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yellow · warm

#978c69

a balanced, soft yellow · warm · closest name: Gray

Token name suggestion: Studio Citron

RGB
151, 140, 105
HSL
46°, 18%, 50%
CMYK
0, 7, 31, 41
Luminance
0.2636

#978c69 is a balanced soft yellow, 46° on the wheel and 31/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (6.27:1). As text it scores 3.35:1 on white — large text only. Nearest name is Gray, nearest Tailwind family is stone.

hsl(46 18% 50%)rgb(151 140 105)Base step 600AA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #978c69 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#978c69
Hue
46°
yellow
Saturation
18%
soft
Lightness
50%
balanced
Brightness
59%
HSV value
Perceived
55%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2636
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
31/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
6.27:1
Closest name
Gray
ΔE2000 14.7
Chroma
20.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.641
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
stone
500 · ΔE 15.4
Web-safe
#999966
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue46° of 360°
Saturation18%
Lightness50%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #978c69.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool31% cool

Reads warm. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Luminance by channel
Red25%
Green71%
Blue4%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#978c69
HEX (8-digit)#978c69ff
RGBrgb(151, 140, 105)
RGBArgba(151, 140, 105, 1)
HSLhsl(46, 18%, 50%)
HSV / HSBhsv(46, 30%, 59%)
HWBhwb(46 41% 41%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 7%, 31%, 41%)
LABlab(58.4 -1.5 20.2)
LCHlch(58.4 20.3 94.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.641 0.051 92.7)
XYZ (D65)xyz(24.69, 26.36, 17.15)
Decimal9931881
Display P3color(display-p3 0.592 0.549 0.412)
Web-safe#999966

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #978c69;
background-color: #978c69;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #978c69;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#978c69] bg-[#978c69]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #978c69;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.592, green: 0.549, blue: 0.412)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.592, green: 0.549, blue: 0.412, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#978C69</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF978C69)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF978C69)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(105, 140, 151)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(151, 140, 105)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(151, 140, 105)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 151, 140, 105)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.5922f, 0.5490f, 0.4118f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{151,140,105}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #978c69 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #978c69 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#4B4634, #E6E3DB);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #978c69 h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #F8F8F6;
  --brand-100: #F2F1EE;
  --brand-200: #E3E1D9;
  --brand-300: #D1CCBD;
  --brand-400: #BAB39C;
  --brand-500: #A3997A;
  --brand-600: #978c69;
  --brand-700: #787054;
  --brand-800: #605943;
  --brand-900: #474333;
  --brand-950: #2D2A20;
  --brand: #978c69;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F9F8F6;
  --brand-border: #DEDACF;
  --brand-hover: #82795A;
  --brand-pressed: #6D654C;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #211F17;
    --brand-ink: #E6E3DB;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F8F8F6',
        100: '#F2F1EE',
        200: '#E3E1D9',
        300: '#D1CCBD',
        400: '#BAB39C',
        500: '#A3997A',
        600: '#978c69',
        700: '#787054',
        800: '#605943',
        900: '#474333',
        950: '#2D2A20',
        DEFAULT: '#978c69',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F8F8F6,
  '100': #F2F1EE,
  '200': #E3E1D9,
  '300': #D1CCBD,
  '400': #BAB39C,
  '500': #A3997A,
  '600': #978c69,
  '700': #787054,
  '800': #605943,
  '900': #474333,
  '950': #2D2A20,
);
$brand-base: #978c69;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F8F8F6", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F2F1EE", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E3E1D9", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D1CCBD", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#BAB39C", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#A3997A", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#978c69", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#787054", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#605943", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#474333", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#2D2A20", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

Best text color

Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.

Readable at a glance#000000 on #978c69 · 6.27:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 3.35:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 6.27:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #978c69 as text scores 3.35:1 on white and 6.27:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #4B4634 at 2.82:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#7F7658 · 4.53:1
AA on white−8% L
#7F7658
The quick fox
#5E5741 · 7.20:1
AAA on white−19% L
#5E5741
The quick fox
#978c69 · 6.27:1
AA on blackalready passes
#978c69
The quick fox
#9F9575 · 7.03:1
AAA on black+4% L
#9F9575

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #978C69 is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#978c69 on white: 3.35:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#978c69 on black: 6.27:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #978c69 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #978c69.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White3.35:1AaAa
Slate 503.20:1AaAa
Slate 1003.06:1AaAa
Slate 2002.72:1AaAa
Slate 3002.26:1AaAa
Slate 4001.31:1AaAa
Slate 5001.42:1AaAa
Slate 6002.26:1AaAa
Slate 7003.09:1AaAa
Slate 8004.37:1AaAa
Slate 9005.33:1AaAa
Black6.27:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #948A67
deuteranopia · #968E6A
tritanopia · #9E8783

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #978c69 is pinned to step 600; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F8F8F6
#F2F1EE
#E3E1D9
#D1CCBD
#BAB39C
#A3997A
#978c69
#787054
#605943
#474333
#2D2A20
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #F8F8F6Darkest = 950 · #2D2A20Text step on white = 700
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.013 92.7);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.020 92.7);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.031 92.7);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.040 92.7);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.047 92.7);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.051 92.7);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.051 92.7);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.048 92.7);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.043 92.7);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.036 92.7);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.028 92.7);
}

Colors that work with #978c69

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#000000
Black wins here
Surface#F9F8F6
Tinted page background
Border#DEDACF
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#887E5E
Captions on the surface
Accent#647F9C
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4B4634
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5F3F0
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#211F17
Dark-mode background
Hover#82795A
One step down in lightness
Pressed#6D654C
Two steps down
Disabled#C5BFAB
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#AB9B69
Offset from the fill so it reads
Light mode
Everything in its place

Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.

