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yellow · warm

#c2cd86

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

Token name suggestion: Drift Straw

RGB
194, 205, 134
HSL
69°, 42%, 67%
CMYK
5, 0, 35, 20
Luminance
0.5685

#c2cd86 is a light soft yellow, 69° on the wheel and 33/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (12.37:1). As text it scores 1.70:1 on white — use #717C33 instead. Nearest name is Dark Khaki, nearest Tailwind family is lime.

hsl(69 42% 67%)rgb(194 205 134)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c2cd86 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c2cd86
Hue
69°
yellow
Saturation
42%
soft
Lightness
67%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
76%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5685
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
33/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
12.37:1
Closest name
Dark Khaki
ΔE2000 7.1
Chroma
37.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.823
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
lime
500 · ΔE 14.1
Web-safe
#CCCC99
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue69° of 360°
Saturation42%
Lightness67%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #c2cd86.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool33% 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
Red20%
Green77%
Blue3%

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

Every format

HEX#c2cd86
HEX (8-digit)#c2cd86ff
RGBrgb(194, 205, 134)
RGBArgba(194, 205, 134, 1)
HSLhsl(69, 42%, 67%)
HSV / HSBhsv(69, 35%, 80%)
HWBhwb(69 53% 20%)
CMYKcmyk(5%, 0%, 35%, 20%)
LABlab(80.1 -15.0 34.1)
LCHlch(80.1 37.3 113.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.823 0.094 115.7)
XYZ (D65)xyz(48.38, 56.85, 30.97)
Decimal12766598
Display P3color(display-p3 0.761 0.804 0.525)
Web-safe#CCCC99

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #c2cd86;
background-color: #c2cd86;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #c2cd86;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c2cd86] bg-[#c2cd86]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c2cd86;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.761, green: 0.804, blue: 0.525)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.761, green: 0.804, blue: 0.525, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#C2CD86</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFC2CD86)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC2CD86)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(134, 205, 194)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(194, 205, 134)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(194, 205, 134)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 194, 205, 134)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7608f, 0.8039f, 0.5255f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{194,205,134}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #c2cd86 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #c2cd86 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#525A25, #E9EDD4);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #c2cd86 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: #F9FAF5;
  --brand-100: #F3F5EB;
  --brand-200: #E6EAD2;
  --brand-300: #D7DEB0;
  --brand-400: #c2cd86;
  --brand-500: #AFBD60;
  --brand-600: #9DAD48;
  --brand-700: #83903C;
  --brand-800: #697330;
  --brand-900: #4D5526;
  --brand-950: #303518;
  --brand: #c2cd86;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F9FAF4;
  --brand-border: #E2E7C5;
  --brand-hover: #B5C36D;
  --brand-pressed: #A9B854;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #222414;
    --brand-ink: #E9EDD4;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9FAF5',
        100: '#F3F5EB',
        200: '#E6EAD2',
        300: '#D7DEB0',
        400: '#c2cd86',
        500: '#AFBD60',
        600: '#9DAD48',
        700: '#83903C',
        800: '#697330',
        900: '#4D5526',
        950: '#303518',
        DEFAULT: '#c2cd86',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9FAF5,
  '100': #F3F5EB,
  '200': #E6EAD2,
  '300': #D7DEB0,
  '400': #c2cd86,
  '500': #AFBD60,
  '600': #9DAD48,
  '700': #83903C,
  '800': #697330,
  '900': #4D5526,
  '950': #303518,
);
$brand-base: #c2cd86;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9FAF5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F3F5EB", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E6EAD2", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D7DEB0", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#c2cd86", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#AFBD60", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#9DAD48", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#83903C", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#697330", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#4D5526", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#303518", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #c2cd86 · 12.37:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.70:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.37:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c2cd86 as text scores 1.70:1 on white and 12.37:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #525A25 at 4.34:1.

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
#717C33 · 4.53:1
AA on white−32% L
#717C33
The quick fox
#545C26 · 7.15:1
AAA on white−41% L
#545C26
The quick fox
#c2cd86 · 12.37:1
AA on blackalready passes
#c2cd86
The quick fox
#c2cd86 · 12.37:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#c2cd86

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #8B993F 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
#c2cd86 on white: 1.70:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c2cd86 on black: 12.37:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #c2cd86 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #c2cd86.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.70:1AaAa
Slate 501.62:1AaAa
Slate 1001.55:1AaAa
Slate 2001.38:1AaAa
Slate 3001.14:1AaAa
Slate 4001.51:1AaAa
Slate 5002.80:1AaAa
Slate 6004.46:1AaAa
Slate 7006.10:1AaAa
Slate 8008.62:1AaAa
Slate 90010.52:1AaAa
Black12.37:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #D6C681
deuteranopia · #D6C789
tritanopia · #CAC5BB

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. #c2cd86 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.

