Cotton Candy Gradient
Gradient Details
Linear
135deg
#a8edea
#fed6e3
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #a8edea, #fed6e3); Usage Examples
As Background
As Button
As Text
Gradient TextAbout This Gradient
The Cotton Candy gradient is a smooth linear blend that flows from #a8edea to #fed6e3 at a 135-degree angle, creating soft, romantic hues that convey playfulness and femininity. Gradients in the pink family are frequently chosen by designers who want to add visual depth and dimensionality without resorting to flat, single-tone fills. The transition from green/cool into red/warm gives this gradient a distinctive character that works equally well as a hero background, UI card accent, or decorative overlay. Whether you are building a landing page, a mobile app, or a data dashboard, the Cotton Candy gradient offers an immediately polished, professional appearance that elevates the overall design.
When to Use the Cotton Candy Gradient
Because of its pink color palette, this gradient is especially effective in the following design contexts:
- Beauty, skincare, and cosmetics product pages
- Feminine lifestyle blogs and editorial layouts
- Valentine's Day and romantic occasion marketing materials
- Wedding and event planning websites
- Fashion lookbooks and style guide headers
Apply this gradient sparingly for maximum impact — use it as a focal-point element rather than a page-wide background to keep your design balanced and readable.
Color Information
#a8edea
rgb(168, 237, 234)
Color family: green/cool
Contrast vs white: 1.3:1
#fed6e3
rgb(254, 214, 227)
Color family: red/warm
Contrast vs white: 1.3:1
Accessibility Note
The average contrast ratio of these two colors against a white background is approximately 1.3:1. This does not meet the WCAG 2.1 Level AA threshold of 4.5:1 for normal text. If you need to place text on top of this gradient, consider using a semi-transparent dark or white overlay behind the text, or restrict text to bold large headings where the 3:1 Large Text AA threshold may apply. Always verify contrast with your specific text color using a dedicated accessibility checker before shipping to production.
CSS Gradient Tips
Browser Support
Linear gradients using the standard linear-gradient() syntax are supported in all modern browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera.
Internet Explorer 10+ also supports them. No vendor prefixes are required for current browser targets, but if you must support very old WebKit browsers, you can optionally add -webkit-linear-gradient() as a fallback.
Providing a Fallback Color
Always declare a solid background-color before your gradient declaration.
If a browser or email client does not support gradients, it will display the solid color instead of nothing.
Choose the dominant color of the gradient — for this preset, #a8edea is a good fallback choice.
Animating Gradients
CSS does not natively animate between two linear-gradient() values, because gradients are treated as images.
A reliable workaround is to set the background-size to a large value (e.g., 200% 200%) and animate background-position using a CSS @keyframes rule to create a flowing, animated effect.
Adjusting the Angle
The default angle for this preset is 135 degrees (top-left to bottom-right). You can change the angle to suit your layout: 0deg flows bottom to top, 90deg flows left to right, and 180deg flows top to bottom. You can also use keyword directions like to right or to bottom right for simpler syntax.
Frequently Asked Questions
What colors are in the Cotton Candy gradient?
The Cotton Candy gradient blends #a8edea (rgb(168, 237, 234)) with #fed6e3 (rgb(254, 214, 227)) across a 135-degree diagonal.
How do I use this gradient in CSS?
Copy the snippet below and add it to any CSS selector. For a text gradient effect, append the background-clip rules shown in the Usage Examples section above.
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #a8edea, #fed6e3); Is this gradient accessible?
The Cotton Candy gradient has an average color contrast of 1.3:1 against white, which is below the WCAG 2.1 AA threshold of 4.5:1. For text overlays, use large bold text or add a semi-transparent dark scrim behind the text. Decorative uses without text are not subject to contrast requirements.