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yellow · warm

#b4ac6b

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

Token name suggestion: Atlas Citron

RGB
180, 172, 107
HSL
53°, 33%, 56%
CMYK
0, 4, 41, 29
Luminance
0.4027

#b4ac6b is a balanced soft yellow, 53° on the wheel and 22/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (9.05:1). As text it scores 2.32:1 on white — use #7E7740 instead. Nearest name is Dark Khaki, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(53 33% 56%)rgb(180 172 107)Base step 500AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b4ac6b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b4ac6b
Hue
53°
yellow
Saturation
33%
soft
Lightness
56%
balanced
Brightness
71%
HSV value
Perceived
66%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4027
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
22/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
9.05:1
Closest name
Dark Khaki
ΔE2000 3.5
Chroma
35.1
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.736
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 16.3
Web-safe
#CC9966
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue53° of 360°
Saturation33%
Lightness56%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b4ac6b.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool22% 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
Red24%
Green73%
Blue3%

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

Every format

HEX#b4ac6b
HEX (8-digit)#b4ac6bff
RGBrgb(180, 172, 107)
RGBArgba(180, 172, 107, 1)
HSLhsl(53, 33%, 56%)
HSV / HSBhsv(53, 41%, 71%)
HWBhwb(53 42% 29%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 4%, 41%, 29%)
LABlab(69.7 -6.7 34.4)
LCHlch(69.7 35.1 101.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.736 0.086 102.2)
XYZ (D65)xyz(36.23, 40.27, 19.77)
Decimal11840619
Display P3color(display-p3 0.706 0.675 0.420)
Web-safe#CC9966

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b4ac6b;
background-color: #b4ac6b;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b4ac6b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b4ac6b] bg-[#b4ac6b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b4ac6b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.706, green: 0.675, blue: 0.420)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.706, green: 0.675, blue: 0.420, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B4AC6B</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB4AC6B)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB4AC6B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(107, 172, 180)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(180, 172, 107)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(180, 172, 107)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 180, 172, 107)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7059f, 0.6745f, 0.4196f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{180,172,107}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b4ac6b 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b4ac6b 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#55502B, #EAE8D6);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b4ac6b 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: #F9F9F5;
  --brand-100: #F4F3EC;
  --brand-200: #E7E5D4;
  --brand-300: #D9D5B5;
  --brand-400: #C6C08F;
  --brand-500: #b4ac6b;
  --brand-600: #A29A52;
  --brand-700: #878045;
  --brand-800: #6C6637;
  --brand-900: #504C2B;
  --brand-950: #322F1B;
  --brand: #b4ac6b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF9F5;
  --brand-border: #E4E1C9;
  --brand-hover: #A79E55;
  --brand-pressed: #8F8749;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242314;
    --brand-ink: #EAE8D6;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F9F5',
        100: '#F4F3EC',
        200: '#E7E5D4',
        300: '#D9D5B5',
        400: '#C6C08F',
        500: '#b4ac6b',
        600: '#A29A52',
        700: '#878045',
        800: '#6C6637',
        900: '#504C2B',
        950: '#322F1B',
        DEFAULT: '#b4ac6b',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F9F5,
  '100': #F4F3EC,
  '200': #E7E5D4,
  '300': #D9D5B5,
  '400': #C6C08F,
  '500': #b4ac6b,
  '600': #A29A52,
  '700': #878045,
  '800': #6C6637,
  '900': #504C2B,
  '950': #322F1B,
);
$brand-base: #b4ac6b;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9F9F5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F4F3EC", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E7E5D4", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D9D5B5", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#C6C08F", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#b4ac6b", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#A29A52", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#878045", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#6C6637", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#504C2B", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#322F1B", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #b4ac6b · 9.05:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.32:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.05:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b4ac6b as text scores 2.32:1 on white and 9.05:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #55502B at 3.52:1.

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
#7E7740 · 4.57:1
AA on white−19% L
#7E7740
The quick fox
#5C572F · 7.34:1
AAA on white−29% L
#5C572F
The quick fox
#b4ac6b · 9.05:1
AA on blackalready passes
#b4ac6b
The quick fox
#b4ac6b · 9.05:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#b4ac6b

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #9D944F 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
#b4ac6b on white: 2.32:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b4ac6b on black: 9.05:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b4ac6b as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b4ac6b.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.32:1AaAa
Slate 502.22:1AaAa
Slate 1002.12:1AaAa
Slate 2001.88:1AaAa
Slate 3001.56:1AaAa
Slate 4001.11:1AaAa
Slate 5002.05:1AaAa
Slate 6003.27:1AaAa
Slate 7004.46:1AaAa
Slate 8006.31:1AaAa
Slate 9007.70:1AaAa
Black9.05:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #B7A866
deuteranopia · #BAAC6E
tritanopia · #BEA49C

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. #b4ac6b 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.

