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orange · warm

#bcab9b

a light, soft orange · warm · closest name: Tan

Token name suggestion: Meadow Marmalade

RGB
188, 171, 155
HSL
29°, 20%, 67%
CMYK
0, 9, 18, 26
Luminance
0.4218

#bcab9b is a light soft orange, 29° on the wheel and 22/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (9.44:1). As text it scores 2.23:1 on white — use #87705B instead. Nearest name is Tan, nearest Tailwind family is stone.

hsl(29 20% 67%)rgb(188 171 155)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bcab9b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bcab9b
Hue
29°
orange
Saturation
20%
soft
Lightness
67%
light
Brightness
74%
HSV value
Perceived
68%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4218
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
22/100 cool
Color family
Orange
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
9.44:1
Closest name
Tan
ΔE2000 8.5
Chroma
11.0
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.751
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
stone
500 · ΔE 20.9
Web-safe
#CC9999
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue29° of 360°
Saturation20%
Lightness67%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #bcab9b.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool22% 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%
Green69%
Blue6%

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

Every format

HEX#bcab9b
HEX (8-digit)#bcab9bff
RGBrgb(188, 171, 155)
RGBArgba(188, 171, 155, 1)
HSLhsl(29, 20%, 67%)
HSV / HSBhsv(29, 18%, 74%)
HWBhwb(29 61% 26%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 9%, 18%, 26%)
LABlab(71.0 3.5 10.5)
LCHlch(71.0 11.0 71.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.751 0.030 65.6)
XYZ (D65)xyz(41.22, 42.18, 36.98)
Decimal12364699
Display P3color(display-p3 0.737 0.671 0.608)
Web-safe#CC9999

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #bcab9b;
background-color: #bcab9b;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #bcab9b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bcab9b] bg-[#bcab9b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bcab9b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.737, green: 0.671, blue: 0.608)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.737, green: 0.671, blue: 0.608, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#BCAB9B</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFBCAB9B)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBCAB9B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(155, 171, 188)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(188, 171, 155)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(188, 171, 155)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 188, 171, 155)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7373f, 0.6706f, 0.6078f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{188,171,155}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #bcab9b 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #bcab9b 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#4C3F33, #E6E0DA);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #bcab9b 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: #F9F7F6;
  --brand-100: #F2F0ED;
  --brand-200: #E4DED8;
  --brand-300: #D2C7BC;
  --brand-400: #bcab9b;
  --brand-500: #A58E79;
  --brand-600: #937A62;
  --brand-700: #7A6552;
  --brand-800: #625141;
  --brand-900: #483D32;
  --brand-950: #2D261F;
  --brand: #bcab9b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F9F7F6;
  --brand-border: #DED6CE;
  --brand-hover: #AE9986;
  --brand-pressed: #9F8770;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #221C16;
    --brand-ink: #E6E0DA;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F7F6',
        100: '#F2F0ED',
        200: '#E4DED8',
        300: '#D2C7BC',
        400: '#bcab9b',
        500: '#A58E79',
        600: '#937A62',
        700: '#7A6552',
        800: '#625141',
        900: '#483D32',
        950: '#2D261F',
        DEFAULT: '#bcab9b',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F7F6,
  '100': #F2F0ED,
  '200': #E4DED8,
  '300': #D2C7BC,
  '400': #bcab9b,
  '500': #A58E79,
  '600': #937A62,
  '700': #7A6552,
  '800': #625141,
  '900': #483D32,
  '950': #2D261F,
);
$brand-base: #bcab9b;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9F7F6", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F2F0ED", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E4DED8", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D2C7BC", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#bcab9b", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#A58E79", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#937A62", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#7A6552", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#625141", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#483D32", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#2D261F", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #bcab9b · 9.44:1
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 · 9.44:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bcab9b as text scores 2.23:1 on white and 9.44:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #4C3F33 at 4.57:1.

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
#87705B · 4.67:1
AA on white−23% L
#87705B
The quick fox
#665444 · 7.20:1
AAA on white−34% L
#665444
The quick fox
#bcab9b · 9.44:1
AA on blackalready passes
#bcab9b
The quick fox
#bcab9b · 9.44:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#bcab9b

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #A8917D 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
#bcab9b on white: 2.23:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bcab9b on black: 9.44:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #bcab9b as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #bcab9b.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.23:1AaAa
Slate 502.13:1AaAa
Slate 1002.03:1AaAa
Slate 2001.81:1AaAa
Slate 3001.50:1AaAa
Slate 4001.15:1AaAa
Slate 5002.14:1AaAa
Slate 6003.41:1AaAa
Slate 7004.65:1AaAa
Slate 8006.57:1AaAa
Slate 9008.02:1AaAa
Black9.44:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #B1AC9A
deuteranopia · #B5AF9B
tritanopia · #C2A7A6

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. #bcab9b 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.

