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yellow · warm

#c4cd8f

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

Token name suggestion: Meadow Straw

RGB
196, 205, 143
HSL
69°, 38%, 68%
CMYK
4, 0, 30, 20
Luminance
0.5738

#c4cd8f is a light soft yellow, 69° on the wheel and 32/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (12.48:1). As text it scores 1.68:1 on white — use #727C37 instead. Nearest name is Dark Khaki, nearest Tailwind family is lime.

hsl(69 38% 68%)rgb(196 205 143)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c4cd8f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c4cd8f
Hue
69°
yellow
Saturation
38%
soft
Lightness
68%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
77%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5738
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
32/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
12.48:1
Closest name
Dark Khaki
ΔE2000 7.5
Chroma
32.6
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.826
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
lime
500 · ΔE 15.6
Web-safe
#CCCC99
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue69° of 360°
Saturation38%
Lightness68%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #c4cd8f.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool32% 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%
Green76%
Blue3%

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

Every format

HEX#c4cd8f
HEX (8-digit)#c4cd8fff
RGBrgb(196, 205, 143)
RGBArgba(196, 205, 143, 1)
HSLhsl(69, 38%, 68%)
HSV / HSBhsv(69, 30%, 80%)
HWBhwb(69 56% 20%)
CMYKcmyk(4%, 0%, 30%, 20%)
LABlab(80.4 -13.1 29.9)
LCHlch(80.4 32.6 113.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.826 0.082 115.0)
XYZ (D65)xyz(49.55, 57.38, 34.45)
Decimal12897679
Display P3color(display-p3 0.769 0.804 0.561)
Web-safe#CCCC99

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #c4cd8f;
background-color: #c4cd8f;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #c4cd8f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c4cd8f] bg-[#c4cd8f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c4cd8f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.769, green: 0.804, blue: 0.561)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.769, green: 0.804, blue: 0.561, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#C4CD8F</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFC4CD8F)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC4CD8F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(143, 205, 196)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(196, 205, 143)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(196, 205, 143)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 196, 205, 143)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7686f, 0.8039f, 0.5608f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{196,205,143}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #c4cd8f 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #c4cd8f 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#515827, #E9ECD5);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #c4cd8f 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: #F3F4EB;
  --brand-200: #E6E9D3;
  --brand-300: #D6DCB1;
  --brand-400: #c4cd8f;
  --brand-500: #ADBA64;
  --brand-600: #9CA94C;
  --brand-700: #828D3F;
  --brand-800: #687132;
  --brand-900: #4D5328;
  --brand-950: #303419;
  --brand: #c4cd8f;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F9FAF4;
  --brand-border: #E1E6C7;
  --brand-hover: #B7C276;
  --brand-pressed: #AAB75D;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #222414;
    --brand-ink: #E9ECD5;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9FAF5',
        100: '#F3F4EB',
        200: '#E6E9D3',
        300: '#D6DCB1',
        400: '#c4cd8f',
        500: '#ADBA64',
        600: '#9CA94C',
        700: '#828D3F',
        800: '#687132',
        900: '#4D5328',
        950: '#303419',
        DEFAULT: '#c4cd8f',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9FAF5,
  '100': #F3F4EB,
  '200': #E6E9D3,
  '300': #D6DCB1,
  '400': #c4cd8f,
  '500': #ADBA64,
  '600': #9CA94C,
  '700': #828D3F,
  '800': #687132,
  '900': #4D5328,
  '950': #303419,
);
$brand-base: #c4cd8f;
$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": "#F3F4EB", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E6E9D3", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D6DCB1", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#c4cd8f", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#ADBA64", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#9CA94C", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#828D3F", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#687132", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#4D5328", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#303419", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #c4cd8f · 12.48:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.68:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.48:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c4cd8f as text scores 1.68:1 on white and 12.48:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #515827 at 4.50:1.

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
#727C37 · 4.51:1
AA on white−33% L
#727C37
The quick fox
#555C29 · 7.12:1
AAA on white−42% L
#555C29
The quick fox
#c4cd8f · 12.48:1
AA on blackalready passes
#c4cd8f
The quick fox
#c4cd8f · 12.48:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#c4cd8f

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #8C9844 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
#c4cd8f on white: 1.68:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c4cd8f on black: 12.48:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #c4cd8f as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #c4cd8f.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.68:1AaAa
Slate 501.61:1AaAa
Slate 1001.54:1AaAa
Slate 2001.37:1AaAa
Slate 3001.13:1AaAa
Slate 4001.52:1AaAa
Slate 5002.83:1AaAa
Slate 6004.50:1AaAa
Slate 7006.15:1AaAa
Slate 8008.69:1AaAa
Slate 90010.61:1AaAa
Black12.48:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #D6C78B
deuteranopia · #D5C892
tritanopia · #CBC6BD

