:1 on white, so text and buttons use Gulf 70 #1B6AB1 (5.6:1).

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UI neutral

Steel: the scaffolding

Steel greys are invisible by design. They structure product interfaces: borders, input fills, table headers, disabled states and chart axes. Keep them out of marketing layouts, where Dune does the same job more warmly.

Hierarchy and balance

Finding the right mix

Think of the palette as a night landscape: mostly sky and sand, with a few points of light.

  • Midnight: the sky. Present in every layout, as type or as canvas.
  • Dune and White: the sand. Most of the space.
  • Gulf: the action. Buttons, links, the first data series.
  • Dawn and Oasis: the light. Small, deliberate, never more than a tenth of the layout.

Proportions

Dune + White 48%Midnight 32%Gulf

Light layouts and dark layouts

Colour codes

Exact values for every colour and its tints. Always use these codes: don't eyeball or approximate. Click any value to copy it.

Midnight Primary

Midnight 05 HEX RGB CMYK Token Lightest tint. Table stripes, hover wash on light.
Midnight 10 HEX RGB CMYK Token Selected rows, chips, subtle fills.
Midnight 20 HEX RGB CMYK Token Borders on tinted panels. Body copy on dark.
Midnight 30 HEX RGB CMYK Token Captions on dark. Disabled icons on light.
Midnight 40 HEX RGB CMYK Token Placeholder text on light (large only).
Midnight 50 HEX RGB CMYK Token Captions and secondary text on light (5.9:1 on white).
Midnight 60 HEX RGB CMYK Token Body copy on light (8.9:1 on white).
Midnight 70 HEX RGB CMYK Token Hover state for Midnight surfaces.
Midnight 80Core HEX RGB CMYK Token Core Midnight. The North navy — logos, headlines, primary dark surface.
Midnight 90 HEX RGB CMYK Token Headline ink on light. Raised surfaces on dark.
Midnight 95 HEX RGB CMYK Token Dark-mode canvas. The deepest night.

Dune Warm neutral

Dune 02 HEX RGB CMYK Token Paper. Print stock simulation, long-read backgrounds.
Dune 05Core HEX RGB CMYK Token Core Dune (Cream). The signature light background.
Dune 10 HEX RGB CMYK Token Panels on Cream. Visual containers in guidelines.
Dune 20 HEX RGB CMYK Token Dividers on Cream, card borders.
Dune 30 HEX RGB CMYK Token Illustration mid-tone, strong dividers.
Dune 40 HEX RGB CMYK Token Illustration shadow tone.
Dune 60 HEX RGB CMYK Token Decorative only — not for text.
Dune 80 HEX RGB CMYK Token Muted warm text on Cream (6.9:1).
Dune 90 HEX RGB CMYK Token Warm dark surface (print, merch).
Dune 95 HEX RGB CMYK Token Ink. Warm near-black for long-form body copy and print.

Dawn Accent

Dawn 05 HEX RGB CMYK Token Faint warm wash.
Dawn 10 HEX RGB CMYK Token Callout backgrounds, highlight rows.
Dawn 20Core HEX RGB CMYK Token Core Dawn (Peach). Aurora gradient start, illustration fills.
Dawn 30 HEX RGB CMYK Token Illustration fills, chart backgrounds.
Dawn 40 HEX RGB CMYK Token NorthEdge accent on dark surfaces.
Dawn 60 HEX RGB CMYK Token Ember. Graphic accent; text only on Midnight (5.1:1).
Dawn 80 HEX RGB CMYK Token Text-safe Dawn on light (4.98:1 on white).

Oasis Accent

Oasis 05 HEX RGB CMYK Token Faint cool wash.
Oasis 10 HEX RGB CMYK Token Info backgrounds, selected states on light.
Oasis 20 HEX RGB CMYK Token Illustration fills.
Oasis 30Core HEX RGB CMYK Token Core Oasis (Aqua). Links and actions on dark, highlights, focus glow.
Oasis 50 HEX RGB CMYK Token Horizon gradient end, illustration accents.
Oasis 70 HEX RGB CMYK Token Graphic Oasis on light (icons, large text, 3.4:1).
Oasis 85 HEX RGB CMYK Token Text-safe Oasis on light (6.8:1).

