Palette Architecture

A brand palette is not a list of colors — it is an architecture with roles, ratios, and relationships. Each color serves a function: dominant (background, largest area), primary accent (brand identity, focal points), secondary accent (supporting elements, variety without departure), neutral (text, borders, subtle structure), and semantic (success/error/warning states).

The palette architecture for Ryan Consulting: dominant = #000000 (black, 60-70% of area), primary accent = #00ffff (cyan, 10-15% of area), secondary accent = #ff9f1c (amber, 3-5% of area), neutral = gray hierarchy (#a0a0a0, #666666, #333333, 20-25% of area), semantic = standard (green/red/yellow for states, used only in functional contexts).

The ratios are as important as the colors. A layout with 40% cyan instead of 12% is technically on-brand (it uses the right color) but visually wrong (it overwhelms instead of accenting). The brand critic evaluates both color accuracy AND color proportion. An asset with perfect colors at wrong ratios fails the brand review.