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yellow · warm

#b2ac7c

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

Token name suggestion: True Citron

RGB
178, 172, 124
HSL
53°, 26%, 59%
CMYK
0, 3, 30, 30
Luminance
0.4043

#b2ac7c is a balanced soft yellow, 53° on the wheel and 27/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (9.09:1). As text it scores 2.31:1 on white — use #7B7548 instead. Nearest name is Dark Khaki, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(53 26% 59%)rgb(178 172 124)Base step 500AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b2ac7c is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b2ac7c
Hue
53°
yellow
Saturation
26%
soft
Lightness
59%
balanced
Brightness
70%
HSV value
Perceived
66%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4043
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
27/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
9.09:1
Closest name
Dark Khaki
ΔE2000 6.3
Chroma
26.1
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.738
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 18.7
Web-safe
#999966
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue53° of 360°
Saturation26%
Lightness59%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b2ac7c.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool27% 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
Red23%
Green73%
Blue4%

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

Every format

HEX#b2ac7c
HEX (8-digit)#b2ac7cff
RGBrgb(178, 172, 124)
RGBArgba(178, 172, 124, 1)
HSLhsl(53, 26%, 59%)
HSV / HSBhsv(53, 30%, 70%)
HWBhwb(53 49% 30%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 3%, 30%, 30%)
LABlab(69.8 -5.4 25.5)
LCHlch(69.8 26.1 102.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.738 0.065 101.8)
XYZ (D65)xyz(36.75, 40.43, 24.93)
Decimal11709564
Display P3color(display-p3 0.698 0.675 0.486)
Web-safe#999966

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b2ac7c;
background-color: #b2ac7c;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b2ac7c;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b2ac7c] bg-[#b2ac7c]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b2ac7c;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.698, green: 0.675, blue: 0.486)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.698, green: 0.675, blue: 0.486, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B2AC7C</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB2AC7C)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB2AC7C)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(124, 172, 178)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(178, 172, 124)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(178, 172, 124)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 178, 172, 124)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6980f, 0.6745f, 0.4863f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{178,172,124}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b2ac7c 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b2ac7c 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#504D2F, #E8E7D8);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b2ac7c 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: #F9F9F6;
  --brand-100: #F3F2ED;
  --brand-200: #E5E4D6;
  --brand-300: #D5D2B8;
  --brand-400: #C1BC95;
  --brand-500: #b2ac7c;
  --brand-600: #9A935B;
  --brand-700: #817B4B;
  --brand-800: #67623C;
  --brand-900: #4C492F;
  --brand-950: #2F2D1D;
  --brand: #b2ac7c;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F9F9F5;
  --brand-border: #E1DECC;
  --brand-hover: #A59E65;
  --brand-pressed: #918B55;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #232215;
    --brand-ink: #E8E7D8;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F9F6',
        100: '#F3F2ED',
        200: '#E5E4D6',
        300: '#D5D2B8',
        400: '#C1BC95',
        500: '#b2ac7c',
        600: '#9A935B',
        700: '#817B4B',
        800: '#67623C',
        900: '#4C492F',
        950: '#2F2D1D',
        DEFAULT: '#b2ac7c',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F9F6,
  '100': #F3F2ED,
  '200': #E5E4D6,
  '300': #D5D2B8,
  '400': #C1BC95,
  '500': #b2ac7c,
  '600': #9A935B,
  '700': #817B4B,
  '800': #67623C,
  '900': #4C492F,
  '950': #2F2D1D,
);
$brand-base: #b2ac7c;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9F9F6", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F3F2ED", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E5E4D6", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D5D2B8", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#C1BC95", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#b2ac7c", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#9A935B", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#817B4B", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#67623C", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#4C492F", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#2F2D1D", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #b2ac7c · 9.09:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.31:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.09:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b2ac7c as text scores 2.31:1 on white and 9.09:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #504D2F at 3.72:1.

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
#7B7548 · 4.69:1
AA on white−21% L
#7B7548
The quick fox
#5E5937 · 7.09:1
AAA on white−30% L
#5E5937
The quick fox
#b2ac7c · 9.09:1
AA on blackalready passes
#b2ac7c
The quick fox
#b2ac7c · 9.09:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#b2ac7c

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #9B945B 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
#b2ac7c on white: 2.31:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b2ac7c on black: 9.09:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b2ac7c as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b2ac7c.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.31:1AaAa
Slate 502.21:1AaAa
Slate 1002.11:1AaAa
Slate 2001.88:1AaAa
Slate 3001.56:1AaAa
Slate 4001.11:1AaAa
Slate 5002.06:1AaAa
Slate 6003.28:1AaAa
Slate 7004.48:1AaAa
Slate 8006.33:1AaAa
Slate 9007.72:1AaAa
Black9.09:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #B5A979
deuteranopia · #B7AC7E
tritanopia · #BAA69F

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. #b2ac7c 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.

