#bc9159
a balanced, soft orange · warm · closest name: Peru
Token name suggestion: Studio Amber
#bc9159 is a balanced soft orange, 34° on the wheel and 3/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (7.33:1). As text it scores 2.86:1 on white — use #966F3D instead. Nearest name is Peru, nearest Tailwind family is amber.
At a glance
Every number on this page in one read: what #bc9159 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 #bc9159.
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 | #bc9159 |
| HEX (8-digit) | #bc9159ff |
| RGB | rgb(188, 145, 89) |
| RGBA | rgba(188, 145, 89, 1) |
| HSL | hsl(34, 43%, 54%) |
| HSV / HSB | hsv(34, 53%, 74%) |
| HWB | hwb(34 35% 26%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(0%, 23%, 53%, 26%) |
| LAB | lab(63.1 9.4 35.8) |
| LCH | lch(63.1 37.0 75.2) |
| OKLCH | oklch(0.685 0.090 72.7) |
| XYZ (D65) | xyz(32.67, 31.67, 13.84) |
| Decimal | 12357977 |
| Display P3 | color(display-p3 0.737 0.569 0.349) |
| Web-safe | #CC9966 |
Copy-ready code
/* CSS */
color: #bc9159;
background-color: #bc9159;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #bc9159;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bc9159] bg-[#bc9159]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bc9159;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.737, green: 0.569, blue: 0.349)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.737, green: 0.569, blue: 0.349, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#BC9159</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFBC9159)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBC9159)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(89, 145, 188)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(188, 145, 89)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(188, 145, 89)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 188, 145, 89)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7373f, 0.5686f, 0.3490f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{188,145,89}/* mix without leaving CSS */ background: color-mix(in oklab, #bc9159 85%, white); border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #bc9159 40%, transparent); /* theme-aware in one line */ color: light-dark(#5B4325, #EDE2D3); /* relative colour syntax */ --hover: hsl(from #bc9159 h s calc(l - 7));
Design tokens
The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.
:root {
--brand-50: #FAF8F5;
--brand-100: #F5F0EB;
--brand-200: #EADFD1;
--brand-300: #DFCAAF;
--brand-400: #CFAF87;
--brand-500: #bc9159;
--brand-600: #AE8146;
--brand-700: #916C3B;
--brand-800: #74562F;
--brand-900: #554025;
--brand-950: #352817;
--brand: #bc9159;
--brand-ink: #000000;
--brand-surface: #FAF8F4;
--brand-border: #E8D8C5;
--brand-hover: #AC7F45;
--brand-pressed: #926C3B;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
:root {
--brand-surface: #241D14;
--brand-ink: #EDE2D3;
}
}theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
brand: {
50: '#FAF8F5',
100: '#F5F0EB',
200: '#EADFD1',
300: '#DFCAAF',
400: '#CFAF87',
500: '#bc9159',
600: '#AE8146',
700: '#916C3B',
800: '#74562F',
900: '#554025',
950: '#352817',
DEFAULT: '#bc9159',
},
},
},
}$brand: (
'50': #FAF8F5,
'100': #F5F0EB,
'200': #EADFD1,
'300': #DFCAAF,
'400': #CFAF87,
'500': #bc9159,
'600': #AE8146,
'700': #916C3B,
'800': #74562F,
'900': #554025,
'950': #352817,
);
$brand-base: #bc9159;
$brand-ink: #000000;
@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }{
"color": {
"brand": {
"50": { "$value": "#FAF8F5", "$type": "color" },
"100": { "$value": "#F5F0EB", "$type": "color" },
"200": { "$value": "#EADFD1", "$type": "color" },
"300": { "$value": "#DFCAAF", "$type": "color" },
"400": { "$value": "#CFAF87", "$type": "color" },
"500": { "$value": "#bc9159", "$type": "color" },
"600": { "$value": "#AE8146", "$type": "color" },
"700": { "$value": "#916C3B", "$type": "color" },
"800": { "$value": "#74562F", "$type": "color" },
"900": { "$value": "#554025", "$type": "color" },
"950": { "$value": "#352817", "$type": "color" }
},
"brandInk": { "$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 #B98C52 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: #bc9159 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #bc9159.
| Neutral | Ratio | Verdict | Both directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| White#ffffff | 2.86:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 50#f8fafc | 2.74:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 100#f1f5f9 | 2.61:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 200#e2e8f0 | 2.32:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 300#cbd5e1 | 1.93:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 400#94a3b8 | 1.12:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 500#64748b | 1.66:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 600#475569 | 2.65:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 700#334155 | 3.62:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 800#1e293b | 5.11:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 900#0f172a | 6.23:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Black#000000 | 7.33:1 | 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. #bc9159 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.
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 0.022 72.7);
--brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.036 72.7);
--brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.054 72.7);
--brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.070 72.7);
--brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.083 72.7);
--brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.090 72.7);
--brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.090 72.7);
--brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.084 72.7);
--brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.075 72.7);
--brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.063 72.7);
--brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.049 72.7);
}Colors that work with #bc9159
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 #bc9159
Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.
- ✓Text and icons on dark surfaces
- ✓Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
- ✓Brand accents, badges and data highlights
- ✓Chart series and data categories
- ⚠Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
- ⚠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.
