Royal purple, Mardi Gras gold, and vivid green — the three sacred colours of a celebration that turns the world upside down for one last time before Lent.
Carnival — from the Latin carne vale, farewell to meat — is the last great feast before the austerity of Lent, and its colours reflect that urgency. The Mardi Gras palette of purple, gold, and green was formalised in New Orleans in 1872, each colour assigned a meaning: purple for justice, gold for power, green for faith. But Carnival exists in hundreds of forms worldwide — the feathered brilliance of Rio de Janeiro, the painted faces of Venice, the street parties of Trinidad and Tobago — and in each incarnation, the palette is vivid, saturated, and unrestrained. These are colours chosen by people who know the grey season is coming and intend to use every colour available before it arrives.
#a20ccf
RGB(162, 12, 207) · hsl(286, 89%, 43%)
This medium magenta sits at the vivid end of its family.
What the Earthen Bay within Rolling →#e2d846
RGB(226, 216, 70) · hsl(56, 73%, 58%)
A vivid yellow: light, considered, and steady.
Sure Atoll During Waiting →#0fd712
RGB(15, 215, 18) · hsl(121, 87%, 45%)
This medium green sits at the vivid end of its family.
The Alcove on Warm-hued Building →#d11f60
RGB(209, 31, 96) · hsl(338, 74%, 47%)
vivid and medium — a pink that reads as grounded.
The Steady Canyon under Shifting →#9208c9
RGB(146, 8, 201) · hsl(283, 92%, 41%)
vivid and medium — a violet that reads as grounded.
What the Brook until Warm-hued Cooling →:root { --carnival-1: #a20ccf; --carnival-2: #e2d846; --carnival-3: #0fd712; --carnival-4: #d11f60; --carnival-5: #9208c9;}