#F9FAF5
#F3F5EB
#E6EAD2
#D7DEB0
#c2cd86
#AFBD60
#9DAD48
#83903C
#697330
#4D5526
#303518
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9FAF5Darkest = 950 · #303518Text 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 0.023 115.7);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.037 115.7);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.056 115.7);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.073 115.7);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.086 115.7);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.094 115.7);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.094 115.7);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.088 115.7);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.079 115.7);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.066 115.7);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.051 115.7);
}

Colors that work with #c2cd86

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#F9FAF4
Tinted page background
Border#E2E7C5
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8E9B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#838AD0
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#525A25
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6F8ED
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#222414
Dark-mode background
Hover#B5C36D
One step down in lightness
Pressed#A9B854
Two steps down
Disabled#E6E8DB
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#CFDB8D
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 #c2cd86

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 #525A25
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #8B993F

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#9186CD
Analogous left#CDB586
Analogous right#9FCD86
Split-complement 1#869FCD
Split-complement 2#B586CD
Triadic 1#86C2CD
Triadic 2#CD86C2
Tetradic#86CDB5
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°69°

#c2cd86 sits at 69°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red76.1%
Green80.4%
Blue52.5%
R · 0–255
194
0xc2
G · 0–255
205
0xcd
B · 0–255
134
0x86

CMYK percentages

Cyan5.4%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow34.6%
Key (black)19.6%

Total ink coverage is 60%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#c2cd86 text on a black background

contrast 12.37:1

Card sample

#c2cd86 text on a white background

contrast 1.70:1

Card sample

#c2cd86 on grey

1.55:1

#c2cd86 on its own surface

1.62:1

#c2cd86 on its dark surface

9.30:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c2cd86;
Background color
Panel with #c2cd86 background
background-color: #c2cd86;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c2cd86;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(194, 205, 134, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(194, 205, 134, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c2cd86;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c2cd86, #93CD86);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c2cd86, #86CD8B);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #c2cd86;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #c2cd86;
caret-color: #c2cd86;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #c2cd86;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F6F8ED;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #c2cd86;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#c2cd86 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #c2cd86 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(194, 205, 134, 0.5)
rgb(194 205 134 / 50%)
#c2cd8680
hsl(69 42% 67% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #c2cd86 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#c2cd861a#F9FAF3
20%#c2cd8633#F3F5E7
40%#c2cd8666#E7EBCF
60%#c2cd8699#DAE1B6
80%#c2cd86cc#CED79E

Gradients from #c2cd86

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, #D8DFB1, #c2cd86 45%, #525A25);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #c2cd86, #78C470);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c2cd86, #9186CD);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E3E8C7 0%, #c2cd86 45%, #525A25 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F9FAF4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #DCC7AA 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #ABD69C 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #525A25 0%, transparent 65%), #c2cd86;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c2cd86

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.

#c2cd86 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 12.37:1.

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.

#c2cd86, answered

What color is #c2cd86?

#c2cd86 is a light soft yellow, closest to Dark Khaki (ΔE2000 7.1). It sits at 69° on the hue wheel with 42% saturation and 67% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #c2cd86?

rgb(194, 205, 134) — 194 red, 205 green and 134 blue out of 255, or 76.1% / 80.4% / 52.5% by channel.

What is #c2cd86 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(69, 42%, 67%) and hsv(69, 35%, 80%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #c2cd86 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5685 and perceived brightness is 76%, so black text on it reaches 12.37:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c2cd86?

Black. It scores 12.37:1 against #c2cd86, versus 1.70:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #c2cd86 accessible on a white background?

#c2cd86 on white scores 1.70:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #717C33 to reach 4.5:1, or #545C26 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #c2cd86?

#9186CD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #869FCD and #B586CD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c2cd86?

For interface work: #F9FAF4 as the surface, #E2E7C5 for borders, #8E9B4B for secondary text, #838AD0 as an accent and #525A25 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CDB586 and #9FCD86 stays calm, while #9186CD is the loudest partner.

What is #c2cd86 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(5%, 0%, 35%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #c2cd86 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 33 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CDBE86; nudged cooler, #A8CF84.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #c2cd86?

The lime family — its 500 step is #84cc16, ΔE2000 14.1 away. That is a visible difference, so define #c2cd86 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #c2cd86 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#c2cd86] or text-[#c2cd86], 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 #c2cd86 with 50% opacity?

rgba(194, 205, 134, 0.5), or #c2cd8680 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E1E6C3; over black, #616743.

Is #c2cd86 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCC99, ΔE2000 5 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #c2cd86 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 #c2cd86?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D8DFB1, #c2cd86 45%, #525A25). For more colour, a short hue run to #78C470 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #c2cd86 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #c2cd86 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.