#bba9ac
a light, muted red · warm · closest name: Dark Gray
Token name suggestion: Morning Cardinal
#bba9ac is a light muted red, 350° on the wheel and 41/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (9.38:1). As text it scores 2.24:1 on white — use #8B6E73 instead. Nearest name is Dark Gray, nearest Tailwind family is stone.
At a glance
Every number on this page in one read: what #bba9ac is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.
Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #bba9ac.
Reads warm. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.
Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.
Every format
| HEX | #bba9ac |
| HEX (8-digit) | #bba9acff |
| RGB | rgb(187, 169, 172) |
| RGBA | rgba(187, 169, 172, 1) |
| HSL | hsl(350, 12%, 70%) |
| HSV / HSB | hsv(350, 10%, 73%) |
| HWB | hwb(350 66% 27%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(0%, 10%, 8%, 27%) |
| LAB | lab(70.8 7.0 0.8) |
| LCH | lch(70.8 7.1 6.7) |
| OKLCH | oklch(0.751 0.021 6.2) |
| XYZ (D65) | xyz(42.13, 41.92, 44.89) |
| Decimal | 12298668 |
| Display P3 | color(display-p3 0.733 0.663 0.675) |
| Web-safe | #CC9999 |
Copy-ready code
/* CSS */
color: #bba9ac;
background-color: #bba9ac;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #bba9ac;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bba9ac] bg-[#bba9ac]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bba9ac;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.733, green: 0.663, blue: 0.675)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.733, green: 0.663, blue: 0.675, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#BBA9AC</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFBBA9AC)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBBA9AC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(172, 169, 187)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(187, 169, 172)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(187, 169, 172)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 187, 169, 172)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7333f, 0.6627f, 0.6745f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{187,169,172}/* mix without leaving CSS */ background: color-mix(in oklab, #bba9ac 85%, white); border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #bba9ac 40%, transparent); /* theme-aware in one line */ color: light-dark(#47383B, #E4DDDE); /* relative colour syntax */ --hover: hsl(from #bba9ac h s calc(l - 7));
Design tokens
The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.
:root {
--brand-50: #F8F7F7;
--brand-100: #F1EEEF;
--brand-200: #E1DADC;
--brand-300: #CDC0C3;
--brand-400: #bba9ac;
--brand-500: #9C8286;
--brand-600: #896C71;
--brand-700: #725A5E;
--brand-800: #5B484B;
--brand-900: #443739;
--brand-950: #2A2224;
--brand: #bba9ac;
--brand-ink: #000000;
--brand-surface: #F8F6F7;
--brand-border: #DBD1D3;
--brand-hover: #AB9599;
--brand-pressed: #9B8185;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
:root {
--brand-surface: #1F191A;
--brand-ink: #E4DDDE;
}
}theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
brand: {
50: '#F8F7F7',
100: '#F1EEEF',
200: '#E1DADC',
300: '#CDC0C3',
400: '#bba9ac',
500: '#9C8286',
600: '#896C71',
700: '#725A5E',
800: '#5B484B',
900: '#443739',
950: '#2A2224',
DEFAULT: '#bba9ac',
},
},
},
}$brand: (
'50': #F8F7F7,
'100': #F1EEEF,
'200': #E1DADC,
'300': #CDC0C3,
'400': #bba9ac,
'500': #9C8286,
'600': #896C71,
'700': #725A5E,
'800': #5B484B,
'900': #443739,
'950': #2A2224,
);
$brand-base: #bba9ac;
$brand-ink: #000000;
@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }{
"color": {
"brand": {
"50": { "$value": "#F8F7F7", "$type": "color" },
"100": { "$value": "#F1EEEF", "$type": "color" },
"200": { "$value": "#E1DADC", "$type": "color" },
"300": { "$value": "#CDC0C3", "$type": "color" },
"400": { "$value": "#bba9ac", "$type": "color" },
"500": { "$value": "#9C8286", "$type": "color" },
"600": { "$value": "#896C71", "$type": "color" },
"700": { "$value": "#725A5E", "$type": "color" },
"800": { "$value": "#5B484B", "$type": "color" },
"900": { "$value": "#443739", "$type": "color" },
"950": { "$value": "#2A2224", "$type": "color" }
},
"brandInk": { "$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.
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.
Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #A78F93 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
Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #bba9ac as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #bba9ac.
| Neutral | Ratio | Verdict | Both directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| White#ffffff | 2.24:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 50#f8fafc | 2.14:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 100#f1f5f9 | 2.04:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 200#e2e8f0 | 1.82:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 300#cbd5e1 | 1.51:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 400#94a3b8 | 1.15:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 500#64748b | 2.13:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 600#475569 | 3.39:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 700#334155 | 4.63:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 800#1e293b | 6.54:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 900#0f172a | 7.98:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Black#000000 | 9.38:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
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. #bba9ac 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.
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.
:root {
--brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.005 6.2);
--brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.008 6.2);
--brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.013 6.2);
--brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.017 6.2);
--brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.020 6.2);
--brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.021 6.2);
--brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.021 6.2);
--brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.020 6.2);
--brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.018 6.2);
--brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.015 6.2);
--brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.012 6.2);
}Colors that work with #bba9ac
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.
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.
Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.
The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.
How to use #bba9ac
Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.
- ✓Text and icons on dark surfaces
- ✓Borders, dividers and quiet backgrounds
- ✓Long-form reading surfaces
- ✓Card and section backgrounds
- ✓Brand accents, badges and data highlights
- ⚠Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
- ⚠White text placed on it
- ⚠Status meaning — pair it with an icon or label, never colour alone
- ⚠Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Meaning and mood
What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.