Gulf Secondary

Gulf 05 HEX RGB CMYK Token Faint blue wash.
Gulf 10 HEX RGB CMYK Token Selected backgrounds, info panels.
Gulf 20 HEX RGB CMYK Token Focus ring halo, chart gridline accent.
Gulf 30 HEX RGB CMYK Token Disabled action fill.
Gulf 40 HEX RGB CMYK Token Links on dark surfaces (7.3:1 on Midnight 95).
Gulf 60Core HEX RGB CMYK Token Core Gulf (Blue). Brand blue for graphics and large type — 4.2:1 on white, so not for small text.
Gulf 70 HEX RGB CMYK Token Action. Buttons and links on light (5.6:1 on white).
Gulf 80 HEX RGB CMYK Token Action hover / pressed.
Gulf 90 HEX RGB CMYK Token Deep blue for illustration and gradients.

Steel Cool neutral for product UI: borders, disabled states, data scaffolding

Steel 05 HEX RGB CMYK Token Product canvas.
Steel 10 HEX RGB CMYK Token Input fills, table headers.
Steel 20 HEX RGB CMYK Token Borders and dividers.
Steel 30 HEX RGB CMYK Token Strong borders, chart axes.
Steel 50 HEX RGB CMYK Token Disabled text (non-essential).
Steel 70 HEX RGB CMYK Token Secondary UI text (6.6:1).
Steel 90 HEX RGB CMYK Token Dark UI chrome.

Base

Base snow HEX RGB CMYK Token North White. Text and logos on Midnight; avoids the glare of pure white on dark.
Base white HEX RGB CMYK Token Pure white. Light-mode canvas and cards.
Base black HEX RGB CMYK Token Pure black. Only for one-colour print and the monochrome logo.

Status

Status colours are reserved for system state: success, warning, error and information. They never decorate, and never appear as a chart series.

Status success HEX RGB CMYK Token Success text/icon (5.4:1 on white).
Status success-bg HEX RGB CMYK Token Success background.
Status warning HEX RGB CMYK Token Warning text/icon (5.4:1 on white).
Status warning-bg HEX RGB CMYK Token Warning background.
Status danger HEX RGB CMYK Token Error text/icon (5.5:1 on white).
Status danger-bg HEX RGB CMYK Token Error background.
Status info HEX RGB CMYK Token Information text/icon (alias of Gulf 70).
Status info-bg HEX RGB CMYK Token Information background.

The categorical chart palette is on the Data visualization page. Semantic roles for light and dark mode are on Light/Dark modes.

Digital vs. print

Screens use HEX and RGB, print uses CMYK

Digital: use HEX or RGB, or better, the design tokens, for web, apps, UI, slides and video.

Print: the CMYK values above are calculated starting points for coated stock. Midnight and Gulf shift noticeably in CMYK, so always approve a printed proof. For signage, merchandise and booths, ask the printer to match to a physical Pantone swatch and record the reference with the brand team.

Screen

RGB 34, 126, 209

Uncoated print (simulated)

CMYK 84, 40, 0, 18

Legibility

High contrast, always

North text is Midnight, Ink, Snow or White. Accent colours never carry body text on light backgrounds.

  • Dark text on light backgrounds.
  • Snow or White text on Midnight, Gulf 70 and imagery.
  • Body copy: at least 4.5:1. Large text (24px, or 18.66px bold) and UI graphics: at least 3:1.
AaMidnight 90 on White15.64:1 · AAA
AaMidnight 60 on White8.90:1 · AAA
AaMidnight 50 on Dune 055.69:1 · AA
AaGulf 70 on White5.61:1 · AA
AaGulf 60 on White4.22:1 · AA Large
AaSnow on Midnight 8012.33:1 · AAA
AaOasis 30 on Midnight 9513.33:1 · AAA
AaMidnight 20 on Midnight 9511.38:1 · AAA
AaMidnight 80 on Dawn 2010.35:1 · AAA
AaMidnight 90 on Oasis 3011.58:1 · AAA
AaWhite on Dawn 602.47:1 · Fail
AaOasis 30 on White1.35:1 · Fail

Contrast checker

Check any pair from the palette before you use it.

Dos and don'ts

Do

  • Put Midnight in every layout, as type or as canvas.
  • Use Dune for warmth and space.
  • Use Gulf 70 for buttons and links on light; Oasis on dark.
  • Use Dawn and Oasis as a glow or highlight.
  • Check contrast for every text colour.

Don't

  • Use colours outside this palette, or tints you mixed yourself.
  • Set body text in Dawn, Oasis or Gulf 60 on light backgrounds.
  • Let accents dominate: no full Oasis or Dawn pages.
  • Use status colours as decoration or chart series.
  • Use pure black backgrounds. Our dark is Midnight 95.

Last updated on 14 October 2026