# Brand and colour

Capable macros do not ask you for a hex code first. They ask which role a colour plays, and take the value from your brand guidelines.

That indirection is what makes a page built from six different macros look deliberate.

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## The five roles

| **Role**           | **What it is for**                                  |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------- |
| Background         | The surface the macro sits on                       |
| Text on background | What must read against that surface                 |
| Surface            | A raised area inside the macro, such as a card face |
| Text               | What must read on the raised surface                |
| Accent             | Emphasis: buttons, progress fills, highlights       |

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## Where the values come from

![A Themes menu open in the header of a macro configuration, listing the Capable and Atlassian brand themes with their colour swatches and a note that content is unchanged.](https://help.gocapable.com/images/45ca086c-6a92-4006-9b0e-9b7b0ce492fd.webp)

Authors switch a macro to an approved theme from the Themes menu, and only the colours change.

* A new macro is seeded from your default theme, so it matches before you touch it.
* Changing your brand guidelines updates every macro using the roles.
* An administrator can turn off freeform colours entirely, leaving only your brand roles.

ℹ️

**Dark mode is derived, not authored.** Where a macro supports it, the dark counterpart of your colour is calculated so a card picked for a light page still reads on a dark one.

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## A few things worth knowing

* Freeform colours are not updated when the brand changes. That is the trade for using them.
* The colour control is the same in every macro, so learning it once is enough.
* Check both themes before publishing anything that matters.

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## Related

[Starter templatesThe other way to start.](https://help.gocapable.com/macros/starter-templates.html)

[Macro presetsHouse configurations.](https://help.gocapable.com/macros/macro-presets.html)

[Set up your brandConfiguring it.](https://help.gocapable.com/macros/set-up-your-brand.html)

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_Pick a role, not a hex code._