#af9f89
a balanced, soft orange · warm · closest name: Tan
At a glance
Every number on this page in one read: what #af9f89 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.
Reads warm. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.
Every format
| HEX | #af9f89 |
| RGB | rgb(175, 159, 137) |
| HSL | hsl(35, 19%, 61%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(0%, 9%, 22%, 31%) |
| LAB | lab(66.3 2.2 13.6) |
| LCH | lch(66.3 13.8 80.7) |
| OKLCH | oklch(0.710 0.036 75.8) |
| Decimal | 11509641 |
| Display P3 | color(display-p3 0.686 0.624 0.537) |
Copy-ready code
/* CSS */
color: #af9f89;
background-color: #af9f89;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#af9f89] bg-[#af9f89]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #af9f89;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.686, green: 0.624, blue: 0.537)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#af9f89")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFAF9F89)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(137, 159, 175)Best text color
Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.
Accessibility — WCAG contrast
Color scale — 50 to 950
A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #af9f89 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.
:root {
--brand-50: #F8F8F6;
--brand-100: #F2F0ED;
--brand-200: #E3DFD8;
--brand-300: #D2C9BC;
--brand-400: #BBAD9B;
--brand-500: #af9f89;
--brand-600: #927E63;
--brand-700: #7A6952;
--brand-800: #615442;
--brand-900: #483F32;
--brand-950: #2D271F;
--brand: #af9f89;
--brand-ink: #000000;
}Colors that work with #af9f89
Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.
Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.
Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.
How to use #af9f89
Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.
- ✓Text and icons on dark surfaces
- ✓Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
- ✓Brand accents, badges and data highlights
- ⚠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 | #8999AF | Directly opposite — maximum tension | |
| Analogous left | #AF8C89 | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Analogous right | #ACAF89 | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Split-complement 1 | #89ACAF | Contrast without the clash | |
| Split-complement 2 | #8C89AF | Contrast without the clash | |
| Triadic 1 | #89AF9F | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Triadic 2 | #9F89AF | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Tetradic | #89AF8C | Fourth corner of the square scheme |
RGB percentages
CMYK percentages
Color previews
#af9f89 text on a black background
contrast 8.14:1
#af9f89 text on a white background
contrast 2.58:1
CSS3 live lab
The quick brown fox
color: #af9f89;
background-color: #af9f89;
Glowing headline
text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #af9f89;
Soft neon halo
text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(175, 159, 137, 0.45);
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(175, 159, 137, 0.45);
border: 3px solid #af9f89; background: linear-gradient(135deg, #af9f89, #A6AF89);
Monochromatic scale
Palettes built from #af9f89
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.
Closest color with a full write-up: Khaki (#c3b091) — ΔE2000 5.7 away, with its history, psychology and brand usage.
#af9f89 in the real world
Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.
Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.
#af9f89, answered
What color is #af9f89?
#af9f89 is a balanced soft orange, closest to Tan (ΔE2000 9). It sits at 35° on the hue wheel with 19% saturation and 61% lightness, which reads as warm.
What is the RGB value of #af9f89?
rgb(175, 159, 137) — 175 red, 159 green and 137 blue out of 255, or 68.6% / 62.4% / 53.7% by channel.
Is #af9f89 a light or a dark color?
It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3572 and perceived brightness is 63%, so black text on it reaches 8.14:1.
Should I use black or white text on #af9f89?
Black. It scores 8.14:1 against #af9f89, versus 2.58:1 for white — AAA at any size.
What is the complementary color of #af9f89?
#8999AF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #89ACAF and #8C89AF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.
What colors go well with #af9f89?
For interface work: #F9F8F6 as the surface, #DED7CE for borders, #89765D for secondary text, #4E6E7E as an accent and #4C4234 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #AF8C89 and #ACAF89 stays calm, while #8999AF is the loudest partner.
What is #af9f89 in CMYK for printing?
cmyk(0%, 9%, 22%, 31%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.
Is #af9f89 warm or cool?
Warm — it scores 25 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #AF9A89; nudged cooler, #B1AF87.