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red · warm

#af8d8b

a balanced, soft red · warm · closest name: Rosy Brown

Token name suggestion: Atlas Cardinal

RGB
175, 141, 139
HSL
3°, 18%, 62%
CMYK
0, 19, 21, 31
Luminance
0.3003

#af8d8b is a balanced soft red, 3° on the wheel and 32/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (7.01:1). As text it scores 3.00:1 on white — large text only. Nearest name is Rosy Brown, nearest Tailwind family is stone.

hsl(3 18% 62%)rgb(175 141 139)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #af8d8b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#af8d8b
Hue
red
Saturation
18%
soft
Lightness
62%
balanced
Brightness
69%
HSV value
Perceived
60%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3003
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
32/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
7.01:1
Closest name
Rosy Brown
ΔE2000 3.7
Chroma
13.9
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.674
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
stone
500 · ΔE 17
Web-safe
#999999
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue3° of 360°
Saturation18%
Lightness62%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #af8d8b.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool32% 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
Red30%
Green63%
Blue6%

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

Every format

HEX#af8d8b
HEX (8-digit)#af8d8bff
RGBrgb(175, 141, 139)
RGBArgba(175, 141, 139, 1)
HSLhsl(3, 18%, 62%)
HSV / HSBhsv(3, 21%, 69%)
HWBhwb(3 55% 31%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 19%, 21%, 31%)
LABlab(61.7 12.5 5.9)
LCHlch(61.7 13.9 25.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.674 0.042 22.2)
XYZ (D65)xyz(31.86, 30.03, 28.54)
Decimal11505035
Display P3color(display-p3 0.686 0.553 0.545)
Web-safe#999999

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #af8d8b;
background-color: #af8d8b;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #af8d8b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#af8d8b] bg-[#af8d8b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #af8d8b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.686, green: 0.553, blue: 0.545)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.686, green: 0.553, blue: 0.545, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#AF8D8B</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFAF8D8B)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFAF8D8B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(139, 141, 175)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(175, 141, 139)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(175, 141, 139)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 175, 141, 139)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6863f, 0.5529f, 0.5451f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{175,141,139}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #af8d8b 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #af8d8b 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#4B3534, #E6DBDB);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #af8d8b 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: #F8F6F6;
  --brand-100: #F2EEEE;
  --brand-200: #E3D9D8;
  --brand-300: #D1BEBD;
  --brand-400: #af8d8b;
  --brand-500: #A37C7A;
  --brand-600: #916664;
  --brand-700: #795553;
  --brand-800: #614443;
  --brand-900: #483433;
  --brand-950: #2D2020;
  --brand: #af8d8b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F9F6F6;
  --brand-border: #DED0CF;
  --brand-hover: #A17876;
  --brand-pressed: #906663;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #211717;
    --brand-ink: #E6DBDB;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F8F6F6',
        100: '#F2EEEE',
        200: '#E3D9D8',
        300: '#D1BEBD',
        400: '#af8d8b',
        500: '#A37C7A',
        600: '#916664',
        700: '#795553',
        800: '#614443',
        900: '#483433',
        950: '#2D2020',
        DEFAULT: '#af8d8b',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F8F6F6,
  '100': #F2EEEE,
  '200': #E3D9D8,
  '300': #D1BEBD,
  '400': #af8d8b,
  '500': #A37C7A,
  '600': #916664,
  '700': #795553,
  '800': #614443,
  '900': #483433,
  '950': #2D2020,
);
$brand-base: #af8d8b;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F8F6F6", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F2EEEE", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E3D9D8", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D1BEBD", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#af8d8b", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#A37C7A", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#916664", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#795553", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#614443", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#483433", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#2D2020", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #af8d8b · 7.01:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 3.00:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 7.01:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #af8d8b as text scores 3.00:1 on white and 7.01:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #4B3534 at 3.77:1.

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
#966A67 · 4.61:1
AA on white−12% L
#966A67
The quick fox
#72504E · 7.06:1
AAA on white−24% L
#72504E
The quick fox
#af8d8b · 7.01:1
AA on blackalready passes
#af8d8b
The quick fox
#af8d8b · 7.01:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#af8d8b

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #AF8D8B 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
#af8d8b on white: 3.00:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#af8d8b on black: 7.01:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #af8d8b as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #af8d8b.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White3.00:1AaAa
Slate 502.87:1AaAa
Slate 1002.74:1AaAa
Slate 2002.43:1AaAa
Slate 3002.02:1AaAa
Slate 4001.17:1AaAa
Slate 5001.59:1AaAa
Slate 6002.53:1AaAa
Slate 7003.45:1AaAa
Slate 8004.88:1AaAa
Slate 9005.96:1AaAa
Black7.01:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #93918B
deuteranopia · #9B978B
tritanopia · #B78A8D

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. #af8d8b is pinned to step 400; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F8F6F6
#F2EEEE
#E3D9D8
#D1BEBD
#af8d8b
#A37C7A
#916664
#795553
#614443
#483433
#2D2020
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F8F6F6Darkest = 950 · #2D2020Text step on white = 600
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 0.010 22.2);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.017 22.2);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.025 22.2);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.032 22.2);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.038 22.2);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.042 22.2);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.042 22.2);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.039 22.2);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.035 22.2);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.029 22.2);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.023 22.2);
}

