:root{
  /* ---- Brand hues (constant) ---- */
  --brand-navy:#0E1F3C;      /* Summit Navy — headlines, wordmark, dark grounds */
  --brand-navy-deep:#081326; /* Navy Deep — darkest ground, cover/close gradients */
  --brand-blue:#3B7DD8;      /* Altigo Blue — icon mark, links, rules */
  --brand-blue-deep:#2A5FAE; /* Blue Deep — accessible link/text on white */
  --brand-gold:#C9973F;      /* Summit Gold — the ONE accent, rationed */
  --brand-gold-deep:#A87A2A; /* Gold Deep — gold used as text (contrast-safe) */
  --brand-slate:#6B7280;     /* Slate — secondary text, captions, "PARTNERS" */
  --brand-paper:#F5F7FB;     /* Paper — page/letterhead background */
  --brand-hairline:#DEE3EC;  /* Hairline — rules, table borders */

  /* ---- Neutral scale ---- */
  --white:#FFFFFF;
  --ink:#161F2E;
  --ink-soft:#4B5566;
  --ink-faint:#808991;
  --surface-2:#EEF1F7;
  --border-strong:#C7CDD6;

  /* ---- Semantic aliases ---- */
  --bg:var(--brand-paper);
  --surface:var(--white);
  --surface-alt:var(--surface-2);
  --text:var(--ink);
  --text-soft:var(--ink-soft);
  --text-faint:var(--ink-faint);
  --text-on-dark:#EDF1F7;
  --text-on-dark-soft:#C7D4E8;
  --border:var(--brand-hairline);

  --link:var(--brand-blue-deep);
  --link-hover:var(--brand-navy);
  --accent:var(--brand-blue);
  --accent-gold:var(--brand-gold);

  /* ---- Status (kept minimal — the brand rarely needs them) ---- */
  --success:#2E8B5F;
  --danger:#B4483F;
}