Red arrives before the rest of the page does. It raises attention and appetite, which is why it runs food, sport and clearance pricing.
With almost no chroma left, the family association is barely present; treat it as a neutral that happens to lean this way. The lightness keeps it airy and approachable.
It is also the universal error colour. Use it as a brand accent and users may read a warning that is not there.
- FormalityMedium
- EnergyLow
- Weight30/100
- TemperatureWarm
- ApproachabilityBalanced
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 | #A9BBB8 | Directly opposite — maximum tension | |
| Analogous left | #BBA9B5 | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Analogous right | #BBAFA9 | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Split-complement 1 | #A9BBAF | Contrast without the clash | |
| Split-complement 2 | #A9B5BB | Contrast without the clash | |
| Triadic 1 | #ACBBA9 | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Triadic 2 | #A9ACBB | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Tetradic | #B5BBA9 | Fourth corner of the square scheme |
#bba9ac sits at 350°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.
RGB percentages
CMYK percentages
Total ink coverage is 44%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.
Color previews
#bba9ac text on a black background
contrast 9.38:1
#bba9ac text on a white background
contrast 2.24:1
#bba9ac on grey
2.04:1
#bba9ac on its own surface
2.08:1
#bba9ac on its dark surface
7.74:1
CSS3 live lab
The quick brown fox
color: #bba9ac;
background-color: #bba9ac;
Glowing headline
text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bba9ac;
Soft neon halo
text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(187, 169, 172, 0.45);
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(187, 169, 172, 0.45);
border: 3px solid #bba9ac; background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bba9ac, #BBB2A9);
Gradient headline
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bba9ac, #BBB6A9); -webkit-background-clip: text; color: transparent;
outline: 2px solid #bba9ac; outline-offset: 3px;
Marked up text
text-decoration-color: #bba9ac; caret-color: #bba9ac;
border-left: 4px solid #bba9ac;
background: #F4F1F1; box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #bba9ac;
background: conic-gradient(#bba9ac 68%, #e2e8f0 0);
Transparency
What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #bba9ac 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.
rgba(187, 169, 172, 0.5) rgb(187 169 172 / 50%) #bba9ac80 hsl(350 12% 70% / 50%) color-mix(in srgb, #bba9ac 50%, transparent)
| Alpha | 8-digit hex | Flat on white |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | #bba9ac1a | #F8F6F7 |
| 20% | #bba9ac33 | #F1EEEE |
| 40% | #bba9ac66 | #E4DDDE |
| 60% | #bba9ac99 | #D6CBCD |
| 80% | #bba9accc | #C9BABD |
Gradients from #bba9ac
Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #D6CBCD, #bba9ac 45%, #47383B);
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #bba9ac, #ADA498);
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bba9ac, #A9BBB8);
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E4DCDD 0%, #bba9ac 45%, #47383B 100%);
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F8F6F7, #ffffff);
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #D2C5CF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #C9C0BA 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #47383B 0%, transparent 65%), #bba9ac;
Monochromatic scale
Palettes built from #bba9ac
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.
Closest color with a full write-up: Silver (#c0c0c0) — ΔE2000 9.9 away, with its history, psychology and brand usage.
#bba9ac 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.
Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.
Usable as-is on a dark surface at 9.38:1.
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.
#bba9ac, answered
What color is #bba9ac?
#bba9ac is a light muted red, closest to Dark Gray (ΔE2000 8.6). It sits at 350° on the hue wheel with 12% saturation and 70% lightness, which reads as warm.
What is the RGB value of #bba9ac?
rgb(187, 169, 172) — 187 red, 169 green and 172 blue out of 255, or 73.3% / 66.3% / 67.5% by channel.
What is #bba9ac in HSL and HSV?
hsl(350, 12%, 70%) and hsv(350, 10%, 73%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.
Is #bba9ac a light or a dark color?
It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4192 and perceived brightness is 69%, so black text on it reaches 9.38:1.
Should I use black or white text on #bba9ac?
Black. It scores 9.38:1 against #bba9ac, versus 2.24:1 for white — AAA at any size.
Is #bba9ac accessible on a white background?
#bba9ac on white scores 2.24:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #8B6E73 to reach 4.5:1, or #695357 for 7:1.
What is the complementary color of #bba9ac?
#A9BBB8 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #A9BBAF and #A9B5BB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.
What colors go well with #bba9ac?
For interface work: #F8F6F7 as the surface, #DBD1D3 for borders, #80656A for secondary text, #567669 as an accent and #47383B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BBA9B5 and #BBAFA9 stays calm, while #A9BBB8 is the loudest partner.
What is #bba9ac in CMYK for printing?
cmyk(0%, 10%, 8%, 27%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.
Is #bba9ac warm or cool?
Warm — it scores 41 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BBADA9; nudged cooler, #BDA7B3.
Which Tailwind color is closest to #bba9ac?
The stone family — its 500 step is #78716c, ΔE2000 21.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #bba9ac as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.
How do I use #bba9ac in Tailwind CSS?
Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#bba9ac] or text-[#bba9ac], 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 #bba9ac with 50% opacity?
rgba(187, 169, 172, 0.5), or #bba9ac80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DDD4D6; over black, #5E5556.
Is #bba9ac a web-safe color?
No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC9999, ΔE2000 10.3 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.
What does the color #bba9ac 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 low chroma the association is faint; it behaves more like a neutral.
What gradient works with #bba9ac?
The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D6CBCD, #bba9ac 45%, #47383B). For more colour, a short hue run to #ADA498 keeps it rich without turning muddy.
Work with #bba9ac in the Color Lab
Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.
Every value on this page is computed from #bba9ac at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.