#F9F9F6
#F3F2ED
#E5E4D6
#D5D2B8
#C1BC95
#b2ac7c
#9A935B
#817B4B
#67623C
#4C492F
#2F2D1D
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F9F9F6Darkest = 950 · #2F2D1DText step on white = 800
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 0.016 101.8);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.026 101.8);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.039 101.8);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.051 101.8);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.060 101.8);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.065 101.8);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.065 101.8);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.061 101.8);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.055 101.8);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.046 101.8);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.036 101.8);
}

Colors that work with #b2ac7c

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#F9F9F5
Tinted page background
Border#E1DECC
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#918A55
Captions on the surface
Accent#788EB6
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#504D2F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6F5EF
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#232215
Dark-mode background
Hover#A59E65
One step down in lightness
Pressed#918B55
Two steps down
Disabled#DAD7C5
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#C3BB7F
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 #b2ac7c

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
  • Chart series and data categories
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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #504D2F
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #9B945B

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
  • Weight41/100
  • 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#7C82B2
Analogous left#B2917C
Analogous right#9DB27C
Split-complement 1#7C9DB2
Split-complement 2#917CB2
Triadic 1#7CB2AC
Triadic 2#AC7CB2
Tetradic#7CB291
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°53°

#b2ac7c sits at 53°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red69.8%
Green67.5%
Blue48.6%
R · 0–255
178
0xb2
G · 0–255
172
0xac
B · 0–255
124
0x7c

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta3.4%
Yellow30.3%
Key (black)30.2%

Total ink coverage is 64%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b2ac7c text on a black background

contrast 9.09:1

Card sample

#b2ac7c text on a white background

contrast 2.31:1

Card sample

#b2ac7c on grey

2.11:1

#b2ac7c on its own surface

2.19:1

#b2ac7c on its dark surface

6.93:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b2ac7c;
Background color
Panel with #b2ac7c background
background-color: #b2ac7c;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b2ac7c;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(178, 172, 124, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(178, 172, 124, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b2ac7c;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b2ac7c, #94B27C);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b2ac7c, #86B27C);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b2ac7c;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b2ac7c;
caret-color: #b2ac7c;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b2ac7c;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F6F5EF;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b2ac7c;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b2ac7c 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b2ac7c 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(178, 172, 124, 0.5)
rgb(178 172 124 / 50%)
#b2ac7c80
hsl(53 26% 59% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b2ac7c 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b2ac7c1a#F7F7F2
20%#b2ac7c33#F0EEE5
40%#b2ac7c66#E0DECB
60%#b2ac7c99#D1CDB0
80%#b2ac7ccc#C1BD96

Gradients from #b2ac7c

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, #C9C4A2, #b2ac7c 45%, #504D2F);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b2ac7c, #7FA769);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b2ac7c, #7C82B2);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #D4D1B6 0%, #b2ac7c 45%, #504D2F 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F9F9F5, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #C5A89C 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #A8BD8F 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #504D2F 0%, transparent 65%), #b2ac7c;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b2ac7c

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.

#b2ac7c 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 9.09:1.

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.

#b2ac7c, answered

What color is #b2ac7c?

#b2ac7c is a balanced soft yellow, closest to Dark Khaki (ΔE2000 6.3). It sits at 53° on the hue wheel with 26% saturation and 59% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #b2ac7c?

rgb(178, 172, 124) — 178 red, 172 green and 124 blue out of 255, or 69.8% / 67.5% / 48.6% by channel.

What is #b2ac7c in HSL and HSV?

hsl(53, 26%, 59%) and hsv(53, 30%, 70%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b2ac7c a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4043 and perceived brightness is 66%, so black text on it reaches 9.09:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b2ac7c?

Black. It scores 9.09:1 against #b2ac7c, versus 2.31:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #b2ac7c accessible on a white background?

#b2ac7c on white scores 2.31:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #7B7548 to reach 4.5:1, or #5E5937 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #b2ac7c?

#7C82B2 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #7C9DB2 and #917CB2, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b2ac7c?

For interface work: #F9F9F5 as the surface, #E1DECC for borders, #918A55 for secondary text, #788EB6 as an accent and #504D2F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #B2917C and #9DB27C stays calm, while #7C82B2 is the loudest partner.

What is #b2ac7c in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 3%, 30%, 30%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b2ac7c warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 27 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B2987C; nudged cooler, #A5B47A.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b2ac7c?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 18.7 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b2ac7c as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b2ac7c in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b2ac7c] or text-[#b2ac7c], 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 #b2ac7c with 50% opacity?

rgba(178, 172, 124, 0.5), or #b2ac7c80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #D9D6BE; over black, #59563E.

Is #b2ac7c a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #999966, ΔE2000 6.6 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #b2ac7c 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 #b2ac7c?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #C9C4A2, #b2ac7c 45%, #504D2F). For more colour, a short hue run to #7FA769 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b2ac7c in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b2ac7c at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.