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yellow · warm

#bbaf5c

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

Token name suggestion: True Brass

RGB
187, 175, 92
HSL
52°, 41%, 55%
CMYK
0, 6, 51, 27
Luminance
0.4200

#bbaf5c is a balanced soft yellow, 52° on the wheel and 19/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (9.40:1). As text it scores 2.23:1 on white — use #807736 instead. Nearest name is Dark Khaki, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(52 41% 55%)rgb(187 175 92)Base step 500AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bbaf5c is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bbaf5c
Hue
52°
yellow
Saturation
41%
soft
Lightness
55%
balanced
Brightness
73%
HSV value
Perceived
67%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4200
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
19/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
9.40:1
Closest name
Dark Khaki
ΔE2000 3
Chroma
44.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.747
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 13.6
Web-safe
#CC9966
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue52° of 360°
Saturation41%
Lightness55%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #bbaf5c.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool19% 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
Red25%
Green73%
Blue2%

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

Every format

HEX#bbaf5c
HEX (8-digit)#bbaf5cff
RGBrgb(187, 175, 92)
RGBArgba(187, 175, 92, 1)
HSLhsl(52, 41%, 55%)
HSV / HSBhsv(52, 51%, 73%)
HWBhwb(52 36% 27%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 6%, 51%, 27%)
LABlab(70.9 -6.9 43.7)
LCHlch(70.9 44.3 99.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.747 0.106 101.2)
XYZ (D65)xyz(37.76, 42.00, 16.24)
Decimal12300124
Display P3color(display-p3 0.733 0.686 0.361)
Web-safe#CC9966

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #bbaf5c;
background-color: #bbaf5c;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #bbaf5c;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bbaf5c] bg-[#bbaf5c]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bbaf5c;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.733, green: 0.686, blue: 0.361)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.733, green: 0.686, blue: 0.361, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#BBAF5C</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFBBAF5C)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBBAF5C)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(92, 175, 187)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(187, 175, 92)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(187, 175, 92)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 187, 175, 92)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7333f, 0.6863f, 0.3608f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{187,175,92}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #bbaf5c 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #bbaf5c 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#5A5326, #EDEAD4);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #bbaf5c 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: #FAF9F5;
  --brand-100: #F5F3EB;
  --brand-200: #EAE7D2;
  --brand-300: #DED8B0;
  --brand-400: #CDC588;
  --brand-500: #bbaf5c;
  --brand-600: #ADA048;
  --brand-700: #90853C;
  --brand-800: #736B30;
  --brand-900: #544E26;
  --brand-950: #353118;
  --brand: #bbaf5c;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAFAF4;
  --brand-border: #E7E3C5;
  --brand-hover: #AC9F48;
  --brand-pressed: #92883D;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242214;
    --brand-ink: #EDEAD4;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FAF9F5',
        100: '#F5F3EB',
        200: '#EAE7D2',
        300: '#DED8B0',
        400: '#CDC588',
        500: '#bbaf5c',
        600: '#ADA048',
        700: '#90853C',
        800: '#736B30',
        900: '#544E26',
        950: '#353118',
        DEFAULT: '#bbaf5c',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FAF9F5,
  '100': #F5F3EB,
  '200': #EAE7D2,
  '300': #DED8B0,
  '400': #CDC588,
  '500': #bbaf5c,
  '600': #ADA048,
  '700': #90853C,
  '800': #736B30,
  '900': #544E26,
  '950': #353118,
);
$brand-base: #bbaf5c;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FAF9F5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F5F3EB", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#EAE7D2", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#DED8B0", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#CDC588", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#bbaf5c", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#ADA048", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#90853C", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#736B30", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#544E26", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#353118", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #bbaf5c · 9.40:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.23:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.40:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bbaf5c as text scores 2.23:1 on white and 9.40:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #5A5326 at 3.48:1.

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
#807736 · 4.56:1
AA on white−19% L
#807736
The quick fox
#605928 · 7.10:1
AAA on white−28% L
#605928
The quick fox
#bbaf5c · 9.40:1
AA on blackalready passes
#bbaf5c
The quick fox
#bbaf5c · 9.40:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#bbaf5c

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #A19543 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
#bbaf5c on white: 2.23:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bbaf5c on black: 9.40:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #bbaf5c as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #bbaf5c.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.23:1AaAa
Slate 502.14:1AaAa
Slate 1002.04:1AaAa
Slate 2001.81:1AaAa
Slate 3001.50:1AaAa
Slate 4001.15:1AaAa
Slate 5002.13:1AaAa
Slate 6003.39:1AaAa
Slate 7004.63:1AaAa
Slate 8006.55:1AaAa
Slate 9007.99:1AaAa
Black9.40:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #BCAA55
deuteranopia · #C0B060
tritanopia · #C7A59C

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. #bbaf5c 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.

