#bc9357
a balanced, soft orange · warm · closest name: Peru
At a glance
Every number on this page in one read: what #bc9357 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.
Reads warm. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.
Every format
| HEX | #bc9357 |
| RGB | rgb(188, 147, 87) |
| HSL | hsl(36, 43%, 54%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(0%, 22%, 54%, 26%) |
| LAB | lab(63.5 8.2 37.4) |
| LCH | lch(63.5 38.3 77.7) |
| OKLCH | oklch(0.689 0.092 75.7) |
| Decimal | 12358487 |
| Display P3 | color(display-p3 0.737 0.576 0.341) |
Copy-ready code
/* CSS */
color: #bc9357;
background-color: #bc9357;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bc9357] bg-[#bc9357]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bc9357;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.737, green: 0.576, blue: 0.341)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#bc9357")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBC9357)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(87, 147, 188)Best text color
Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.
Accessibility — WCAG contrast
Color scale — 50 to 950
A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #bc9357 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.
:root {
--brand-50: #FAF8F5;
--brand-100: #F5F1EB;
--brand-200: #EAE0D1;
--brand-300: #DFCBAF;
--brand-400: #CFB287;
--brand-500: #bc9357;
--brand-600: #AF8446;
--brand-700: #926E3A;
--brand-800: #75582F;
--brand-900: #554225;
--brand-950: #352917;
--brand: #bc9357;
--brand-ink: #000000;
}Colors that work with #bc9357
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.
How to use #bc9357
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
- ⚠Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
- ⚠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 | #5780BC | Directly opposite — maximum tension | |
| Analogous left | #BC6057 | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Analogous right | #B3BC57 | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Split-complement 1 | #57B3BC | Contrast without the clash | |
| Split-complement 2 | #6057BC | Contrast without the clash | |
| Triadic 1 | #57BC93 | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Triadic 2 | #9357BC | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Tetradic | #57BC60 | Fourth corner of the square scheme |
RGB percentages
CMYK percentages
Color previews
#bc9357 text on a black background
contrast 7.45:1
#bc9357 text on a white background
contrast 2.82:1
CSS3 live lab
The quick brown fox
color: #bc9357;
background-color: #bc9357;
Glowing headline
text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bc9357;
Soft neon halo
text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(188, 147, 87, 0.45);
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(188, 147, 87, 0.45);
border: 3px solid #bc9357; background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bc9357, #A2BC57);
Monochromatic scale
Palettes built from #bc9357
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.
Closest color with a full write-up: Butterscotch (#e3963e) — ΔE2000 9.3 away, with its history, psychology and brand usage.
#bc9357 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.
#bc9357, answered
What color is #bc9357?
#bc9357 is a balanced soft orange, closest to Peru (ΔE2000 8.2). It sits at 36° on the hue wheel with 43% saturation and 54% lightness, which reads as warm.
What is the RGB value of #bc9357?
rgb(188, 147, 87) — 188 red, 147 green and 87 blue out of 255, or 73.7% / 57.6% / 34.1% by channel.
Is #bc9357 a light or a dark color?
It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3225 and perceived brightness is 61%, so black text on it reaches 7.45:1.
Should I use black or white text on #bc9357?
Black. It scores 7.45:1 against #bc9357, versus 2.82:1 for white — AAA at any size.
What is the complementary color of #bc9357?
#5780BC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #57B3BC and #6057BC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.
What colors go well with #bc9357?
For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #E8D9C5 for borders, #9B7A4B for secondary text, #367596 as an accent and #5B4524 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BC6057 and #B3BC57 stays calm, while #5780BC is the loudest partner.
What is #bc9357 in CMYK for printing?
cmyk(0%, 22%, 54%, 26%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.
Is #bc9357 warm or cool?
Warm — it scores 5 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BC8757; nudged cooler, #BEBA55.