monochromatic-dominance

name	monochromatic-dominance
description	Use when establishing brand color hierarchy. Luxury brands rely on 1 dominant color with restrained accents.

Monochromatic Dominance

Cream + ink + ONE accent. That's the luxury palette. Multiple colors signal startup; restraint signals brand maturity.

The 3-color rule

Maximum 3 colors:

1. Dominant (cream #fbf6ec or near-white): 70-80% of surface
2. Ink (near-black #0d0807): 15-20% of surface (type)
3. Accent (single brand color): 1-5% of surface (CTAs, highlights)

More than 3 colors = retail aesthetic. Less than 3 = sterile.

Accent placement discipline

Accent appears in:

• Primary CTA button background
• Hover states
• Highlighted text in pull-quotes
• Active nav indicator
• Critical alerts (error red is exception)
• Logo (optional)

Accent should NEVER appear in:

• Body text
• Borders (use ink at 20%)
• Section backgrounds (cream variants)
• Decorative elements without function

Choosing the accent

Single accent per product:

• CardPrepAI: warm orange
• X3FS: blue
• FDG: blue-green
• REG: deep red

The accent should be 4.5:1+ contrast against cream background for accessibility.

Where this fits in the X3 empire

Color discipline foundation for every X3 product.