#F9F7F6
#F2F0ED
#E4DED8
#D2C7BC
#bcab9b
#A58E79
#937A62
#7A6552
#625141
#483D32
#2D261F
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9F7F6Darkest = 950 · #2D261FText step on white = 700
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 0.007 65.6);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.012 65.6);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.018 65.6);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.023 65.6);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.028 65.6);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.030 65.6);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.030 65.6);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.028 65.6);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.025 65.6);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.021 65.6);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.016 65.6);
}

Colors that work with #bcab9b

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#F9F7F6
Tinted page background
Border#DED6CE
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#89725C
Captions on the surface
Accent#4E737E
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4C3F33
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5F2F0
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#221C16
Dark-mode background
Hover#AE9986
One step down in lightness
Pressed#9F8770
Two steps down
Disabled#E9E4DE
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#CCB5A0
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 #bcab9b

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
  • 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 #4C3F33
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #A8917D

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

friendlyenergeticaffordablesocial

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 lightness keeps it airy and approachable.

Worth knowing

Hard to make feel premium, and it collides with the "caution" band in status systems.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight33/100
  • 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#9BACBC
Analogous left#BC9B9C
Analogous right#BCBC9B
Split-complement 1#9BBCBC
Split-complement 2#9B9CBC
Triadic 1#9BBCAB
Triadic 2#AB9BBC
Tetradic#9CBC9B
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°29°

#bcab9b sits at 29°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red73.7%
Green67.1%
Blue60.8%
R · 0–255
188
0xbc
G · 0–255
171
0xab
B · 0–255
155
0x9b

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta9.0%
Yellow17.6%
Key (black)26.3%

Total ink coverage is 53%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#bcab9b text on a black background

contrast 9.44:1

Card sample

#bcab9b text on a white background

contrast 2.23:1

Card sample

#bcab9b on grey

2.03:1

#bcab9b on its own surface

2.08:1

#bcab9b on its dark surface

7.58:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bcab9b;
Background color
Panel with #bcab9b background
background-color: #bcab9b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bcab9b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(188, 171, 155, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(188, 171, 155, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bcab9b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bcab9b, #B7BC9B);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bcab9b, #AFBC9B);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #bcab9b;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #bcab9b;
caret-color: #bcab9b;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #bcab9b;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F5F2F0;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #bcab9b;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#bcab9b 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #bcab9b 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(188, 171, 155, 0.5)
rgb(188 171 155 / 50%)
#bcab9b80
hsl(29 20% 67% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #bcab9b 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#bcab9b1a#F8F7F5
20%#bcab9b33#F2EEEB
40%#bcab9b66#E4DDD7
60%#bcab9b99#D7CDC3
80%#bcab9bcc#C9BCAF

Gradients from #bcab9b

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, #D5CAC0, #bcab9b 45%, #4C3F33);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #bcab9b, #A7B089);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bcab9b, #9BACBC);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E1D9D2 0%, #bcab9b 45%, #4C3F33 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F9F7F6, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #D1BABC 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #C7C8AD 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #4C3F33 0%, transparent 65%), #bcab9b;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bcab9b

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.

#bcab9b in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
E-commerceFood deliveryLogisticsCreator tools
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 9.44:1.

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.

#bcab9b, answered

What color is #bcab9b?

#bcab9b is a light soft orange, closest to Tan (ΔE2000 8.5). It sits at 29° on the hue wheel with 20% saturation and 67% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #bcab9b?

rgb(188, 171, 155) — 188 red, 171 green and 155 blue out of 255, or 73.7% / 67.1% / 60.8% by channel.

What is #bcab9b in HSL and HSV?

hsl(29, 20%, 67%) and hsv(29, 18%, 74%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #bcab9b a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4218 and perceived brightness is 68%, so black text on it reaches 9.44:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bcab9b?

Black. It scores 9.44:1 against #bcab9b, versus 2.23:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #bcab9b accessible on a white background?

#bcab9b on white scores 2.23:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #87705B to reach 4.5:1, or #665444 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #bcab9b?

#9BACBC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9BBCBC and #9B9CBC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bcab9b?

For interface work: #F9F7F6 as the surface, #DED6CE for borders, #89725C for secondary text, #4E737E as an accent and #4C3F33 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BC9B9C and #BCBC9B stays calm, while #9BACBC is the loudest partner.

What is #bcab9b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 9%, 18%, 26%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #bcab9b warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 22 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C6B6AA; nudged cooler, #BE9E99.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #bcab9b?

The stone family — its 500 step is #78716c, ΔE2000 20.9 away. That is a visible difference, so define #bcab9b as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #bcab9b in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#bcab9b] or text-[#bcab9b], 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 #bcab9b with 50% opacity?

rgba(188, 171, 155, 0.5), or #bcab9b80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DED5CD; over black, #5E564E.

Is #bcab9b a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC9999, ΔE2000 15.3 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #bcab9b 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 #bcab9b?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D5CAC0, #bcab9b 45%, #4C3F33). For more colour, a short hue run to #A7B089 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #bcab9b in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #bcab9b at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.