DESIGN: accentObservatory / accentWorkshop dark-mode contrast sign-off #91

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opened 2026-09-08 18:20:19 +00:00 by peterswimm · 2 comments

peterswimm commented

2026-09-08 18:20:19 +00:00

Owner

Design sign-off outstanding since PR #135 (2026-06-19).

The review surface exists — dist/<product>/artifact.html renders the accent tokens in
both modes. What is missing is the human decision on whether
accentObservatory / accentWorkshop hold up in dark mode.

This is a decision, not code. Assigned to ville per the design-review convention.

Mirrored from forge wish 3b79a815.

Design sign-off outstanding since PR #135 (2026-06-19). The review surface exists — `dist/<product>/artifact.html` renders the accent tokens in both modes. What is missing is the human decision on whether `accentObservatory` / `accentWorkshop` hold up in dark mode. This is a decision, not code. Assigned to ville per the design-review convention. Mirrored from forge wish `3b79a815`.

ville was assigned by peterswimm

2026-09-08 18:20:26 +00:00

ville commented

2026-09-09 10:29:07 +00:00

Member

Signed off: accentObservatory #A3A3A3 and accentWorkshop #99B78F hold up in dark mode.

They are the two strongest of the five mode accents — 6.71:1 and 7.68:1 against the page, 4.46:1 and 5.11:1 at their worst on any dark surface. The one sub-4.5 reading is Observatory on bgSelected, and that surface carries textPrimary rather than accent text per #244. Not a real site.

New dark values for the other three

Checking these two meant measuring all five, and the other three don't clear 4.5:1 as text on the surfaces added in #280. New values, hue and saturation unchanged — only lightness moves:

accent	now	new	`bgSelected`	`bgSurfaceDetail`	page
Pilgrimage	`#C680BB`	`#CD91C4`	3.86 → 4.53	4.59 → 5.38	6.80
Sanctum	`#4A8EFC`	`#86B4FD`	3.52 → 5.34	4.18 → 6.35	8.03
Federation	`#778CB6`	`#B5C1D7`	3.33 → 6.21	3.96 → 7.37	9.33

They are deliberately not lifted to the same level. Taking all three to exactly 4.5 fixes the contrast and leaves them within 1.01:1 of each other — equiluminant, separable by hue only. That is the state that got #8B91CC rejected in design issue #50 for sitting too close to accentTrust. Spreading the targets (4.5 / 5.3 / 6.2) costs nothing in contrast and restores 1.16–1.50:1 between them.

Federation moves furthest because it has the lowest saturation of the three (S 30 against 38 and 97), so it needs the most lightness to stay apart from Sanctum's saturated blue. At #B5C1D7 it is pale — worth a look at 16px before it lands.

Two notes

The artifact renders stale light values. dist/rituals/udg_tokens.json still has accentObservatory #737373 and accentWorkshop #5B7B51. The darkened values agreed in #243 — #636363 and #4E6A46 — exist only as an app-level override in the Rituals app, never in the design system. Dark values in artifact.html are trustworthy; light ones are not. Own issue.

accentTrust #A78BFA is 4.14:1 on bgSelected — same shortfall, not a mode accent, not decided here. Flagging so it travels with whichever fix lands.

**Signed off: `accentObservatory` `#A3A3A3` and `accentWorkshop` `#99B78F` hold up in dark mode.** They are the two strongest of the five mode accents — 6.71:1 and 7.68:1 against the page, 4.46:1 and 5.11:1 at their worst on any dark surface. The one sub-4.5 reading is Observatory on `bgSelected`, and that surface carries `textPrimary` rather than accent text per #244. Not a real site. ## New dark values for the other three Checking these two meant measuring all five, and the other three don't clear 4.5:1 as text on the surfaces added in #280. New values, hue and saturation unchanged — only lightness moves: | accent | now | new | `bgSelected` | `bgSurfaceDetail` | page | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pilgrimage | `#C680BB` | **`#CD91C4`** | 3.86 → 4.53 | 4.59 → 5.38 | 6.80 | | Sanctum | `#4A8EFC` | **`#86B4FD`** | 3.52 → 5.34 | 4.18 → 6.35 | 8.03 | | Federation | `#778CB6` | **`#B5C1D7`** | 3.33 → 6.21 | 3.96 → 7.37 | 9.33 | **They are deliberately not lifted to the same level.** Taking all three to exactly 4.5 fixes the contrast and leaves them within 1.01:1 of each other — equiluminant, separable by hue only. That is the state that got `#8B91CC` rejected in design issue #50 for sitting too close to `accentTrust`. Spreading the targets (4.5 / 5.3 / 6.2) costs nothing in contrast and restores 1.16–1.50:1 between them. Federation moves furthest because it has the lowest saturation of the three (S 30 against 38 and 97), so it needs the most lightness to stay apart from Sanctum's saturated blue. At `#B5C1D7` it is pale — worth a look at 16px before it lands. ## Two notes **The artifact renders stale light values.** `dist/rituals/udg_tokens.json` still has `accentObservatory` `#737373` and `accentWorkshop` `#5B7B51`. The darkened values agreed in #243 — `#636363` and `#4E6A46` — exist only as an app-level override in the Rituals app, never in the design system. Dark values in `artifact.html` are trustworthy; light ones are not. Own issue. **`accentTrust` `#A78BFA` is 4.14:1 on `bgSelected`** — same shortfall, not a mode accent, not decided here. Flagging so it travels with whichever fix lands.

peterswimm commented

2026-09-09 17:02:37 +00:00

Author

Owner

updated token values

peterswimm closed this issue

2026-09-09 17:02:38 +00:00