# Amazon Web Services

> `aws@1.0.0`

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the cloud-computing subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc., providing on-demand compute, storage, networking, databases, machine-learning, and developer-platform services. The AWS sub-brand carries Amazon Smile Orange forward — the same orange arrow that signs the Amazon wordmark — but operates against a deep- navy Squid Ink canvas (#232F3E) that defines the AWS Management Console and the AWS architecture-diagram visual language. The voice is engineering-direct, service-density forward, and welcoming to the long-form technical reader: AWS docs, AWS re:Invent slides, and AWS Architecture Center diagrams all share the same dark-canvas / orange-accent dialect.


**Tags:** `tech`, `cloud`, `aws`, `amazon`, `infrastructure`, `dark-canvas`, `parent-amazon`

## Atoms

### Palette

**Amazon Web Services** · `aws@1.0.0` · Proprietary — All Rights Reserved

> Amazon Web Services palette anchored on AWS Smile Orange (#FF9900) — the arrow-and-smile signature carried over from the Amazon parent brand — paired with AWS Squid Ink (#232F3E), the deep navy that defines the AWS Management Console chrome and the AWS architecture diagrams. Where the Amazon retail palette leans on warm orange against a white retail canvas, the AWS palette runs darker: console-first, diagram-first, and engineered for the long-form technical surfaces of the AWS Architecture Center, the docs site, and re:Invent keynote slides. 

### Fonts

| Role | Font | License | Classification |
|------|------|---------|----------------|
| `heading` | **Amazon Ember** `(amazon-ember@1.0.0)` | Proprietary — All Rights Reserved | sans-serif |
| `body` | **Amazon Ember** `(amazon-ember@1.0.0)` | Proprietary — All Rights Reserved | sans-serif |
| `mono` | **JetBrainsMono Nerd Font** `(jetbrainsmono-nerdfont@1.0.0)` | OFL-1.1 | monospace |

## Swatches

| ID | Name | Value |
|----|------|-------|
| `aws-smile-orange` | AWS Smile Orange | `#FF9900` |
| `aws-rind` | AWS Rind | `#EC7211` |
| `aws-squid-ink` | AWS Squid Ink | `#232F3E` |
| `aws-anchor` | AWS Anchor | `#161E2D` |
| `aws-navy-light` | AWS Navy Light | `#37475A` |
| `aws-link` | AWS Link | `#0972D3` |
| `aws-link-hover` | AWS Link Hover | `#033160` |
| `aws-success` | AWS Success | `#037F0C` |
| `aws-error` | AWS Error | `#D13212` |
| `aws-warning` | AWS Warning | `#B7740D` |
| `aws-ink` | AWS Ink | `#16191F` |
| `aws-gray` | AWS Gray | `#545B64` |
| `aws-gray-light` | AWS Gray Light | `#879596` |
| `aws-surface` | AWS Surface | `#F2F3F3` |
| `aws-white` | AWS White | `#FFFFFF` |

## Mode role mappings

### Light mode

| Role | Swatch | Hex |
|------|--------|-----|
| `background` | `aws-white` | `#FFFFFF` |
| `surface` | `aws-surface` | `#F2F3F3` |
| `surface-elevated` | `aws-white` | `#FFFFFF` |
| `text-primary` | `aws-ink` | `#16191F` |
| `text-secondary` | `aws-gray` | `#545B64` |
| `text-tertiary` | `aws-gray-light` | `#879596` |
| `primary` | `aws-smile-orange` | `#FF9900` |
| `primary-hover` | `aws-rind` | `#EC7211` |
| `accent` | `aws-link` | `#0972D3` |
| `accent-hover` | `aws-link-hover` | `#033160` |
| `warning` | `aws-warning` | `#B7740D` |
| `warning-hover` | `aws-rind` | `#EC7211` |
| `error` | `aws-error` | `#D13212` |
| `success` | `aws-success` | `#037F0C` |

### Dark mode

| Role | Swatch | Hex |
|------|--------|-----|
| `background` | `aws-anchor` | `#161E2D` |
| `surface` | `aws-squid-ink` | `#232F3E` |
| `surface-elevated` | `aws-navy-light` | `#37475A` |
| `text-primary` | `aws-white` | `#FFFFFF` |
| `text-secondary` | `aws-surface` | `#F2F3F3` |
| `text-tertiary` | `aws-gray-light` | `#879596` |
| `primary` | `aws-smile-orange` | `#FF9900` |
| `primary-hover` | `aws-rind` | `#EC7211` |
| `accent` | `aws-link` | `#0972D3` |
| `accent-hover` | `aws-link-hover` | `#033160` |
| `warning` | `aws-warning` | `#B7740D` |
| `warning-hover` | `aws-rind` | `#EC7211` |
| `error` | `aws-error` | `#D13212` |
| `success` | `aws-success` | `#037F0C` |

