Groovy Retro Color Palette – HEX, RGB & Design Inspiration
Color Details
HEX: #9DB7B4
RGB: 157, 183, 180
HEX: #EA8A24
RGB: 234, 138, 36
HEX: #EB889E
RGB: 235, 136, 158
HEX: #F3692F
RGB: 243, 105, 47
HEX: #FCD8C5
RGB: 252, 216, 197
Text on White/Black Backgrounds
Color Pair Combinations (10 total)
WCAG Contrast Standards:
- AAA (7:1): Enhanced contrast for maximum readability
- AA (4.5:1): Minimum for normal text (under 18pt)
- AA Large (3:1): Acceptable for large text (18pt+ or 14pt+ bold)
- Fail: Below WCAG standards, not recommended for text
Recommended Text Colors
Horizontal (Left to Right)
background: linear-gradient(to right, #9DB7B4 0%, #EA8A24 25%, #EB889E 50%, #F3692F 75%, #FCD8C5 100%);Vertical (Top to Bottom)
background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #9DB7B4 0%, #EA8A24 25%, #EB889E 50%, #F3692F 75%, #FCD8C5 100%);Diagonal (Top Left to Bottom Right)
background: linear-gradient(to bottom right, #9DB7B4 0%, #EA8A24 25%, #EB889E 50%, #F3692F 75%, #FCD8C5 100%);Usage Tips:
- Copy the CSS code and paste directly into your stylesheets
- Linear gradients work great for backgrounds and hero sections
- Radial gradients are perfect for spotlights and focus effects
- Conic gradients create eye-catching loading spinners and progress indicators
- Smooth transitions ensure seamless color blending
Normal Vision
No color vision deficiency
Color Swatches
#9DB7B4
#EA8A24
#EB889E
#F3692F
#FCD8C5
Full Palette View
How people with Normal Vision see it:
Overall Mood & Feel
Energetic, warm, and inviting, with an airy and optimistic feel
Emotional Impact
Stimulating and energetic, evoking feelings of excitement, warmth, and action. The light tones create an uplifting, optimistic atmosphere perfect for approachable brands
Psychological Effect
This 5-color palette creates a energetic, warm, and inviting, with an airy and optimistic feel. It stimulates activity and engagement, increasing heart rate and mental alertness. The combination works together to create memorable visual experiences that influence consumer perception, decision-making, and brand recall. The rich variety provides versatility while maintaining cohesive emotional messaging across touchpoints.
Brand Personality Traits
Perfect For These Industries
Target Audience
Young, trend-conscious consumers (18-35) who value creativity and self-expression. Appeals to those seeking approachable, positive, and optimistic brands
Individual Color Psychology
#9DB7B4
Clear and refreshing
Emotions Evoked
Personality Traits
Brand Traits
Ideal Industries
Marketing Use
Evokes feelings of cleanliness and clarity. Popular in tech and healthcare for its association with precision and hygiene.
Cultural Meanings
Color Harmony Analysis
Palette Mood
Temperature
This palette combines balanced and light & airy moods with neutral and warm tones, making it versatile for various design applications.
Professional Implementation Guide
This complementary groovy retro palette features 5 carefully selected warm tones that create a energetic and passionate aesthetic. With low contrast levels and vibrant saturation, this palette is optimized for marketing materials and youth brands.
Web Design & Development
For web development, implement this palette with CSS variables for easy theme switching. Consider adding darker variants for better text readability.
- Apply the 60-30-10 rule for visual hierarchy
- Use accent colors for CTAs and hover states
- Maintain consistent color usage across all pages
- Test responsive behavior on multiple devices
Mobile App Interfaces
In mobile applications, these warm tones provide excellent battery efficiency on OLED screens. Use the subtle color variations to define clear touch targets.
- Design both light and dark mode variants
- Consider thumb-reach zones for color placement
- Test under direct sunlight and low light
- Use color to indicate interactive elements
Brand Identity Systems
Build a cohesive brand identity by designating specific colors for specific purposes. Establish your primary brand color from the most distinctive shade and create comprehensive brand guidelines specifying exact usage scenarios.