#F9F9F5
#F4F3EC
#E7E5D4
#D9D5B5
#C6C08F
#b4ac6b
#A29A52
#878045
#6C6637
#504C2B
#322F1B
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F9F9F5Darkest = 950 · #322F1BText 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 0.021 102.2);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.034 102.2);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.052 102.2);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.067 102.2);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.079 102.2);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.086 102.2);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.086 102.2);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.081 102.2);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.072 102.2);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.060 102.2);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.047 102.2);
}

Colors that work with #b4ac6b

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#FAF9F5
Tinted page background
Border#E4E1C9
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#98904D
Captions on the surface
Accent#6784B8
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#55502B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6F6EE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242314
Dark-mode background
Hover#A79E55
One step down in lightness
Pressed#8F8749
Two steps down
Disabled#D4D1BB
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#C5BB6F
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 #b4ac6b

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 #55502B
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #9D944F

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
  • Weight44/100
  • 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#6B73B4
Analogous left#B4886B
Analogous right#98B46B
Split-complement 1#6B98B4
Split-complement 2#886BB4
Triadic 1#6BB4AC
Triadic 2#AC6BB4
Tetradic#6BB488
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°53°

#b4ac6b sits at 53°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red70.6%
Green67.5%
Blue42.0%
R · 0–255
180
0xb4
G · 0–255
172
0xac
B · 0–255
107
0x6b

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta4.4%
Yellow40.6%
Key (black)29.4%

Total ink coverage is 74%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b4ac6b text on a black background

contrast 9.05:1

Card sample

#b4ac6b text on a white background

contrast 2.32:1

Card sample

#b4ac6b on grey

2.12:1

#b4ac6b on its own surface

2.20:1

#b4ac6b on its dark surface

6.83:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b4ac6b;
Background color
Panel with #b4ac6b background
background-color: #b4ac6b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b4ac6b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(180, 172, 107, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(180, 172, 107, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b4ac6b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b4ac6b, #8BB46B);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b4ac6b, #79B46B);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b4ac6b;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b4ac6b;
caret-color: #b4ac6b;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b4ac6b;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F6F6EE;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b4ac6b;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b4ac6b 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b4ac6b 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(180, 172, 107, 0.5)
rgb(180 172 107 / 50%)
#b4ac6b80
hsl(53 33% 56% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b4ac6b 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b4ac6b1a#F8F7F0
20%#b4ac6b33#F0EEE1
40%#b4ac6b66#E1DEC4
60%#b4ac6b99#D2CDA6
80%#b4ac6bcc#C3BD89

Gradients from #b4ac6b

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, #C9C394, #b4ac6b 45%, #55502B);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b4ac6b, #75AA57);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b4ac6b, #6B73B4);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #D3CEA8 0%, #b4ac6b 45%, #55502B 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF9F5, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #C59E8D 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #A1BE7F 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #55502B 0%, transparent 65%), #b4ac6b;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b4ac6b

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.

#b4ac6b 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 9.05:1.

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.

#b4ac6b, answered

What color is #b4ac6b?

#b4ac6b is a balanced soft yellow, closest to Dark Khaki (ΔE2000 3.5). It sits at 53° on the hue wheel with 33% saturation and 56% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #b4ac6b?

rgb(180, 172, 107) — 180 red, 172 green and 107 blue out of 255, or 70.6% / 67.5% / 42% by channel.

What is #b4ac6b in HSL and HSV?

hsl(53, 33%, 56%) and hsv(53, 41%, 71%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b4ac6b a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4027 and perceived brightness is 66%, so black text on it reaches 9.05:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b4ac6b?

Black. It scores 9.05:1 against #b4ac6b, versus 2.32:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #b4ac6b accessible on a white background?

#b4ac6b on white scores 2.32:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #7E7740 to reach 4.5:1, or #5C572F for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #b4ac6b?

#6B73B4 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #6B98B4 and #886BB4, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b4ac6b?

For interface work: #FAF9F5 as the surface, #E4E1C9 for borders, #98904D for secondary text, #6784B8 as an accent and #55502B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #B4886B and #98B46B stays calm, while #6B73B4 is the loudest partner.

What is #b4ac6b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 4%, 41%, 29%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b4ac6b warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 22 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B4926B; nudged cooler, #A2B669.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b4ac6b?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 16.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b4ac6b as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b4ac6b in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b4ac6b] or text-[#b4ac6b], 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 #b4ac6b with 50% opacity?

rgba(180, 172, 107, 0.5), or #b4ac6b80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DAD6B5; over black, #5A5636.

Is #b4ac6b a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC9966, ΔE2000 15.3 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #b4ac6b 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 #b4ac6b?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #C9C394, #b4ac6b 45%, #55502B). For more colour, a short hue run to #75AA57 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b4ac6b in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b4ac6b at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.