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One value per colour; Anthrazit #444343 for dark surfaces, Schwarz #2B2B2A for the logo only

Status

Accepted — 2026-10-29, when SPEC-228 was specified. Built on 2026-11-02. This record supersedes 2026-07-21-brand-orange-screen-vs-print.md, whose screen/print split the new manual retires.

Context

The designer delivered a new CD manual, VisiTrans_CD_08.10.2026_EW08.pdf (ONEDRIVE_ROOT/03-Corporate Design/03-cd-manual/). It changes three things the toolkit had encoded:

  • Values. Orange is #F9AB07 (CMYK 0/38/100/0), Magenta #E24892 (5/85/0/0), Schwarz #2B2B2A (K100), Anthrazit #444343 (K90), Weiß #FFFFFF. The toolkit carried a print orange, a different screen orange, two magentas, a pure-black logo base and a near-black anthracite.
  • Roles. Schwarz is the logo, text and line colour. Anthrazit is the dark surface. The toolkit used a near-black anthracite as its dark background, so every dark page, deck and preset rendered far darker than the manual's anthracite.
  • Typography and products. Inter is the typeface for all communication; Futura Bold appears only inside the logos. VisiFair's subline is SMART FAIRS, VisiArea's is SMART ACCESS with the area DEFENSE.

Decision

# Decision
E1 Align all colour values with the manual, not only the backgrounds.
E2 Logo black is #2B2B2A digitally and K100 in print. The logo image files are checked for their burnt-in black; originals are not modified.
E3 The screen/print split is abolished: one digital HEX per colour, CMYK for print. This ADR supersedes 2026-07-21.
E4 Status and secondary colours stay as a "functional UI supplement, not part of the CD". They are re-derived for contrast on #444343, marked as pending designer approval, and used only in product UI and diagrams, never in marketing.
E5 On dark surfaces the primary CTA is orange and links are white and underlined. Magenta is used there only as a fill behind bold text of at least 18.7 px.
E6 Depth steps around #444343 derive only from CMYK K-steps and never from K100. They are marked as pending designer approval.
E7 Masters and skills change now; existing decks change when next edited. Masters are Phase 2 and outside SPEC-228.

The K-steps are derived by interpolating CIE L* between the manual's own anchors (K100 #2B2B2A, K90 #444343, K0 white), because the manual's conversion profile cannot be reproduced (SPEC-228 research R1). The derivation returns both anchors exactly.

Implementation

  • configs/visitrans-cd-tokens.yaml carries the manual's values and names the manual. The screen group is gone; derived groups carry the marker approval: pending-designer.
  • scripts/design_system/ resolves one value per colour (get_color, get_surface_ramp); get_screen_color is removed. The PrimeNG preset's dark scheme reads the anthracite ramp.
  • The design-system skill, its specimens and kits, visitrans_cd, the consumer skills and the guides use the new values.
  • visitrans_cd has a STRENG audit rule: a black or near-black surface outside the logo box. The presentation reviewer reports it as a High finding.
  • Guard 77-cd-colours-match-the-manual.sh keeps black off surfaces, keeps retired values out of live files and pins the token file's values.

Consequences

  • PrimeNG consumers get a lighter dark theme. The dark surface moves from near-black to #444343. Muted text and form-field borders were re-derived so they still meet WCAG 2.1 on the lighter surface.
  • The print path is retired as a separate value set. Word, PowerPoint and PDF use the same digital HEX values as the web. CMYK applies only to data sent to a print shop.
  • Derived values are provisional. The K-step greys, depth steps and the functional supplement wait for the designer's approval; the token file marks each group.
  • Text on magenta is white and bold at 18.7 px or more, because no text colour reaches 4.5:1 on #E24892.