- Define primary, secondary, and accent colors
- Create usage rules for marketing materials
- Specify minimum sizes and clear space
- Document do's and don'ts for consistency
Frontend Development
Developers can integrate this palette efficiently using modern CSS techniques. Export as CSS variables for maximum flexibility, allowing theme switching and dynamic color updates without rewriting stylesheets.
- Use CSS custom properties for theming
- Implement semantic color naming conventions
- Create utility classes for rapid prototyping
- Consider CSS-in-JS for component-scoped colors
Print Design
For print materials, convert to CMYK using #9DB7B4 as the dominant color for headers and #FCD8C5 for accents. These vibrant colors may appear slightly muted in print; request color proofs.
- Add to your design software color library
- Create swatches for quick color access
- Use CMYK values for print production
- Request color proofs before final print
Marketing Campaigns
Marketing materials benefit from consistent color usage that reinforces brand recognition. Apply this palette across email campaigns, landing pages, advertisements, and social media for maximum impact and memorability.
- Maintain color consistency across channels
- A/B test color variations for conversion
- Consider cultural color associations
- Align colors with campaign messaging
Strategic Color Distribution
Professional designers follow the 60-30-10 rule for balanced color distribution. Here's how to apply this principle with the Groovy Retro:
Dominant Color
#9DB7B4Use #9DB7B4 as your primary color for backgrounds, main content areas. This cyan tone should occupy about 60% of your design space.
Secondary Color
#EB889EApply #EB889E as your secondary color for subtle backgrounds and card components. Allocate approximately 30% of your layout to this color.
Accent Color
#FCD8C5Reserve #FCD8C5 for accent elements like buttons, links, and important highlights. This orange accent should be used sparingly (10% of design) to draw attention to key actions.
Professional Best Practices
✓ Smart Usage Tips
- •Add white or black text overlays to improve readability on colored backgrounds
- •Use desaturated versions (reduce saturation by 20-30%) for large background areas to prevent visual fatigue
- •Balance warm tones with neutral whites or grays to create visual breathing room
- •Test your palette across different devices and lighting conditions before finalizing
✗ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- •Don't use all colors equally—establish clear visual hierarchy through color weight
- •Avoid low-contrast text combinations that strain readability
- •Don't rely solely on color to convey meaning (use icons, text, and patterns too)
- •Avoid inconsistent color usage across different pages or screens
- •Don't assume screen colors match print output—always request physical proofs
Palette Overview & Statistics
5
Total Colors
3
Associated Tags
2
Categories
1982
Community Likes
Color Analysis & Technical Guide
Detailed breakdown of each color's role, characteristics, and optimal applications. This complementary palette creates a energetic and passionate aesthetic perfect for marketing materials and youth brands.
Individual Color Breakdown
Each color in this warm palette has been analyzed for its properties and ideal usage scenarios. The low contrast and vibrant saturation ensure harmonious visual relationships.
#9DB7B4
CYAN
#9DB7B4 serves as the primary/dominant color in this palette. This medium cyan (muted) brings clarity and innovation Use it for headers, navigation bars, and brand elements.
Light toneH: 173°S: 15%L: 67%#EA8A24
ORANGE
#EA8A24 serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This medium orange (highly saturated) brings creativity and enthusiasm Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Light toneH: 31°S: 82%L: 53%#EB889E
RED
#EB889E serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This light red (highly saturated) brings energy and warmth Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Light toneH: 347°S: 71%L: 73%#F3692F
ORANGE
#F3692F serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This medium orange (highly saturated) brings creativity and enthusiasm Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Light toneH: 18°S: 89%L: 57%#FCD8C5
ORANGE
#FCD8C5 serves as the accent/highlight color in this palette. This light orange (highly saturated) brings creativity and enthusiasm Use it for call-to-action buttons, links, important notifications, and interactive elements.
Light toneH: 21°S: 90%L: 88%
Palette Characteristics
This palette exhibits distinct characteristics that make it particularly suitable for specific design applications and industries.
Warm colors create energy, excitement, and approachability. Perfect for brands targeting emotional connection.
