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yellow · warm

#bbc38d

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

Token name suggestion: Linen Brass

RGB
187, 195, 141
HSL
69°, 31%, 66%
CMYK
4, 0, 28, 24
Luminance
0.5152

#bbc38d is a light soft yellow, 69° on the wheel and 34/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (11.30:1). As text it scores 1.86:1 on white — use #737B41 instead. Nearest name is Dark Khaki, nearest Tailwind family is lime.

hsl(69 31% 66%)rgb(187 195 141)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bbc38d is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bbc38d
Hue
69°
yellow
Saturation
31%
soft
Lightness
66%
light
Brightness
76%
HSV value
Perceived
73%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5152
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
34/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
11.30:1
Closest name
Dark Khaki
ΔE2000 7
Chroma
28.8
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.797
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
lime
500 · ΔE 16.5
Web-safe
#CCCC99
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue69° of 360°
Saturation31%
Lightness66%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #bbc38d.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool34% 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
Red21%
Green76%
Blue4%

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

Every format

HEX#bbc38d
HEX (8-digit)#bbc38dff
RGBrgb(187, 195, 141)
RGBArgba(187, 195, 141, 1)
HSLhsl(69, 31%, 66%)
HSV / HSBhsv(69, 28%, 76%)
HWBhwb(69 55% 24%)
CMYKcmyk(4%, 0%, 28%, 24%)
LABlab(77.0 -11.7 26.3)
LCHlch(77.0 28.8 113.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.797 0.073 114.9)
XYZ (D65)xyz(44.82, 51.52, 32.78)
Decimal12305293
Display P3color(display-p3 0.733 0.765 0.553)
Web-safe#CCCC99

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #bbc38d;
background-color: #bbc38d;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #bbc38d;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bbc38d] bg-[#bbc38d]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bbc38d;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.733, green: 0.765, blue: 0.553)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.733, green: 0.765, blue: 0.553, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#BBC38D</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFBBC38D)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBBC38D)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(141, 195, 187)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(187, 195, 141)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(187, 195, 141)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 187, 195, 141)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7333f, 0.7647f, 0.5529f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{187,195,141}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #bbc38d 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #bbc38d 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#4E542C, #E7EAD7);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #bbc38d 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: #F2F3EC;
  --brand-200: #E4E7D5;
  --brand-300: #D3D8B6;
  --brand-400: #bbc38d;
  --brand-500: #A7B26C;
  --brand-600: #95A054;
  --brand-700: #7C8646;
  --brand-800: #636B38;
  --brand-900: #494F2C;
  --brand-950: #2E311B;
  --brand: #bbc38d;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F9FAF5;
  --brand-border: #DFE3CA;
  --brand-hover: #ADB776;
  --brand-pressed: #9FAA5E;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #222414;
    --brand-ink: #E7EAD7;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F9F6',
        100: '#F2F3EC',
        200: '#E4E7D5',
        300: '#D3D8B6',
        400: '#bbc38d',
        500: '#A7B26C',
        600: '#95A054',
        700: '#7C8646',
        800: '#636B38',
        900: '#494F2C',
        950: '#2E311B',
        DEFAULT: '#bbc38d',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F9F6,
  '100': #F2F3EC,
  '200': #E4E7D5,
  '300': #D3D8B6,
  '400': #bbc38d,
  '500': #A7B26C,
  '600': #95A054,
  '700': #7C8646,
  '800': #636B38,
  '900': #494F2C,
  '950': #2E311B,
);
$brand-base: #bbc38d;
$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": "#F2F3EC", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E4E7D5", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D3D8B6", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#bbc38d", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#A7B26C", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#95A054", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#7C8646", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#636B38", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#494F2C", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#2E311B", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #bbc38d · 11.30:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.86:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.30:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bbc38d as text scores 1.86:1 on white and 11.30:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #4E542C at 4.30:1.

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
#737B41 · 4.53:1
AA on white−29% L
#737B41
The quick fox
#545A2F · 7.29:1
AAA on white−39% L
#545A2F
The quick fox
#bbc38d · 11.30:1
AA on blackalready passes
#bbc38d
The quick fox
#bbc38d · 11.30:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#bbc38d

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #8F9951 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
#bbc38d on white: 1.86:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bbc38d on black: 11.30:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #bbc38d as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #bbc38d.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.86:1AaAa
Slate 501.78:1AaAa
Slate 1001.70:1AaAa
Slate 2001.51:1AaAa
Slate 3001.25:1AaAa
Slate 4001.38:1AaAa
Slate 5002.56:1AaAa
Slate 6004.08:1AaAa
Slate 7005.57:1AaAa
Slate 8007.87:1AaAa
Slate 9009.61:1AaAa
Black11.30:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #CBBE89
deuteranopia · #CABF8F
tritanopia · #C1BDB5

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. #bbc38d 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.

