Top 15 Formal Color Palettes for Creative Projects With HEX Codes

Formal color palettes are all about polish, restraint, and a sense of occasion. Think deep navy, charcoal, ivory, metallic accents, and soft neutrals that feel like a tailored suit or a black-tie dress code. These colors signal trust, luxury, and professionalism, making them ideal for brands that want to look composed and high-end on screen.

For video creators and Filmora users, formal color combinations work brilliantly in thumbnails, intros, lower thirds, and full video grades. Below you will find 15 formal color palettes with HEX codes that you can plug straight into your branding, YouTube channel art, presentations, and cinematic edits.

Elegant & Modern Formal Color Palettes

Midnight Velvet Gala

• HEX Codes: #04040a, #101623, #1f2b3a, #c0c5ce, #f5f7fa
• Mood: Sleek, refined, and quietly dramatic.
• Use for: Ideal for cinematic openers, luxury product showcases, and sophisticated channel branding.

Midnight Velvet Gala blends inky midnight tones with soft, silvery neutrals for a polished and modern formal color palette. The deep blues create depth and drama in your frames, while the lighter grays and off-whites keep titles and UI elements crisp and readable.

Use the darkest shades for full-screen backgrounds, end cards, and overlay bars, then reserve the lightest tones for typography, logos, and icons. This combination works beautifully for cinematic intros, tech or luxury brand thumbnails, and any YouTube channel that wants a refined, executive feel without looking cold or unapproachable.

Pro Tip: Build a Cinematic Formal Look in Filmora

To keep this Midnight Velvet Gala palette consistent, design a few reusable Filmora presets: one for your intro, one for lower thirds, and one for outro cards. Use the darkest navy as your main background, then apply the mid-blues for subtle shapes or lines and the lightest tones for clear, legible text.

Once you set up these elements in a project, you can save them as templates or copy and paste attributes between clips. This makes it easy to maintain a unified formal aesthetic across full-length videos, Shorts, social teasers, and even vertical clips without rebuilding your graphics every time.

AI Color Palette

If you have a reference image that already uses similar midnight blues and soft neutrals, you can let Filmora do the heavy lifting. Filmora's AI Color Palette feature analyzes that reference and automatically transfers its color style to the rest of your footage.

Import your hero shot or brand artwork, set it as the reference, then apply the AI Color Palette to your timeline. This keeps shadows rich, midtones cool, and highlights soft and airy, so your entire video echoes the same formal color combinations without manual tweaking on every clip.

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HSL, Color Wheels & Curves

After matching your footage to this formal palette, refine the mood with Filmora's HSL sliders, color wheels, and curves. Gently pull blues toward a deeper navy, lift the blacks slightly to avoid crushed detail, and use the highlights wheel to keep light areas close to soft gray instead of bright white.

For more control, adjust the curve to create a subtle S-shape: deepen shadows for a cinematic feel while protecting midtones so faces remain natural. You can explore step-by-step techniques in Filmora's color correction and grading guides, then save your final look as a custom LUT or preset for future projects.

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1000+ Video Filters & 3D LUTs

To speed up your workflow, you can start from one of Filmora's built-in looks and tweak it to fit this formal color palette. Filmora's video filters and 3D LUTs make it easy to add instant contrast, cool or warm the overall tone, and give your edit a subtle cinematic polish.

Choose a clean, modern LUT as your base, then adjust saturation and contrast until your midnight blues feel rich without overpowering the scene. Once you have a look that suits your channel, apply it across intros, B-roll, interviews, and reels so your visual identity always feels consistent and upscale.

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Charcoal Tuxedo Harmony

• HEX Codes: #050608, #262b33, #3b434f, #9ea6b4, #f2f4f7
• Mood: Balanced, composed, and confidently professional.
• Use for: Use for business presentations, corporate explainer videos, and polished linkedin or portfolio content.

Charcoal Tuxedo Harmony layers near-black charcoal with steel blues and light grays for a clean, corporate formal palette. It feels serious and composed, but the softer grays prevent it from becoming too stark or intimidating.