Orange is red with the aggression taken out — approachable, active, and strongly associated with buying and doing.
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.
Hard to make feel premium, and it collides with the "caution" band in status systems.
- FormalityMedium
- EnergyMedium
- Weight46/100
- 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 | #5984BC | Directly opposite — maximum tension | |
| Analogous left | #BC5F59 | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Analogous right | #B6BC59 | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Split-complement 1 | #59B6BC | Contrast without the clash | |
| Split-complement 2 | #5F59BC | Contrast without the clash | |
| Triadic 1 | #59BC91 | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Triadic 2 | #9159BC | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Tetradic | #59BC5F | Fourth corner of the square scheme |
#bc9159 sits at 34°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.
RGB percentages
CMYK percentages
Total ink coverage is 102%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.
Color previews
#bc9159 text on a black background
contrast 7.33:1
#bc9159 text on a white background
contrast 2.86:1
#bc9159 on grey
2.61:1
#bc9159 on its own surface
2.70:1
#bc9159 on its dark surface
5.82:1
CSS3 live lab
The quick brown fox
color: #bc9159;
background-color: #bc9159;
Glowing headline
text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bc9159;
Soft neon halo
text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(188, 145, 89, 0.45);
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(188, 145, 89, 0.45);
border: 3px solid #bc9159; background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bc9159, #A5BC59);
Gradient headline
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bc9159, #8CBC59); -webkit-background-clip: text; color: transparent;
outline: 2px solid #bc9159; outline-offset: 3px;
Marked up text
text-decoration-color: #bc9159; caret-color: #bc9159;
border-left: 4px solid #bc9159;
background: #F8F3ED; box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #bc9159;
background: conic-gradient(#bc9159 68%, #e2e8f0 0);
Transparency
What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #bc9159 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(188, 145, 89, 0.5) rgb(188 145 89 / 50%) #bc915980 hsl(34 43% 54% / 50%) color-mix(in srgb, #bc9159 50%, transparent)
| Alpha | 8-digit hex | Flat on white |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | #bc91591a | #F8F4EE |
| 20% | #bc915933 | #F2E9DE |
| 40% | #bc915966 | #E4D3BD |
| 60% | #bc915999 | #D7BD9B |
| 80% | #bc9159cc | #C9A77A |
Gradients from #bc9159
Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #CEAE85, #bc9159 45%, #5B4325);
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #bc9159, #8FB047);
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bc9159, #5984BC);
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #D6BC9A 0%, #bc9159 45%, #5B4325 100%);
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF8F4, #ffffff);
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #CB7D7F 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #B8C56F 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #5B4325 0%, transparent 65%), #bc9159;
Monochromatic scale
Palettes built from #bc9159
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: Bronze (#cd7f32) — ΔE2000 9 away, with its history, psychology and brand usage.
#bc9159 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 7.33:1.
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.
#bc9159, answered
What color is #bc9159?
#bc9159 is a balanced soft orange, closest to Peru (ΔE2000 7.4). It sits at 34° on the hue wheel with 43% saturation and 54% lightness, which reads as warm.
What is the RGB value of #bc9159?
rgb(188, 145, 89) — 188 red, 145 green and 89 blue out of 255, or 73.7% / 56.9% / 34.9% by channel.
What is #bc9159 in HSL and HSV?
hsl(34, 43%, 54%) and hsv(34, 53%, 74%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.
Is #bc9159 a light or a dark color?
It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3166 and perceived brightness is 61%, so black text on it reaches 7.33:1.
Should I use black or white text on #bc9159?
Black. It scores 7.33:1 against #bc9159, versus 2.86:1 for white — AAA at any size.
Is #bc9159 accessible on a white background?
#bc9159 on white scores 2.86:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #966F3D to reach 4.5:1, or #6E522C for 7:1.
What is the complementary color of #bc9159?
#5984BC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #59B6BC and #5F59BC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.
What colors go well with #bc9159?
For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #E8D8C5 for borders, #9B784B for secondary text, #367896 as an accent and #5B4325 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BC5F59 and #B6BC59 stays calm, while #5984BC is the loudest partner.
What is #bc9159 in CMYK for printing?
cmyk(0%, 23%, 53%, 26%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.
Is #bc9159 warm or cool?
Warm — it scores 3 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C3946B; nudged cooler, #BEB757.
Which Tailwind color is closest to #bc9159?
The amber family — its 500 step is #f59e0b, ΔE2000 13.8 away. That is a visible difference, so define #bc9159 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.
How do I use #bc9159 in Tailwind CSS?
Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#bc9159] or text-[#bc9159], 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 #bc9159 with 50% opacity?
rgba(188, 145, 89, 0.5), or #bc915980 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DEC8AC; over black, #5E492D.
Is #bc9159 a web-safe color?
No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC9966, ΔE2000 4.4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.
What does the color #bc9159 mean?
As a orange, it reads friendly, energetic, affordable. Orange is red with the aggression taken out — approachable, active, and strongly associated with buying and doing. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.
What gradient works with #bc9159?
The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #CEAE85, #bc9159 45%, #5B4325). For more colour, a short hue run to #8FB047 keeps it rich without turning muddy.
Work with #bc9159 in the Color Lab
Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.
Every value on this page is computed from #bc9159 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.