#F9F9F6
#F2F3EC
#E4E7D5
#D3D8B6
#bbc38d
#A7B26C
#95A054
#7C8646
#636B38
#494F2C
#2E311B
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9F9F6Darkest = 950 · #2E311BText 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 0.018 114.9);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.029 114.9);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.044 114.9);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.057 114.9);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.067 114.9);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.073 114.9);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.073 114.9);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.069 114.9);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.061 114.9);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.051 114.9);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.040 114.9);
}

Colors that work with #bbc38d

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#F9FAF5
Tinted page background
Border#DFE3CA
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8C964F
Captions on the surface
Accent#434A89
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4E542C
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5F6EE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#222414
Dark-mode background
Hover#ADB776
One step down in lightness
Pressed#9FAA5E
Two steps down
Disabled#E5E7D9
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#C8D293
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 #bbc38d

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • White text placed on it
  • 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 #4E542C
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #8F9951

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 lightness keeps it airy and approachable.

Worth knowing

Almost never passes contrast against white. Treat it as a surface or a marker, not as text.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight34/100
  • 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#958DC3
Analogous left#C3B08D
Analogous right#A0C38D
Split-complement 1#8DA0C3
Split-complement 2#B08DC3
Triadic 1#8DBBC3
Triadic 2#C38DBB
Tetradic#8DC3B0
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°69°

#bbc38d sits at 69°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red73.3%
Green76.5%
Blue55.3%
R · 0–255
187
0xbb
G · 0–255
195
0xc3
B · 0–255
141
0x8d

CMYK percentages

Cyan4.1%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow27.7%
Key (black)23.5%

Total ink coverage is 55%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#bbc38d text on a black background

contrast 11.30:1

Card sample

#bbc38d text on a white background

contrast 1.86:1

Card sample

#bbc38d on grey

1.70:1

#bbc38d on its own surface

1.77:1

#bbc38d on its dark surface

8.50:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bbc38d;
Background color
Panel with #bbc38d background
background-color: #bbc38d;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bbc38d;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(187, 195, 141, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(187, 195, 141, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bbc38d;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bbc38d, #97C38D);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bbc38d, #8DC391);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #bbc38d;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #bbc38d;
caret-color: #bbc38d;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #bbc38d;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F5F6EE;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #bbc38d;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#bbc38d 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #bbc38d 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, 195, 141, 0.5)
rgb(187 195 141 / 50%)
#bbc38d80
hsl(69 31% 66% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #bbc38d 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#bbc38d1a#F8F9F4
20%#bbc38d33#F1F3E8
40%#bbc38d66#E4E7D1
60%#bbc38d99#D6DBBB
80%#bbc38dcc#C9CFA4

Gradients from #bbc38d

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, #D3D8B5, #bbc38d 45%, #4E542C);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #bbc38d, #7FB879);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bbc38d, #958DC3);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #DFE3C9 0%, #bbc38d 45%, #4E542C 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F9FAF5, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #D5C4AE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #ADCEA1 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #4E542C 0%, transparent 65%), #bbc38d;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bbc38d

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.

#bbc38d 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
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
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 11.30:1.

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.

#bbc38d, answered

What color is #bbc38d?

#bbc38d is a light soft yellow, closest to Dark Khaki (ΔE2000 7). It sits at 69° on the hue wheel with 31% saturation and 66% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #bbc38d?

rgb(187, 195, 141) — 187 red, 195 green and 141 blue out of 255, or 73.3% / 76.5% / 55.3% by channel.

What is #bbc38d in HSL and HSV?

hsl(69, 31%, 66%) and hsv(69, 28%, 76%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #bbc38d a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5152 and perceived brightness is 73%, so black text on it reaches 11.30:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bbc38d?

Black. It scores 11.30:1 against #bbc38d, versus 1.86:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #bbc38d accessible on a white background?

#bbc38d on white scores 1.86:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #737B41 to reach 4.5:1, or #545A2F for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #bbc38d?

#958DC3 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #8DA0C3 and #B08DC3, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bbc38d?

For interface work: #F9FAF5 as the surface, #DFE3CA for borders, #8C964F for secondary text, #434A89 as an accent and #4E542C for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C3B08D and #A0C38D stays calm, while #958DC3 is the loudest partner.

What is #bbc38d in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(4%, 0%, 28%, 24%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #bbc38d warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 34 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C3B78D; nudged cooler, #A7C58B.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #bbc38d?

The lime family — its 500 step is #84cc16, ΔE2000 16.5 away. That is a visible difference, so define #bbc38d as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #bbc38d in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#bbc38d] or text-[#bbc38d], 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 #bbc38d with 50% opacity?

rgba(187, 195, 141, 0.5), or #bbc38d80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DDE1C6; over black, #5E6247.

Is #bbc38d a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCC99, ΔE2000 3.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #bbc38d 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 #bbc38d?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D3D8B5, #bbc38d 45%, #4E542C). For more colour, a short hue run to #7FB879 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #bbc38d in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #bbc38d at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.