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#aaac49

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

RGB
170, 172, 73
HSL
61°, 40%, 48%
CMYK
1, 0, 58, 33
Luminance
0.3853

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #aaac49 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#aaac49
Hue
61°
yellow
Saturation
40%
soft
Lightness
48%
balanced
Brightness
67%
HSV value
Perceived
64%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3853
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
26/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
8.71:1
Closest name
Dark Khaki
ΔE2000 5.6
Where it sits
Hue61° of 360°
Saturation40%
Lightness48%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool26% 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#aaac49
RGBrgb(170, 172, 73)
HSLhsl(61, 40%, 48%)
CMYKcmyk(1%, 0%, 58%, 33%)
LABlab(68.4 -14.1 49.6)
LCHlch(68.4 51.5 105.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.723 0.122 110.2)
Decimal11185225
Display P3color(display-p3 0.667 0.675 0.286)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #aaac49;
background-color: #aaac49;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#aaac49] bg-[#aaac49]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #aaac49;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.667, green: 0.675, blue: 0.286)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#aaac49")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFAAAC49)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(73, 172, 170)

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 #aaac49 · 8.71:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.41:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 8.71:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #aaac49 as text scores 2.41:1 on white and 8.71:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#aaac49 on white: 2.41:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#aaac49 on black: 8.71:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #B8A53E
deuteranopia · #B9A84F
tritanopia · #B5A297

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #aaac49 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.

#FAFAF5
#F4F5EB
#E9EAD2
#DDDEB0
#CBCD89
#BABC61
#aaac49
#8E8F3D
#717331
#535426
#343418
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FAFAF5Darkest = 950 · #343418
:root {
  --brand-50: #FAFAF5;
  --brand-100: #F4F5EB;
  --brand-200: #E9EAD2;
  --brand-300: #DDDEB0;
  --brand-400: #CBCD89;
  --brand-500: #BABC61;
  --brand-600: #aaac49;
  --brand-700: #8E8F3D;
  --brand-800: #717331;
  --brand-900: #535426;
  --brand-950: #343418;
  --brand: #aaac49;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #aaac49

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#FAFAF4
Tinted page background
Border#E6E7C6
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#999B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#445DB1
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#585A26
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F7F7ED
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242414
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 #aaac49

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
  • Thin strokes and 1px borders — they disappear on light UI
  • 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#4B49AC
Analogous left#AC7C49
Analogous right#78AC49
Split-complement 1#4978AC
Split-complement 2#7C49AC
Triadic 1#49AAAC
Triadic 2#AC49AA
Tetradic#49AC7C

RGB percentages

Red66.7%
Green67.5%
Blue28.6%

CMYK percentages

Cyan1.2%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow57.6%
Key (black)32.5%

Color previews

#aaac49 text on a black background

contrast 8.71:1

Card sample

#aaac49 text on a white background

contrast 2.41:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #aaac49;
Background color
Panel with #aaac49 background
background-color: #aaac49;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #aaac49;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(170, 172, 73, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(170, 172, 73, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #aaac49;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #aaac49, #68AC49);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #aaac49

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.

#aaac49 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.

#aaac49, answered

What color is #aaac49?

#aaac49 is a balanced soft yellow, closest to Dark Khaki (ΔE2000 5.6). It sits at 61° on the hue wheel with 40% saturation and 48% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #aaac49?

rgb(170, 172, 73) — 170 red, 172 green and 73 blue out of 255, or 66.7% / 67.5% / 28.6% by channel.

Is #aaac49 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3853 and perceived brightness is 64%, so black text on it reaches 8.71:1.

Should I use black or white text on #aaac49?

Black. It scores 8.71:1 against #aaac49, versus 2.41:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #aaac49?

#4B49AC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #4978AC and #7C49AC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #aaac49?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #E6E7C6 for borders, #999B4B for secondary text, #445DB1 as an accent and #585A26 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #AC7C49 and #78AC49 stays calm, while #4B49AC is the loudest partner.

What is #aaac49 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(1%, 0%, 58%, 33%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #aaac49 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 26 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #AC8A49; nudged cooler, #86AE47.

Work with #aaac49 in the Color Lab