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#ca9599

a light, soft red · warm · closest name: Rosy Brown

RGB
202, 149, 153
HSL
356°, 33%, 69%
CMYK
0, 26, 24, 21
Luminance
0.3635

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ca9599 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ca9599
Hue
356°
red
Saturation
33%
soft
Lightness
69%
light
Brightness
79%
HSV value
Perceived
66%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3635
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
21/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
8.27:1
Closest name
Rosy Brown
ΔE2000 3.6
Where it sits
Hue356° of 360°
Saturation33%
Lightness69%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool21% 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#ca9599
RGBrgb(202, 149, 153)
HSLhsl(356, 33%, 69%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 26%, 24%, 21%)
LABlab(66.8 20.5 5.7)
LCHlch(66.8 21.3 15.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.722 0.064 13.8)
Decimal13276569
Display P3color(display-p3 0.792 0.584 0.600)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ca9599;
background-color: #ca9599;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ca9599] bg-[#ca9599]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ca9599;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.792, green: 0.584, blue: 0.600)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ca9599")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCA9599)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(153, 149, 202)

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 #ca9599 · 8.27:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.54:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 8.27:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ca9599 as text scores 2.54:1 on white and 8.27:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ca9599 on white: 2.54:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ca9599 on black: 8.27:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #9E9D99
deuteranopia · #AAA698
tritanopia · #D49097

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ca9599 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.

#F9F5F6
#F4ECEC
#E8D4D6
#DAB4B7
#ca9599
#B4696F
#A35258
#884449
#6D363B
#502A2D
#321B1C
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9F5F6Darkest = 950 · #321B1C
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F5F6;
  --brand-100: #F4ECEC;
  --brand-200: #E8D4D6;
  --brand-300: #DAB4B7;
  --brand-400: #ca9599;
  --brand-500: #B4696F;
  --brand-600: #A35258;
  --brand-700: #884449;
  --brand-800: #6D363B;
  --brand-900: #502A2D;
  --brand-950: #321B1C;
  --brand: #ca9599;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ca9599

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#FAF5F5
Tinted page background
Border#E4C9CB
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#994D52
Captions on the surface
Accent#408C73
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#552B2E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6EEEF
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241415
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 #ca9599

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

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#95CAC6
Analogous left#CA95B3
Analogous right#CAAB95
Split-complement 1#95CAAB
Split-complement 2#95B3CA
Triadic 1#99CA95
Triadic 2#9599CA
Tetradic#B3CA95

RGB percentages

Red79.2%
Green58.4%
Blue60.0%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta26.2%
Yellow24.3%
Key (black)20.8%

Color previews

#ca9599 text on a black background

contrast 8.27:1

Card sample

#ca9599 text on a white background

contrast 2.54:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ca9599;
Background color
Panel with #ca9599 background
background-color: #ca9599;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ca9599;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(202, 149, 153, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(202, 149, 153, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ca9599;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ca9599, #CAB495);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ca9599

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.

#ca9599 in the real world

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

Industries
Food and drinkEntertainmentRetailSport
Common UI roles
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

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

#ca9599, answered

What color is #ca9599?

#ca9599 is a light soft red, closest to Rosy Brown (ΔE2000 3.6). It sits at 356° on the hue wheel with 33% saturation and 69% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ca9599?

rgb(202, 149, 153) — 202 red, 149 green and 153 blue out of 255, or 79.2% / 58.4% / 60% by channel.

Is #ca9599 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3635 and perceived brightness is 66%, so black text on it reaches 8.27:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ca9599?

Black. It scores 8.27:1 against #ca9599, versus 2.54:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ca9599?

#95CAC6 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #95CAAB and #95B3CA, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ca9599?

For interface work: #FAF5F5 as the surface, #E4C9CB for borders, #994D52 for secondary text, #408C73 as an accent and #552B2E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CA95B3 and #CAAB95 stays calm, while #95CAC6 is the loudest partner.

What is #ca9599 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 26%, 24%, 21%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ca9599 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 21 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CAA495; nudged cooler, #CC93AC.

Work with #ca9599 in the Color Lab