Skip to content

#ba8b3f

a balanced, vivid orange · warm · closest name: Dark Goldenrod

RGB
186, 139, 63
HSL
37°, 49%, 49%
CMYK
0, 25, 66, 27
Luminance
0.2926

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ba8b3f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ba8b3f
Hue
37°
orange
Saturation
49%
vivid
Lightness
49%
balanced
Brightness
73%
HSV value
Perceived
58%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2926
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
6/100 cool
Color family
Orange
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
6.85:1
Closest name
Dark Goldenrod
ΔE2000 5.2
Where it sits
Hue37° of 360°
Saturation49%
Lightness49%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool6% 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#ba8b3f
RGBrgb(186, 139, 63)
HSLhsl(37, 49%, 49%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 25%, 66%, 27%)
LABlab(61.0 9.9 46.5)
LCHlch(61.0 47.5 78.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.668 0.109 76.9)
Decimal12225343
Display P3color(display-p3 0.729 0.545 0.247)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ba8b3f;
background-color: #ba8b3f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ba8b3f] bg-[#ba8b3f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ba8b3f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.729, green: 0.545, blue: 0.247)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ba8b3f")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBA8B3F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(63, 139, 186)

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 #ba8b3f · 6.85:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 3.06:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 6.85:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #ba8b3f as text scores 3.06:1 on white and 6.85:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ba8b3f on white: 3.06:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ba8b3f on black: 6.85:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #9D8C37
deuteranopia · #A89841
tritanopia · #CA7E7A

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ba8b3f 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.

#FAF8F4
#F6F1EA
#ECE1CF
#E3CDAB
#D4B581
#C69C57
#ba8b3f
#987234
#7A5B29
#594421
#382A15
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FAF8F4Darkest = 950 · #382A15
:root {
  --brand-50: #FAF8F4;
  --brand-100: #F6F1EA;
  --brand-200: #ECE1CF;
  --brand-300: #E3CDAB;
  --brand-400: #D4B581;
  --brand-500: #C69C57;
  --brand-600: #ba8b3f;
  --brand-700: #987234;
  --brand-800: #7A5B29;
  --brand-900: #594421;
  --brand-950: #382A15;
  --brand: #ba8b3f;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ba8b3f

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#FAF8F4
Tinted page background
Border#EADBC2
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B7C4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#3A8EBF
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#5F4720
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F9F4EC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241E14
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 #ba8b3f

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
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • 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#3F6EBA
Analogous left#BA4E3F
Analogous right#ABBA3F
Split-complement 1#3FABBA
Split-complement 2#4E3FBA
Triadic 1#3FBA8B
Triadic 2#8B3FBA
Tetradic#3FBA4E

RGB percentages

Red72.9%
Green54.5%
Blue24.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta25.3%
Yellow66.1%
Key (black)27.1%

Color previews

#ba8b3f text on a black background

contrast 6.85:1

Card sample

#ba8b3f text on a white background

contrast 3.06:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ba8b3f;
Background color
Panel with #ba8b3f background
background-color: #ba8b3f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ba8b3f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(186, 139, 63, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(186, 139, 63, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ba8b3f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ba8b3f, #97BA3F);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ba8b3f

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.

#ba8b3f in the real world

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

Industries
E-commerceFood deliveryLogisticsCreator tools
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#ba8b3f, answered

What color is #ba8b3f?

#ba8b3f is a balanced vivid orange, closest to Dark Goldenrod (ΔE2000 5.2). It sits at 37° on the hue wheel with 49% saturation and 49% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ba8b3f?

rgb(186, 139, 63) — 186 red, 139 green and 63 blue out of 255, or 72.9% / 54.5% / 24.7% by channel.

Is #ba8b3f a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2926 and perceived brightness is 58%, so black text on it reaches 6.85:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ba8b3f?

Black. It scores 6.85:1 against #ba8b3f, versus 3.06:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ba8b3f?

#3F6EBA sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #3FABBA and #4E3FBA, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ba8b3f?

For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #EADBC2 for borders, #9B7C4B for secondary text, #3A8EBF as an accent and #5F4720 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BA4E3F and #ABBA3F stays calm, while #3F6EBA is the loudest partner.

What is #ba8b3f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 25%, 66%, 27%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ba8b3f warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 6 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BA7B3F; nudged cooler, #BCBA3C.

Work with #ba8b3f in the Color Lab