#FAF9F5
#F5F3EB
#EAE7D2
#DED8B0
#CDC588
#bbaf5c
#ADA048
#90853C
#736B30
#544E26
#353118
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FAF9F5Darkest = 950 · #353118Text 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 0.026 101.2);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.042 101.2);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.063 101.2);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.082 101.2);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.097 101.2);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.106 101.2);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.106 101.2);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.099 101.2);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.089 101.2);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.074 101.2);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.058 101.2);
}

Colors that work with #bbaf5c

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#FAFAF4
Tinted page background
Border#E7E3C5
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B914B
Captions on the surface
Accent#577FC0
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#5A5326
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F7F6ED
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242214
Dark-mode background
Hover#AC9F48
One step down in lightness
Pressed#92883D
Two steps down
Disabled#D1CDB7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#CCBE60
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 #bbaf5c

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 #5A5326
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #A19543

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
  • Weight45/100
  • 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#5C68BB
Analogous left#BB7F5C
Analogous right#98BB5C
Split-complement 1#5C98BB
Split-complement 2#7F5CBB
Triadic 1#5CBBAF
Triadic 2#AF5CBB
Tetradic#5CBB7F
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°52°

#bbaf5c sits at 52°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red73.3%
Green68.6%
Blue36.1%
R · 0–255
187
0xbb
G · 0–255
175
0xaf
B · 0–255
92
0x5c

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta6.4%
Yellow50.8%
Key (black)26.7%

Total ink coverage is 84%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#bbaf5c text on a black background

contrast 9.40:1

Card sample

#bbaf5c text on a white background

contrast 2.23:1

Card sample

#bbaf5c on grey

2.04:1

#bbaf5c on its own surface

2.13:1

#bbaf5c on its dark surface

7.15:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bbaf5c;
Background color
Panel with #bbaf5c background
background-color: #bbaf5c;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bbaf5c;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(187, 175, 92, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(187, 175, 92, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bbaf5c;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bbaf5c, #88BB5C);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bbaf5c, #70BB5C);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #bbaf5c;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #bbaf5c;
caret-color: #bbaf5c;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #bbaf5c;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F7F6ED;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #bbaf5c;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#bbaf5c 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #bbaf5c 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(187, 175, 92, 0.5)
rgb(187 175 92 / 50%)
#bbaf5c80
hsl(52 41% 55% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #bbaf5c 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#bbaf5c1a#F8F7EF
20%#bbaf5c33#F1EFDE
40%#bbaf5c66#E4DFBE
60%#bbaf5c99#D6CF9D
80%#bbaf5ccc#C9BF7D

Gradients from #bbaf5c

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, #CDC487, #bbaf5c 45%, #5A5326);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #bbaf5c, #70AF49);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bbaf5c, #5C68BB);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #D6CF9D 0%, #bbaf5c 45%, #5A5326 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAFAF4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #CA9580 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #9EC472 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #5A5326 0%, transparent 65%), #bbaf5c;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bbaf5c

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.

#bbaf5c 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 9.40:1.

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.

#bbaf5c, answered

What color is #bbaf5c?

#bbaf5c is a balanced soft yellow, closest to Dark Khaki (ΔE2000 3). It sits at 52° on the hue wheel with 41% saturation and 55% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #bbaf5c?

rgb(187, 175, 92) — 187 red, 175 green and 92 blue out of 255, or 73.3% / 68.6% / 36.1% by channel.

What is #bbaf5c in HSL and HSV?

hsl(52, 41%, 55%) and hsv(52, 51%, 73%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #bbaf5c a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4200 and perceived brightness is 67%, so black text on it reaches 9.40:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bbaf5c?

Black. It scores 9.40:1 against #bbaf5c, versus 2.23:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #bbaf5c accessible on a white background?

#bbaf5c on white scores 2.23:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #807736 to reach 4.5:1, or #605928 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #bbaf5c?

#5C68BB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #5C98BB and #7F5CBB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bbaf5c?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #E7E3C5 for borders, #9B914B for secondary text, #577FC0 as an accent and #5A5326 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BB7F5C and #98BB5C stays calm, while #5C68BB is the loudest partner.

What is #bbaf5c in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 6%, 51%, 27%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #bbaf5c warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 19 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BB915C; nudged cooler, #A5BD5A.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #bbaf5c?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 13.6 away. That is a visible difference, so define #bbaf5c as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #bbaf5c in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#bbaf5c] or text-[#bbaf5c], 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 #bbaf5c with 50% opacity?

rgba(187, 175, 92, 0.5), or #bbaf5c80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DDD7AE; over black, #5E582E.

Is #bbaf5c a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC9966, ΔE2000 15.9 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #bbaf5c 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 #bbaf5c?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #CDC487, #bbaf5c 45%, #5A5326). For more colour, a short hue run to #70AF49 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #bbaf5c in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #bbaf5c at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.