This is a great choice for pitch decks, LinkedIn banners, explainer video thumbnails, and screen recordings where you want charts and text to stay readable. Use the darker tones for header bars and lower thirds, and the lightest shade as your universal background for slides, title cards, and callouts.

Navy Glass Boardroom

• HEX Codes: #050914, #102038, #1d3d63, #6e90b5, #e9f0f7
• Mood: Trustworthy, composed, and executive.
• Use for: Great for startup pitch videos, fintech explainers, and high-end webinar visuals.

Navy Glass Boardroom mixes deep navy with cooler blue tints that resemble glass and steel. It gives your visuals a smart, urban energy while still reading as formal and reliable, perfect for finance, SaaS, and professional education channels.

Use navy as your base color for frames, transitions, and backgrounds, then add the lighter blues for graphs, UI mockups, and icon highlights. The palest shade works well for clean backgrounds on text-heavy slides or YouTube info cards, keeping the overall look sharp but not overwhelming.

Ivory Platinum Soiree

• HEX Codes: #f8f6f1, #e5e1d7, #c8c2b3, #a7b2c4, #525c66
• Mood: Understated, graceful, and quietly luxurious.
• Use for: Perfect for wedding highlight films, portfolio reels, and formal lifestyle content.

Ivory Platinum Soiree is a soft, gallery-like palette built from warm ivories, muted taupes, and cool silvery blues. It feels graceful and timeless, ideal for formal events, weddings, and portfolio pieces where you want the footage to shine without loud colors.

Use the lightest ivories for airy backgrounds and lower thirds, the mid neutrals for frames or subtle shapes, and the deeper gray-blue for elegant typography or accent details. This set of HEX codes is perfect for wedding highlight thumbnails, photography showreels, and minimalist lifestyle intros with slow motion and fine typography.

Classic Black Tie Formal Color Palettes

Black Tie Affair

• HEX Codes: #000000, #16171a, #ffffff, #d4af37, #b3b3b3
• Mood: Iconic, glamorous, and unmistakably formal.
• Use for: Use for award show intros, event promos, and any video that needs a red-carpet mood.

Black Tie Affair is the classic cocktail of deep black, pure white, metallic gold, and neutral gray. It instantly suggests tuxedos, spotlights, and red-carpet moments, making it perfect for glamorous intros, award-style countdowns, and prestige event recaps.

Let black and dark gray dominate your backgrounds and shadowy frames, keep white for bold titles and logos, and use gold sparingly for animated accents, icons, or key call-to-action buttons. This formal palette works especially well on YouTube thumbnails where you want high contrast and a clear sense of luxury.

Opera House Balcony

• HEX Codes: #14080a, #3e141c, #5a1025, #d6b18a, #f7f2ea
• Mood: Romantic, theatrical, and rich.
• Use for: Great for music videos, performance promos, and dramatic storytelling edits.

Opera House Balcony combines dark wine reds and deep plums with warm beige and cream tones, echoing velvet seats and stage lights. It feels romantic and theatrical, ideal for performances, music videos, and narrative trailers.

Use the rich reds in costumes, overlays, and accent graphics, then balance them with the lighter neutrals for titles, subtitles, and text blocks. This palette brings a dramatic, story-driven feeling to your thumbnails and opening sequences, perfect for channels focused on music, theater, or dramatic storytelling.

Crystal Chandelier Night

• HEX Codes: #050509, #20202a, #4e5562, #f3e7cf, #ffffff
• Mood: Glimmering, refined, and slightly nostalgic.
• Use for: Perfect for gala recaps, formal event teasers, and refined lifestyle vlogs.

Crystal Chandelier Night pairs inky blacks with smoky grays and champagne whites, evoking ballroom lighting and polished silverware. It feels sophisticated but also slightly nostalgic, like vintage evening photographs.