Primary actionSecondaryBadge
Dark mode
Same hue, inverted

Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.

Primary actionSecondaryAccent

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #978c69

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Headings from 24px up on white
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
  • Chart series and data categories
Use with care
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • Thin strokes and 1px borders — they disappear on light UI
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
24px / 18.66px bold
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #4B4634
Safe as a 1px border on white
Yes

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

optimisticalertcheap-and-cheerfulvisible

The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail.

The muted chroma softens the association — it reads considered rather than loud, which suits long-form and data-heavy screens. The mid lightness keeps it versatile in both themes.

Worth knowing

Almost never passes contrast against white. Treat it as a surface or a marker, not as text.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight50/100
  • TemperatureWarm
  • ApproachabilityHigh

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

Similar colors

One move away from this hex in each direction. Every swatch is its own page.

Color relationships

The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.

Complementary#697497
Analogous left#977569
Analogous right#8B9769
Split-complement 1#698B97
Split-complement 2#756997
Triadic 1#69978C
Triadic 2#8C6997
Tetradic#699775
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°46°

#978c69 sits at 46°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red59.2%
Green54.9%
Blue41.2%
R · 0–255
151
0x97
G · 0–255
140
0x8c
B · 0–255
105
0x69

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta7.3%
Yellow30.5%
Key (black)40.8%

Total ink coverage is 79%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#978c69 text on a black background

contrast 6.27:1

Card sample

#978c69 text on a white background

contrast 3.35:1

Card sample

#978c69 on grey

3.06:1

#978c69 on its own surface

3.16:1

#978c69 on its dark surface

4.93:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #978c69;
Background color
Panel with #978c69 background
background-color: #978c69;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #978c69;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(151, 140, 105, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(151, 140, 105, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #978c69;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #978c69, #839769);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #978c69, #789769);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #978c69;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #978c69;
caret-color: #978c69;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #978c69;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F5F3F0;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #978c69;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#978c69 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #978c69 over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(151, 140, 105, 0.5)
rgb(151 140 105 / 50%)
#978c6980
hsl(46 18% 50% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #978c69 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#978c691a#F5F4F0
20%#978c6933#EAE8E1
40%#978c6966#D5D1C3
60%#978c6999#C1BAA5
80%#978c69cc#ACA387

Gradients from #978c69

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #B0A88D, #978c69 45%, #4B4634);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #978c69, #70855C);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #978c69, #697497);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #BDB69F 0%, #978c69 45%, #4B4634 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F9F8F6, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #AC8E87 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #96A47B 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #4B4634 0%, transparent 65%), #978c69;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #978c69

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

Color harmonies

Nearest named colors

Ranked with CIEDE2000 across all 139 CSS keywords. Under ΔE 2 the eye stops telling them apart; over ΔE 10 they are plainly different colors.

#978c69 in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
RetailLeisureEnergyWarning systems
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 6.27:1.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#978c69, answered

What color is #978c69?

#978c69 is a balanced soft yellow, closest to Gray (ΔE2000 14.7). It sits at 46° on the hue wheel with 18% saturation and 50% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #978c69?

rgb(151, 140, 105) — 151 red, 140 green and 105 blue out of 255, or 59.2% / 54.9% / 41.2% by channel.

What is #978c69 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(46, 18%, 50%) and hsv(46, 30%, 59%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #978c69 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2636 and perceived brightness is 55%, so black text on it reaches 6.27:1.

Should I use black or white text on #978c69?

Black. It scores 6.27:1 against #978c69, versus 3.35:1 for white — AA at any size.

Is #978c69 accessible on a white background?

#978c69 on white scores 3.35:1, which only clears AA for large text — 18.66px bold or 24px regular and up. Darken it to #7F7658 to reach 4.5:1, or #5E5741 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #978c69?

#697497 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #698B97 and #756997, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #978c69?

For interface work: #F9F8F6 as the surface, #DEDACF for borders, #887E5E for secondary text, #647F9C as an accent and #4B4634 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #977569 and #8B9769 stays calm, while #697497 is the loudest partner.

What is #978c69 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 7%, 31%, 41%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #978c69 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 31 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #977F69; nudged cooler, #939A66.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #978c69?

The stone family — its 500 step is #78716c, ΔE2000 15.4 away. That is a visible difference, so define #978c69 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #978c69 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#978c69] or text-[#978c69], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #978c69 with 50% opacity?

rgba(151, 140, 105, 0.5), or #978c6980 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #CBC6B4; over black, #4C4635.

Is #978c69 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #999966, ΔE2000 7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #978c69 mean?

As a yellow, it reads optimistic, alert, cheap-and-cheerful. The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #978c69?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #B0A88D, #978c69 45%, #4B4634). For more colour, a short hue run to #70855C keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #978c69 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #978c69 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.