Colour

Summary

The Opries colour system uses grounded Australian landscape colours for brand recognition, interface meaning, accessibility, and print production. Eucalypt leads the light-background identity, while Paperbark on Earth carries the dark-background identity.

Branding Colours

The branding colours define how the Opries logo and core identity appear across light and dark backgrounds. Choose them by use case first: what the logo sits on, how quickly it needs to be recognised, and whether the setting is public communication or product UI.

Opries colour choices should reflect the colours people experience on Country and in Australian landscapes day to day: eucalypt leaves, mallee scrub, paperbark, dry grass, freshwater, coastlines, clay, ochre, and dense organic earth. The palette should feel natural to Australian landcare and NRM contexts, not imported from a generic environmental or corporate green system.

Each colour swatch includes its screen hex value, approximate CMYK percentages, and closest visual PMS match. PMS and CMYK references should still be checked against a current Pantone guide, paper stock, finish, and printer proof before final artwork is locked.

Light-background logo colours

Use these when the logo appears on white, Paperbark, pale imagery, or other light communication surfaces. Eucalypt should be the first logo colour people associate with Opries.

Light-background logo use should feel like dry Australian bush: eucalyptus leaves, mallee scrub, olive-grey understory, shaded woodland, bark, and soil. Avoid bright emerald, tropical canopy, or rainforest greens unless a specific campaign or image calls for them.

Paperbark is intentionally warm and light. It should feel closer to the cream and pale tan layers of paperbark, not a cool green off-white.

Dark-background logo colours

Use these when the logo appears on dark surfaces, dark photography, presentation title pages, or dark product contexts. Paperbark carries the reversed logo so the mark stays clear and recognisable.

Dark-background logo use should feel grounded rather than stark. Earth gives the system a dense charcoal, rich compost quality without turning pure black; Paperbark keeps the logo warm and legible; Eucalypt remains present as a brand accent rather than carrying the whole reversed mark.

Secondary Colours

Use these secondary colours for communication and interface function: readable text, clean surfaces, links, information panels, status states, charts, and workflow emphasis. They support the core brand colours but should not compete with Eucalypt as the primary brand signal.

Water should feel like Australian water in practical settings: river pools, estuaries, shaded freshwater, and deeper sea-green coastal water. Avoid bright cyan, resort turquoise, and saturated product blues unless the use case is explicitly coastal tourism or campaign artwork.

Grass is sampled from the mustard outback field colour in the Fred Williams reference. Use it as a warm supportive accent or fill, not as normal body text on light backgrounds.

Semantic Meanings

Accessibility Pairings

Use dark text on light backgrounds for long-form reading. Use white text on Eucalypt or Mallee only for short labels and buttons. Avoid placing Water links on Water Mist without underlines, because the two hues are close in low-quality displays.

Primary text #16211c on Paperbark #f8f0e0 and white text on Mallee #334a38 are approved pairings for v1.

White and warm white are the preferred main backgrounds. Use White for crisp documents, forms, admin surfaces, and high-density public information. Use Paperbark when the surface needs a warmer, softer public-brand feel drawn from the lighter bark tones.

Background and Border Use

Pale backgrounds are intentionally quiet and should not be used alone to define structure. Use them with headings, labels, spacing, or a strong boundary.

Do not use white text on pale backgrounds such as Water Mist, Paperbark, warning background, success background, or danger background. Use the dark foreground token instead.

Dark Palette

The dark theme uses the same Opries colour system. It does not introduce a separate colour identity. Earth is the primary dark background, Paperbark is the primary dark-mode foreground, and Eucalypt remains the core brand fill for actions and selected states. Some secondary colours change role in dark mode: Water, Ochre, and Clay work as solid fills with Paperbark or white text, but they do not work as normal text on dark backgrounds.

Light and Dark Mode Pairings

Mode-specific Rules

Keep the core colour set stable across light and dark themes. The semantic meaning can keep its name, but its accessible role may change by theme.

Do not place Eucalypt, Water, Ochre, or Clay directly as normal text on dark backgrounds. In dark mode, use them as solid fills or accents with Paperbark, Water Mist, or white text.

Universal Design Use

Colour must never be the only way to communicate meaning. Pair every colour state with a text label, icon label, table heading, or written status. This is required for public communications, product dashboards, downloadable reports, and printed materials.

When educating users or the public, explain status colours with a short key or example before relying on them in a workflow.