Use the darker tones to keep your backgrounds rich and cinematic, while the champagne and white shades highlight faces, text, or glowing elements in your footage. This palette is ideal for gala recaps, charity events, and lifestyle vlogs that showcase nightlife, cocktails, and special occasions.

Vintage Ballroom Waltz

• HEX Codes: #181217, #3c2b30, #7b5a55, #d8c2aa, #f5eee5
• Mood: Warm, nostalgic, and romantic.
• Use for: Use for heritage brand stories, wedding films, and vintage-inspired reels.

Vintage Ballroom Waltz leans into cocoa browns and creamy highlights to create a cozy, old-world formality. It feels like stepping into a historic ballroom with wooden floors, candlelight, and soft music.

These HEX codes are great for heritage brands, anniversary videos, or wedding films with a vintage twist. Apply the darker browns to frames, borders, and subtle vignettes, while the light creams keep overlays readable. Add gentle film grain or a vignette in Filmora to enhance the nostalgic, formal mood.

Soft Minimal Formal Color Palettes

Soft Linen Program

• HEX Codes: #f8f5f0, #e0dbd0, #c7c0b4, #9b9fa5, #474c52
• Mood: Quiet, intentional, and minimal.
• Use for: Great for minimalist vlogs, studio tours, and elegant educational content.

Soft Linen Program is built from linen-like neutrals, soft grays, and a grounding charcoal accent. It delivers a clean, airy, and intentional look that still feels formal enough for educational or design-focused content.

Use the lightest shades as generous negative space around your subject, while the mid neutrals form subtle panels, frames, or lower thirds. The darkest color is ideal for crisp text, logos, and iconography, giving your thumbnails and intros a minimalist but still professional finish.

Muted Champagne Toast

• HEX Codes: #f7f1e7, #ebddc7, #d4bfa0, #a9967c, #554a3c
• Mood: Celebratory yet restrained and tasteful.
• Use for: Perfect for wedding toasts, brand reveal videos, and upscale lifestyle intros.

Muted Champagne Toast combines soft beiges and warm browns that feel like candlelight on crystal glass. It captures a celebratory mood without resorting to loud or flashy colors, making it ideal for high-end lifestyle and brand content.

Use the lighter champagne tones as your overall canvas for story slides, with the mid browns adding structure in shape overlays or borders. The deepest brown is perfect for typography and subtle icons on thumbnails, intros, and social media posts announcing launches, events, or milestones.

Foggy Harbor Reception

• HEX Codes: #eef2f5, #cfd7de, #a8b4c0, #7a8694, #3b424a
• Mood: Cool, calm, and contemplative.
• Use for: Use for documentary-style edits, formal travel logs, and modern wedding films by the water.

Foggy Harbor Reception leans into cool grays and misty blues that echo overcast seaside light. It feels calm, thoughtful, and quietly emotional, making it a natural fit for documentaries, travel diaries, and modern coastal weddings.

Apply the pale grays and blues to backgrounds and subtle gradient overlays that unify the footage. Use the darker slate tones for clean titles and chapter markers. This palette keeps your visuals sophisticated and controlled, even when your footage covers varied locations and lighting conditions.

Pale Dove Invitation

• HEX Codes: #f6f7f9, #dde1e7, #bcc3ce, #9097a3, #515864
• Mood: Delicate, polished, and neutral.
• Use for: Ideal for clean title screens, professional slide videos, and subtle brand intros.

Pale Dove Invitation uses soft dove grays and blue-tinted neutrals for a delicate yet professional look. It reads as formal but not stiff, making it perfect for design-forward channels, coaching content, and understated brand intros.

Use the lightest shades as your canvas for slides and informational graphics, with the mid grays adding structure in shapes and dividers. The darkest gray is excellent for typography and logo marks. This palette is especially useful when you want a neutral base that lets photography, products, or people stand out.

Luxury Metallic Formal Color Palettes

Gilded Gala Script

• HEX Codes: #07060a, #1b1a22, #8a6b2a, #d8b463, #f9f3e2
• Mood: Luxurious, confident, and celebratory.
• Use for: Great for logo stings, sponsor intros, and premium product launches.