## Brand semantic roles

### Colors

| Role | Swatch | Hex |
|------|--------|-----|
| `identity` | `aws-squid-ink` | `#232F3E` |
| `on-identity` | `aws-smile-orange` | `#FF9900` |
| `primary` | `aws-smile-orange` | `#FF9900` |
| `primary-hover` | `aws-rind` | `#EC7211` |
| `accent` | `aws-link` | `#0972D3` |
| `accent-hover` | `aws-link-hover` | `#033160` |
| `background` | `aws-white` | `#FFFFFF` |
| `surface` | `aws-surface` | `#F2F3F3` |
| `surface-elevated` | `aws-white` | `#FFFFFF` |
| `text-primary` | `aws-ink` | `#16191F` |
| `text-secondary` | `aws-gray` | `#545B64` |
| `text-tertiary` | `aws-gray-light` | `#879596` |
| `chrome` | `aws-squid-ink` | `#232F3E` |
| `chrome-deep` | `aws-anchor` | `#161E2D` |
| `chrome-light` | `aws-navy-light` | `#37475A` |
| `mark-orange` | `aws-smile-orange` | `#FF9900` |
| `mark-canvas` | `aws-squid-ink` | `#232F3E` |

### Typography

| Role | Font role key |
|------|---------------|
| `display` | `heading` |
| `prose` | `body` |
| `code` | `mono` |

## Rules

### 🛑 error (6)

#### `colorChoice` → `logo.arrow.fill`

- **allowed:** aws-smile-orange
- **forbidden:** aws-rind, aws-warning, aws-link

> The AWS arrow-and-smile is canonical Smile Orange (#FF9900) — the same arrow as the Amazon parent wordmark. AWS Rind is a pressed CTA hover, not a mark fill. The Cloudscape Warning amber and Link blue carry semantic UI meanings and must not substitute for the brand mark. 

#### `colorChoice` → `roles.colors.chrome`

- **allowed:** aws-squid-ink, aws-anchor, aws-navy-light
- **forbidden:** aws-smile-orange, aws-white

> AWS Management Console chrome and AWS architecture-diagram canvases use the Squid Ink navy family. Replacing the navy chrome with Smile Orange or pure White breaks the AWS visual contract — the orange is a signature accent, not the canvas. 

#### `forbiddenTreatment` → `logo`

- **treatments:** stretched, rotated, recolored, drop-shadow, on-busy-photo, arrow-detached, gradient-fill

> The AWS arrow-and-smile is a registered Amazon trademark. The arrow must never be detached from the wordmark, recolored outside Smile Orange, or composed against a busy photographic surface that breaks its legibility. Gradient fills are not part of the AWS visual system. 

#### `contrastRatio` → `text-primary`

- **against:** `background`
- **minRatio:** `4.5`
- **standard:** `WCAG-AA`

> AWS Ink (#16191F) on AWS White gives ~17:1 — comfortably above WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Cloudscape's accessibility guidance specifies AA as the floor for any text-on-background pairing on the console and the docs site. 

#### `contrastRatio` → `roles.colors.primary`

- **against:** `background`
- **minRatio:** `3`
- **standard:** `WCAG-AA-large`

> Smile Orange on AWS White sits around 3:1 — it clears AA-large for headlines and large interactive text but is unsafe for body-sized text. The rule encodes the AA-large floor so the orange CTA cannot be downsized into illegibility. 

#### `accessibilityRequirement` → `*`

- **standard:** `WCAG-AA`
- **criterion:** `1.4.3`

> WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast Minimum) — Level AA. Cloudscape's published tokens are AA-compliant by construction; consumers must not derive intermediate stops that defeat that property. 

### 💡 recommendation (2)

#### `compositionConstraint` → `roles.colors.primary`

- **pairsWith:** aws-squid-ink, aws-anchor, aws-white
- **doesNotPairWith:** aws-link, aws-warning

> The signature AWS composition is orange-on-navy or orange-on- white. Pairing Smile Orange directly with the Cloudscape link blue or warning amber creates a hue conflict that competes with the AWS brand signature. 

#### `fontPairing` → `typography.heading`

- **requires:** `body`
- **minSizeRatio:** `1.4`

> AWS marketing and console surfaces use Amazon Ember at a modest heading-to-body ratio — the dense technical-reference voice of the AWS docs favors a tighter hierarchy than marketing-led brands. A 1.4× floor preserves the display-to- prose distinction without overpowering the content density. 

## Provenance

- **Source:** <https://aws.amazon.com/architecture/icons/>
- **License:** `Proprietary — All Rights Reserved`
- **Attribution:** Amazon Web Services, AWS, the AWS logo, the AWS arrow-and-smile, Amazon, and Amazon Ember are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Brand colors and identity guidance documented here are derived from the AWS Architecture Icons toolkit (aws.amazon.com/architecture/icons/), the AWS Brand Guidelines, and the AWS Cloudscape Design System (cloudscape.design). 
- **Imported:** `2026-05-18`
- **Notes:** AWS is documented separately from the Amazon parent brand because AWS carries its own canvas convention (dark-first navy), its own interactive-blue link color (Cloudscape #0972D3), and its own audience (developers and architects) distinct from the Amazon retail consumer brand. The shared Smile Orange and Amazon Ember typography preserve the Amazon family resemblance. No assets are bundled here — AWS marks are trademarked and must be retrieved from the AWS Architecture Icons toolkit under Amazon's stated terms. 

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*Generated by the brand-atoms converter. Source: `aws@1.0.0` from the encyclopedia.*