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#bcba0f

a dark, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Dark Khaki

RGB
188, 186, 15
HSL
59°, 85%, 40%
CMYK
0, 1, 92, 26
Luminance
0.4584

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bcba0f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bcba0f
Hue
59°
yellow
Saturation
85%
electric
Lightness
40%
dark
Brightness
74%
HSV value
Perceived
69%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4584
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
24/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
10.17:1
Closest name
Dark Khaki
ΔE2000 9.6
Where it sits
Hue59° of 360°
Saturation85%
Lightness40%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool24% cool

Reads warm. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Every format

HEX#bcba0f
RGBrgb(188, 186, 15)
HSLhsl(59, 85%, 40%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 1%, 92%, 26%)
LABlab(73.4 -15.9 73.0)
LCHlch(73.4 74.8 102.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.766 0.164 108.9)
Decimal12368399
Display P3color(display-p3 0.737 0.729 0.059)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #bcba0f;
background-color: #bcba0f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bcba0f] bg-[#bcba0f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bcba0f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.737, green: 0.729, blue: 0.059)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#bcba0f")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBCBA0F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(15, 186, 188)

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 #bcba0f · 10.17:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.07:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.17:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bcba0f as text scores 2.07:1 on white and 10.17:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#bcba0f on white: 2.07:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bcba0f on black: 10.17:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #CAB200
deuteranopia · #CCB726
tritanopia · #CAAD9E

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #bcba0f is pinned to step 700; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FCFCF2
#FAFAE5
#F7F6C5
#F7F697
#F3F163
#EEEC2F
#E3E012
#bcba0f
#97960C
#6D6C0D
#444408
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FCFCF2Darkest = 950 · #444408
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFCF2;
  --brand-100: #FAFAE5;
  --brand-200: #F7F6C5;
  --brand-300: #F7F697;
  --brand-400: #F3F163;
  --brand-500: #EEEC2F;
  --brand-600: #E3E012;
  --brand-700: #bcba0f;
  --brand-800: #97960C;
  --brand-900: #6D6C0D;
  --brand-950: #444408;
  --brand: #bcba0f;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #bcba0f

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#EDECC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B9A4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0B3AC0
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#767509
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDFDE7
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242414
Dark-mode background
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

How to use #bcba0f

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Headers, footers and dark-mode surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Black text placed on it
  • Thin strokes and 1px borders — they disappear on light UI
  • 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#0F11BC
Analogous left#BC630F
Analogous right#68BC0F
Split-complement 1#0F68BC
Split-complement 2#630FBC
Triadic 1#0FBCBA
Triadic 2#BA0FBC
Tetradic#0FBC63

RGB percentages

Red73.7%
Green72.9%
Blue5.9%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta1.1%
Yellow92.0%
Key (black)26.3%

Color previews

#bcba0f text on a black background

contrast 10.17:1

Card sample

#bcba0f text on a white background

contrast 2.07:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bcba0f;
Background color
Panel with #bcba0f background
background-color: #bcba0f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bcba0f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(188, 186, 15, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(188, 186, 15, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bcba0f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bcba0f, #4BBC0F);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bcba0f

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.

#bcba0f 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

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

#bcba0f, answered

What color is #bcba0f?

#bcba0f is a dark electric yellow, closest to Dark Khaki (ΔE2000 9.6). It sits at 59° on the hue wheel with 85% saturation and 40% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #bcba0f?

rgb(188, 186, 15) — 188 red, 186 green and 15 blue out of 255, or 73.7% / 72.9% / 5.9% by channel.

Is #bcba0f a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4584 and perceived brightness is 69%, so black text on it reaches 10.17:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bcba0f?

Black. It scores 10.17:1 against #bcba0f, versus 2.07:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #bcba0f?

#0F11BC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #0F68BC and #630FBC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bcba0f?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDECC0 for borders, #9B9A4B for secondary text, #0B3AC0 as an accent and #767509 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BC630F and #68BC0F stays calm, while #0F11BC is the loudest partner.

What is #bcba0f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 1%, 92%, 26%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — a color this saturated sits outside most CMYK gamuts and will print duller than it looks here.

Is #bcba0f warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 24 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BC820F; nudged cooler, #7FBE0D.

Work with #bcba0f in the Color Lab