Gilded Gala Script balances rich blacks and deep charcoals with warm, metallic gold tones and a soft cream highlight. It instantly signals luxury and celebration, making it ideal for sponsor bumpers, product launch teasers, and logo animations.

Let the dark colors dominate the background to create contrast, then bring in the golds as animated strokes, outlines, or accent lines around titles and logos. The light cream gives you a gentle highlight for taglines or small text, keeping everything legible while maintaining a premium, black-tie mood.

Marble and Gold Atrium

• HEX Codes: #fdfbf7, #ebe4d9, #c9c3b6, #a4884c, #5b4c34
• Mood: Architectural, refined, and timeless.
• Use for: Perfect for real estate tours, hotel promos, and luxury brand explainers.

Marble and Gold Atrium combines bright, marble-inspired neutrals with a warm, architectural gold and a deeper brown accent. It feels like the lobby of a luxury hotel or gallery, bright yet undeniably formal.

Use the pale neutrals as your main backgrounds to keep things light and airy, then reserve the gold for key lines, icons, and logo marks. The darkest brown is great for body text and subtitles. This palette works especially well for real estate tours, hospitality promos, and any brand that wants to feel upscale but welcoming.

Onyx and Rose Gold

• HEX Codes: #050506, #1e1a1c, #5c3c3d, #c88c76, #f4e2d8
• Mood: Modern, romantic, and high-end.
• Use for: Use for beauty promos, fashion lookbooks, and elegant social media teasers.

Onyx and Rose Gold pairs deep onyx blacks and charcoals with warm rose-gold tones and a soft blush highlight. It feels glamorous and contemporary, perfect for beauty, fashion, and lifestyle brands that want a formal but trendy look.

Use the dark shades to ground your backgrounds and frames, then let rose gold appear in typography, accents, and animated details like lines or sparkles. The light blush color softens the palette for intros, product shots, and Instagram story covers, giving your content a modern luxury edge.

Tips for Creating Formal Color Palettes

When you build your own formal color palette for video and design, focus on control, contrast, and consistency. Formal looks rarely rely on many bright hues; instead, they use a few disciplined tones, strong neutrals, and carefully placed accents.

• Start with a strong neutral base such as black, navy, charcoal, or deep brown, then add 2 to 3 supporting neutrals and 1 accent metallic or color.
• Check contrast for readability: test light text on dark backgrounds and dark text on light panels to make sure subtitles and titles stay crystal clear on mobile screens.
• Use accent colors sparingly. In a formal color palette, gold, red, or rose tones work best as highlights on buttons, key words, or iconography.
• Match your palette to footage lighting. Cooler palettes suit office, city, or coastal scenes; warmer palettes fit ballrooms, weddings, and indoor events.
• Stay consistent across touchpoints: apply the same HEX codes to thumbnails, intros, lower thirds, and channel banners so your audience recognizes your brand instantly.
• Leverage gradients and overlays in Filmora to gently push raw footage toward your chosen palette without over-saturating skin tones.
• Save your favorite color combinations as presets or LUTs so you can reuse the same formal style on future edits with minimal setup.
• Test on multiple devices. Export a short sample and view it on phone, tablet, and desktop to ensure your formal look still feels elegant everywhere.

Formal color palettes can completely reshape how your brand and content feel, turning simple footage into something polished, trustworthy, and event-ready. Dark neutrals, refined metallics, and soft supporting tones help your message stand out without shouting.

Use these 15 formal color combinations as ready-made starting points for your thumbnails, intros, slides, and full video grades. Then refine them in Filmora to match your logo, niche, and audience preferences.

The more consistently you apply your chosen palette across projects, the more recognizable and professional your channel or brand will look. Open Filmora, drop in your preferred HEX codes, and start experimenting with overlays, filters, and LUTs until you land on a signature formal style that feels uniquely yours.

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