Skip to content

#c6c255

a balanced, vivid yellow · warm · closest name: Dark Khaki

RGB
198, 194, 85
HSL
58°, 50%, 56%
CMYK
0, 2, 57, 22
Luminance
0.5125

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c6c255 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c6c255
Hue
58°
yellow
Saturation
50%
vivid
Lightness
56%
balanced
Brightness
78%
HSV value
Perceived
73%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5125
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
23/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
11.25:1
Closest name
Dark Khaki
ΔE2000 5.5
Where it sits
Hue58° of 360°
Saturation50%
Lightness56%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool23% 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#c6c255
RGBrgb(198, 194, 85)
HSLhsl(58, 50%, 56%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 2%, 57%, 22%)
LABlab(76.8 -12.7 54.2)
LCHlch(76.8 55.6 103.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.796 0.131 107.1)
Decimal13025877
Display P3color(display-p3 0.776 0.761 0.333)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #c6c255;
background-color: #c6c255;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c6c255] bg-[#c6c255]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c6c255;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.776, green: 0.761, blue: 0.333)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#c6c255")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC6C255)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(85, 194, 198)

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 #c6c255 · 11.25:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.87:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.25:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c6c255 as text scores 1.87:1 on white and 11.25:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#c6c255 on white: 1.87:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c6c255 on black: 11.25:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D1BB49
deuteranopia · #D3C05B
tritanopia · #D3B7AA

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #c6c255 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.

#FAFAF4
#F6F5EA
#ECEBCF
#E3E1AB
#D5D281
#c6c255
#B7B33D
#999533
#7A7729
#595721
#383715
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FAFAF4Darkest = 950 · #383715
:root {
  --brand-50: #FAFAF4;
  --brand-100: #F6F5EA;
  --brand-200: #ECEBCF;
  --brand-300: #E3E1AB;
  --brand-400: #D5D281;
  --brand-500: #c6c255;
  --brand-600: #B7B33D;
  --brand-700: #999533;
  --brand-800: #7A7729;
  --brand-900: #595721;
  --brand-950: #383715;
  --brand: #c6c255;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #c6c255

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#EBE9C2
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B984B
Captions on the surface
Accent#5073CB
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#5F5D20
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F9F8EC
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 #c6c255

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
  • 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
  • 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#5559C6
Analogous left#C68A55
Analogous right#91C655
Split-complement 1#5591C6
Split-complement 2#8A55C6
Triadic 1#55C6C2
Triadic 2#C255C6
Tetradic#55C68A

RGB percentages

Red77.6%
Green76.1%
Blue33.3%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta2.0%
Yellow57.1%
Key (black)22.4%

Color previews

#c6c255 text on a black background

contrast 11.25:1

Card sample

#c6c255 text on a white background

contrast 1.87:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c6c255;
Background color
Panel with #c6c255 background
background-color: #c6c255;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c6c255;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(198, 194, 85, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(198, 194, 85, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c6c255;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c6c255, #7FC655);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c6c255

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.

#c6c255 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

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#c6c255, answered

What color is #c6c255?

#c6c255 is a balanced vivid yellow, closest to Dark Khaki (ΔE2000 5.5). It sits at 58° on the hue wheel with 50% saturation and 56% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #c6c255?

rgb(198, 194, 85) — 198 red, 194 green and 85 blue out of 255, or 77.6% / 76.1% / 33.3% by channel.

Is #c6c255 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5125 and perceived brightness is 73%, so black text on it reaches 11.25:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c6c255?

Black. It scores 11.25:1 against #c6c255, versus 1.87:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #c6c255?

#5559C6 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #5591C6 and #8A55C6, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c6c255?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EBE9C2 for borders, #9B984B for secondary text, #5073CB as an accent and #5F5D20 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C68A55 and #91C655 stays calm, while #5559C6 is the loudest partner.

What is #c6c255 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 2%, 57%, 22%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #c6c255 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 23 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C69955; nudged cooler, #A1C853.

Work with #c6c255 in the Color Lab