Low contrast creates subtle, sophisticated aesthetics but requires careful attention to text legibility.
Vibrant saturation creates bold, attention-grabbing designs perfect for youth brands and creative projects.
Balanced brightness provides flexibility for both light and dark design elements.
💡 Pro Tips for This Palette
- Perfect for: marketing materials, youth brands. The complementary color relationship creates natural visual flow.
- Mood & Psychology: This palette evokes a energetic and passionate feeling, making it ideal for brands seeking to convey those qualities.
- Accessibility: Test text combinations carefully with contrast checkers to ensure accessibility compliance.
- Extensions: Create tints (add white) and shades (add black) to expand this 5-color palette into a comprehensive design system.
- Cultural Context: Warm colors may have different meanings across cultures—verify associations with your target market.
Export Formats
Explore Groovy Retro Palette
The Groovy Retro color palette is a vibrant and energetic combination of hues that evoke the warmth and playfulness of a bygone era, transporting viewers to a sunny, carefree world where creativity knows no bounds. At its core, this palette is all about capturing the essence of a sunset, with its mesmerizing blend of turquoise, red, and orange tones that seem to dance across the color spectrum. The palette's lead color, a soothing 9db7b4, sets the tone for a harmonious and balanced visual experience, providing a sense of calmness and serenity that grounds the entire palette.
As we delve deeper into the Groovy Retro palette, we find a rich array of colors that work together in perfect harmony, each one playing a unique role in the overall visual narrative. The 9db7b4 is joined by a bold and vibrant ea8a24, a deep, burnt orange that adds a sense of excitement and energy to the palette, while the eb889e brings a touch of softness and elegance, its gentle, blushing tone adding a sense of sophistication and refinement. The f3692f is a bright and zesty orange that injects a sense of playfulness and spontaneity, balanced by the warm, golden tones of fcd8c5, which adds a sense of comfort and approachability to the palette. Together, these colors create a visual language that is both nostalgic and contemporary, perfect for designers looking to add a touch of retro flair to their work.
The Groovy Retro palette is incredibly versatile, making it an excellent choice for a wide range of design applications, from website and app design to branding and marketing campaigns. Its warm, sunset-inspired colors are particularly well-suited to projects that require a sense of energy and excitement, such as entertainment, lifestyle, or travel brands. The palette's unique blend of turquoise, red, and orange tones also makes it an excellent choice for designers looking to create a sense of visual interest and depth, whether through bold graphics, vibrant patterns, or stunning imagery. Whether you're designing a website, creating a brand identity, or developing a marketing campaign, the Groovy Retro palette is sure to add a touch of excitement and personality to your work.
The colors in the Groovy Retro palette also have a profound impact on viewer perception and behavior, influencing our emotions and attitudes in subtle yet powerful ways. The palette's dominant orange and red tones are known to stimulate our senses, increasing feelings of excitement and energy, while the softer, turquoise tones help to balance out the palette, adding a sense of calmness and serenity. The overall effect is a color palette that is both engaging and soothing, perfect for designers looking to create a sense of visual interest and depth without overwhelming their audience. By leveraging the psychological power of color, designers can use the Groovy Retro palette to create a lasting impression, driving engagement, and conversion.
To get the most out of the Groovy Retro palette, designers should consider pairing these colors with complementary hues that enhance their natural beauty and energy. For example, the ea8a24 and f3692f can be paired with deep, cool blues to create a stunning visual contrast, while the 9db7b4 and fcd8c5 can be paired with rich, earthy tones to add warmth and depth. When it comes to design best practices, it's essential to remember that the Groovy Retro palette is all about balance and harmony, so be sure to use these colors in a way that creates a sense of visual flow and coherence. By following these pro tips and embracing the unique spirit of the Groovy Retro palette, designers can create stunning, effective designs that capture the essence of a bygone era and inspire a new generation of creative professionals.
Palette Image
Below is the generated palette image showing all colors in a vertical layout. Perfect for sharing on social media or using as a reference.
Categories & Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about using and implementing the groovy retro palette effectively in your projects.