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. #c4cd8f 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
#F3F4EB
#E6E9D3
#D6DCB1
#c4cd8f
#ADBA64
#9CA94C
#828D3F
#687132
#4D5328
#303419
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9FAF5Darkest = 950 · #303419Text 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 0.021 115.0);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.033 115.0);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.049 115.0);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.064 115.0);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.076 115.0);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.082 115.0);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.082 115.0);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.077 115.0);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.069 115.0);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.058 115.0);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.045 115.0);
}

Colors that work with #c4cd8f

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#E1E6C7
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8F9B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#3B4491
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#515827
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6F7ED
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#222414
Dark-mode background
Hover#B7C276
One step down in lightness
Pressed#AAB75D
Two steps down
Disabled#EAECE1
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D0DA96
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 #c4cd8f

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 #515827
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #8C9844

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
  • Weight32/100
  • 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#988FCD
Analogous left#CDB78F
Analogous right#A5CD8F
Split-complement 1#8FA5CD
Split-complement 2#B78FCD
Triadic 1#8FC4CD
Triadic 2#CD8FC4
Tetradic#8FCDB7
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°69°

#c4cd8f sits at 69°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red76.9%
Green80.4%
Blue56.1%
R · 0–255
196
0xc4
G · 0–255
205
0xcd
B · 0–255
143
0x8f

CMYK percentages

Cyan4.4%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow30.2%
Key (black)19.6%

Total ink coverage is 54%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#c4cd8f text on a black background

contrast 12.48:1

Card sample

#c4cd8f text on a white background

contrast 1.68:1

Card sample

#c4cd8f on grey

1.54:1

#c4cd8f on its own surface

1.60:1

#c4cd8f on its dark surface

9.38:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c4cd8f;
Background color
Panel with #c4cd8f background
background-color: #c4cd8f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c4cd8f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(196, 205, 143, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(196, 205, 143, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c4cd8f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c4cd8f, #9BCD8F);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c4cd8f, #8FCD93);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #c4cd8f;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #c4cd8f;
caret-color: #c4cd8f;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #c4cd8f;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F6F7ED;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #c4cd8f;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#c4cd8f 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #c4cd8f 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(196, 205, 143, 0.5)
rgb(196 205 143 / 50%)
#c4cd8f80
hsl(69 38% 68% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #c4cd8f 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#c4cd8f1a#F9FAF4
20%#c4cd8f33#F3F5E9
40%#c4cd8f66#E7EBD2
60%#c4cd8f99#DCE1BC
80%#c4cd8fcc#D0D7A5

Gradients from #c4cd8f

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, #DAE0B9, #c4cd8f 45%, #515827);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #c4cd8f, #81C47A);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c4cd8f, #988FCD);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E5E9CE 0%, #c4cd8f 45%, #515827 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%, #DDCAB2 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #B2D6A4 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #515827 0%, transparent 65%), #c4cd8f;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c4cd8f

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.

#c4cd8f 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 12.48:1.

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.

#c4cd8f, answered

What color is #c4cd8f?

#c4cd8f is a light soft yellow, closest to Dark Khaki (ΔE2000 7.5). It sits at 69° on the hue wheel with 38% saturation and 68% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #c4cd8f?

rgb(196, 205, 143) — 196 red, 205 green and 143 blue out of 255, or 76.9% / 80.4% / 56.1% by channel.

What is #c4cd8f in HSL and HSV?

hsl(69, 38%, 68%) and hsv(69, 30%, 80%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #c4cd8f a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5738 and perceived brightness is 77%, so black text on it reaches 12.48:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c4cd8f?

Black. It scores 12.48:1 against #c4cd8f, versus 1.68:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #c4cd8f accessible on a white background?

#c4cd8f on white scores 1.68:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #727C37 to reach 4.5:1, or #555C29 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #c4cd8f?

#988FCD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #8FA5CD and #B78FCD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c4cd8f?

For interface work: #F9FAF4 as the surface, #E1E6C7 for borders, #8F9B4B for secondary text, #3B4491 as an accent and #515827 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CDB78F and #A5CD8F stays calm, while #988FCD is the loudest partner.

What is #c4cd8f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(4%, 0%, 30%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #c4cd8f warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 32 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CDBF8F; nudged cooler, #ADCF8D.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #c4cd8f?

The lime family — its 500 step is #84cc16, ΔE2000 15.6 away. That is a visible difference, so define #c4cd8f as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #c4cd8f in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#c4cd8f] or text-[#c4cd8f], 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 #c4cd8f with 50% opacity?

rgba(196, 205, 143, 0.5), or #c4cd8f80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E2E6C7; over black, #626748.

Is #c4cd8f a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCC99, ΔE2000 3.4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #c4cd8f 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 #c4cd8f?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #DAE0B9, #c4cd8f 45%, #515827). For more colour, a short hue run to #81C47A keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #c4cd8f in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #c4cd8f at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.