Brand colours · AI
Brand colours for AI startups
A ready-to-use palette for an AI brand, tested for contrast and shown on a real app screen, pitch deck and business card. Copy the hex codes, or use it to see what good looks like before you choose your own.
Meet the sample brand
To show the palette working, we built it for a fictional AI company.
How it should feel
Purple-to-blue gradients and glowing orbs. Every AI landing page looks the same. So Parallel goes a different way, using ember as its signature and electric lime for the moments that matter.
Fonts: Sora for headings, Inter for body text.
The palette
Four colours, each with one job. Click any swatch to copy its hex code.
Ember
#E2543A · RGB 226, 84, 58A warm ember red avoids the purple gradient every AI startup uses.
Electric Lime
#C6F04E · RGB 198, 240, 78A sharp signal colour for highlights in generated text.
Obsidian
#121212 · RGB 18, 18, 18Pure, quiet dark that suits a focused writing tool.
Bone
#F4F1EA · RGB 244, 241, 234A warm paper colour, so the product feels like a document.
A good split: mostly light, dark for text, primary for key moments, accent sparingly.
The palette in use
Colours only prove themselves on real things. Here it is on the three places an AI startup shows up first.
App screen
Pitch deck slide
Business card, front and back
Contrast check
Text must stay readable. We checked each pairing against the WCAG standard, where 4.5 to 1 passes for body text.
| Use | Sample | Ratio | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body text | Aa Parallel | 16.6 : 1 | Pass AA |
| Text on primary | Aa Parallel | 5.0 : 1 | Pass AA |
| Accent on dark | Aa Parallel | 14.3 : 1 | Pass AA |
| Primary on light | Aa Parallel | 3.3 : 1 | Large text only |
| Light on dark | Aa Parallel | 16.6 : 1 | Pass AA |
What to know about colour in AI
The palette is only a start. These are the traps we see most in this industry.
What the category already owns
Purple-to-blue gradients and glowing orbs. Every AI landing page looks the same.
Avoid
- Gradients as the identity: they are hard to use in a logo, a deck and a slide.
- A palette chosen for the demo video rather than the daily product.
Show what the AI does in your colours, not the AI itself: an edited paragraph with the change highlighted. Customers buy the outcome.
Choose your own in four steps
Use the sample as a reference, then make it yours.
Write your positioning
Colour follows strategy. Know who you serve and how you want them to feel first.
Map the competition
Screenshot five AI competitors and note the colours they own. Pick a lane nobody holds.
Build four colours
A primary, an accent, a dark and a light. Check contrast before anything else.
Test it on real things
Your app, a deck slide and the place customers meet you offline. Fix what fails.
Questions
What are good brand colours for an AI startup?
Start from a primary that the category does not already own. Purple-to-blue gradients and glowing orbs. Every AI landing page looks the same. The sample palette here uses Ember (#E2543A) as the primary with Electric Lime (#C6F04E) as the accent.
How many colours should a startup brand have?
Four is enough: a primary, an accent, a dark for text and a light for backgrounds. Use them roughly 60, 30 and 10 percent, with the accent the smallest share.
Can I use this palette for my own brand?
Yes, it is free to use as a starting point. Change at least the primary so it fits your positioning and stands apart from your competitors.
How does Astitva choose brand colours?
Astitva writes your brand strategy from a short brief, suggests a palette that fits it, checks the text contrast and then uses the same colours across your logo, brand book and pitch deck.
More for AI founders
Every guide for this industry, in one place.
Get a palette made for your startup
Astitva writes your brand strategy from a short brief, picks colours that fit it, checks contrast, and uses them across your logo, brand book and pitch deck.
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