Skip to content

#a9bd73

a balanced, soft green · warm · closest name: Dark Khaki

RGB
169, 189, 115
HSL
76°, 36%, 60%
CMYK
11, 0, 39, 26
Luminance
0.4607

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #a9bd73 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#a9bd73
Hue
76°
green
Saturation
36%
soft
Lightness
60%
balanced
Brightness
74%
HSV value
Perceived
69%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4607
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
38/100 cool
Color family
Green
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
10.21:1
Closest name
Dark Khaki
ΔE2000 7.2
Where it sits
Hue76° of 360°
Saturation36%
Lightness60%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool38% cool

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

Every format

HEX#a9bd73
RGBrgb(169, 189, 115)
HSLhsl(76, 36%, 60%)
CMYKcmyk(11%, 0%, 39%, 26%)
LABlab(73.6 -18.9 35.1)
LCHlch(73.6 39.9 118.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.766 0.101 121.2)
Decimal11124083
Display P3color(display-p3 0.663 0.741 0.451)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #a9bd73;
background-color: #a9bd73;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#a9bd73] bg-[#a9bd73]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #a9bd73;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.663, green: 0.741, blue: 0.451)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#a9bd73")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFA9BD73)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(115, 189, 169)

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 #a9bd73 · 10.21:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.06:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.21:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #a9bd73 as text scores 2.06:1 on white and 10.21:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#a9bd73 on white: 2.06:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#a9bd73 on black: 10.21:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C5B56D
deuteranopia · #C3B577
tritanopia · #AFB6AB

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #a9bd73 is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F8F9F5
#F2F4EB
#E3E8D3
#D0DBB3
#B9C98D
#a9bd73
#8FA64E
#778B41
#5F6F34
#465129
#2C331A
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F8F9F5Darkest = 950 · #2C331A
:root {
  --brand-50: #F8F9F5;
  --brand-100: #F2F4EB;
  --brand-200: #E3E8D3;
  --brand-300: #D0DBB3;
  --brand-400: #B9C98D;
  --brand-500: #a9bd73;
  --brand-600: #8FA64E;
  --brand-700: #778B41;
  --brand-800: #5F6F34;
  --brand-900: #465129;
  --brand-950: #2C331A;
  --brand: #a9bd73;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #a9bd73

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#F9FAF5
Tinted page background
Border#DDE5C8
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#859B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#716FC1
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4A5729
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F4F7EE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#202414
Dark-mode background
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

How to use #a9bd73

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate

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#8773BD
Analogous left#BDAC73
Analogous right#84BD73
Split-complement 1#7384BD
Split-complement 2#AC73BD
Triadic 1#73A9BD
Triadic 2#BD73A9
Tetradic#73BDAC

RGB percentages

Red66.3%
Green74.1%
Blue45.1%

CMYK percentages

Cyan10.6%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow39.2%
Key (black)25.9%

Color previews

#a9bd73 text on a black background

contrast 10.21:1

Card sample

#a9bd73 text on a white background

contrast 2.06:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #a9bd73;
Background color
Panel with #a9bd73 background
background-color: #a9bd73;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #a9bd73;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(169, 189, 115, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(169, 189, 115, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #a9bd73;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #a9bd73, #78BD73);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #a9bd73

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

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.

#a9bd73 in the real world

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

Industries
SustainabilityFinanceHealth and wellnessAgriculture
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

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

#a9bd73, answered

What color is #a9bd73?

#a9bd73 is a balanced soft green, closest to Dark Khaki (ΔE2000 7.2). It sits at 76° on the hue wheel with 36% saturation and 60% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #a9bd73?

rgb(169, 189, 115) — 169 red, 189 green and 115 blue out of 255, or 66.3% / 74.1% / 45.1% by channel.

Is #a9bd73 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4607 and perceived brightness is 69%, so black text on it reaches 10.21:1.

Should I use black or white text on #a9bd73?

Black. It scores 10.21:1 against #a9bd73, versus 2.06:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #a9bd73?

#8773BD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #7384BD and #AC73BD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #a9bd73?

For interface work: #F9FAF5 as the surface, #DDE5C8 for borders, #859B4B for secondary text, #716FC1 as an accent and #4A5729 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BDAC73 and #84BD73 stays calm, while #8773BD is the loudest partner.

What is #a9bd73 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(11%, 0%, 39%, 26%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #a9bd73 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 38 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BDB673; nudged cooler, #8DBF71.

Work with #a9bd73 in the Color Lab