Colors that work with #af8d8b

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#F9F6F6
Tinted page background
Border#DED0CF
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#88605E
Captions on the surface
Accent#4F7D73
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4B3534
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5F0F0
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#211717
Dark-mode background
Hover#A17876
One step down in lightness
Pressed#906663
Two steps down
Disabled#DDCECD
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#C0918E
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 #af8d8b

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
  • Status meaning — pair it with an icon or label, never colour alone
  • 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 #4B3534
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.

urgentappetisingboldphysical

Red arrives before the rest of the page does. It raises attention and appetite, which is why it runs food, sport and clearance pricing.

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

It is also the universal error colour. Use it as a brand accent and users may read a warning that is not there.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight38/100
  • 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#8BADAF
Analogous left#AF8B9B
Analogous right#AF9F8B
Split-complement 1#8BAF9F
Split-complement 2#8B9BAF
Triadic 1#8BAF8D
Triadic 2#8D8BAF
Tetradic#9BAF8B
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°3°

#af8d8b sits at 3°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red68.6%
Green55.3%
Blue54.5%
R · 0–255
175
0xaf
G · 0–255
141
0x8d
B · 0–255
139
0x8b

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta19.4%
Yellow20.6%
Key (black)31.4%

Total ink coverage is 71%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#af8d8b text on a black background

contrast 7.01:1

Card sample

#af8d8b text on a white background

contrast 3.00:1

Card sample

#af8d8b on grey

2.74:1

#af8d8b on its own surface

2.79:1

#af8d8b on its dark surface

5.84:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #af8d8b;
Background color
Panel with #af8d8b background
background-color: #af8d8b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #af8d8b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(175, 141, 139, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(175, 141, 139, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #af8d8b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #af8d8b, #AFA58B);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #af8d8b, #AFAE8B);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #af8d8b;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #af8d8b;
caret-color: #af8d8b;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #af8d8b;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F5F0F0;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #af8d8b;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#af8d8b 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #af8d8b 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(175, 141, 139, 0.5)
rgb(175 141 139 / 50%)
#af8d8b80
hsl(3 18% 62% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #af8d8b 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#af8d8b1a#F7F4F3
20%#af8d8b33#EFE8E8
40%#af8d8b66#DFD1D1
60%#af8d8b99#CFBBB9
80%#af8d8bcc#BFA4A2

Gradients from #af8d8b

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, #C8B1AF, #af8d8b 45%, #4B3534);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #af8d8b, #A39A79);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #af8d8b, #8BADAF);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #D5C2C1 0%, #af8d8b 45%, #4B3534 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F9F6F6, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #C4A9B7 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #BCB19D 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #4B3534 0%, transparent 65%), #af8d8b;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #af8d8b

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.

#af8d8b in the real world

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

Industries
Food and drinkEntertainmentRetailSport
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 7.01:1.

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.

#af8d8b, answered

What color is #af8d8b?

#af8d8b is a balanced soft red, closest to Rosy Brown (ΔE2000 3.7). It sits at 3° on the hue wheel with 18% saturation and 62% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #af8d8b?

rgb(175, 141, 139) — 175 red, 141 green and 139 blue out of 255, or 68.6% / 55.3% / 54.5% by channel.

What is #af8d8b in HSL and HSV?

hsl(3, 18%, 62%) and hsv(3, 21%, 69%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #af8d8b a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3003 and perceived brightness is 60%, so black text on it reaches 7.01:1.

Should I use black or white text on #af8d8b?

Black. It scores 7.01:1 against #af8d8b, versus 3.00:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #af8d8b accessible on a white background?

#af8d8b on white scores 3.00:1, which only clears AA for large text — 18.66px bold or 24px regular and up. Darken it to #966A67 to reach 4.5:1, or #72504E for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #af8d8b?

#8BADAF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #8BAF9F and #8B9BAF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #af8d8b?

For interface work: #F9F6F6 as the surface, #DED0CF for borders, #88605E for secondary text, #4F7D73 as an accent and #4B3534 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #AF8B9B and #AF9F8B stays calm, while #8BADAF is the loudest partner.

What is #af8d8b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 19%, 21%, 31%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #af8d8b warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 32 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #AF998B; nudged cooler, #B18996.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #af8d8b?

The stone family — its 500 step is #78716c, ΔE2000 17 away. That is a visible difference, so define #af8d8b as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #af8d8b in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#af8d8b] or text-[#af8d8b], 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 #af8d8b with 50% opacity?

rgba(175, 141, 139, 0.5), or #af8d8b80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #D7C6C5; over black, #584746.

Is #af8d8b a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #999999, ΔE2000 13.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #af8d8b mean?

As a red, it reads urgent, appetising, bold. Red arrives before the rest of the page does. It raises attention and appetite, which is why it runs food, sport and clearance pricing. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #af8d8b?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #C8B1AF, #af8d8b 45%, #4B3534). For more colour, a short hue run to #A39A79 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #af8d8b in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #af8d8b at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.