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yellow · warm

#cac18b

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

Token name suggestion: Meadow Straw

RGB
202, 193, 139
HSL
51°, 37%, 67%
CMYK
0, 5, 31, 21
Luminance
0.5256

#cac18b is a light soft yellow, 51° on the wheel and 18/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (11.51:1). As text it scores 1.82:1 on white — use #81773B instead. Nearest name is Dark Khaki, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(51 37% 67%)rgb(202 193 139)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cac18b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cac18b
Hue
51°
yellow
Saturation
37%
soft
Lightness
67%
light
Brightness
79%
HSV value
Perceived
75%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5256
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
18/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
11.51:1
Closest name
Dark Khaki
ΔE2000 5.5
Chroma
28.8
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.805
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 16.9
Web-safe
#CCCC99
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue51° of 360°
Saturation37%
Lightness67%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cac18b.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool18% 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
Red24%
Green73%
Blue4%

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

Every format

HEX#cac18b
HEX (8-digit)#cac18bff
RGBrgb(202, 193, 139)
RGBArgba(202, 193, 139, 1)
HSLhsl(51, 37%, 67%)
HSV / HSBhsv(51, 31%, 79%)
HWBhwb(51 55% 21%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 5%, 31%, 21%)
LABlab(77.6 -5.1 28.4)
LCHlch(77.6 28.8 100.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.805 0.072 99.8)
XYZ (D65)xyz(48.09, 52.56, 32.03)
Decimal13287819
Display P3color(display-p3 0.792 0.757 0.545)
Web-safe#CCCC99

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cac18b;
background-color: #cac18b;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cac18b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cac18b] bg-[#cac18b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cac18b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.792, green: 0.757, blue: 0.545)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.792, green: 0.757, blue: 0.545, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CAC18B</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCAC18B)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCAC18B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(139, 193, 202)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(202, 193, 139)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(202, 193, 139)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 202, 193, 139)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7922f, 0.7569f, 0.5451f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{202,193,139}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cac18b 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cac18b 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#585128, #ECE9D5);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cac18b 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: #FAF9F5;
  --brand-100: #F4F3EB;
  --brand-200: #E9E6D3;
  --brand-300: #DCD6B2;
  --brand-400: #cac18b;
  --brand-500: #B9AD65;
  --brand-600: #A89B4D;
  --brand-700: #8C8140;
  --brand-800: #706733;
  --brand-900: #524C28;
  --brand-950: #333019;
  --brand: #cac18b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF9F4;
  --brand-border: #E5E1C7;
  --brand-hover: #BFB473;
  --brand-pressed: #B4A75A;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242214;
    --brand-ink: #ECE9D5;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FAF9F5',
        100: '#F4F3EB',
        200: '#E9E6D3',
        300: '#DCD6B2',
        400: '#cac18b',
        500: '#B9AD65',
        600: '#A89B4D',
        700: '#8C8140',
        800: '#706733',
        900: '#524C28',
        950: '#333019',
        DEFAULT: '#cac18b',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FAF9F5,
  '100': #F4F3EB,
  '200': #E9E6D3,
  '300': #DCD6B2,
  '400': #cac18b,
  '500': #B9AD65,
  '600': #A89B4D,
  '700': #8C8140,
  '800': #706733,
  '900': #524C28,
  '950': #333019,
);
$brand-base: #cac18b;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FAF9F5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F4F3EB", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E9E6D3", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#DCD6B2", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#cac18b", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#B9AD65", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#A89B4D", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#8C8140", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#706733", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#524C28", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#333019", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cac18b · 11.51:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.82:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.51:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cac18b as text scores 1.82:1 on white and 11.51:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #585128 at 4.39:1.

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
#81773B · 4.53:1
AA on white−30% L
#81773B
The quick fox
#5E572B · 7.31:1
AAA on white−40% L
#5E572B
The quick fox
#cac18b · 11.51:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cac18b
The quick fox
#cac18b · 11.51:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cac18b

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #A19449 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
#cac18b on white: 1.82:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cac18b on black: 11.51:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cac18b as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cac18b.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.82:1AaAa
Slate 501.74:1AaAa
Slate 1001.67:1AaAa
Slate 2001.48:1AaAa
Slate 3001.23:1AaAa
Slate 4001.41:1AaAa
Slate 5002.61:1AaAa
Slate 6004.15:1AaAa
Slate 7005.68:1AaAa
Slate 8008.02:1AaAa
Slate 9009.79:1AaAa
Black11.51:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #CBBE87
deuteranopia · #CEC18D
tritanopia · #D3BAB3

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. #cac18b 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.

#FAF9F5
#F4F3EB
#E9E6D3
#DCD6B2
#cac18b
#B9AD65
#A89B4D
#8C8140
#706733
#524C28
#333019
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FAF9F5Darkest = 950 · #333019Text 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 0.018 99.8);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.029 99.8);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.043 99.8);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.056 99.8);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.066 99.8);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.072 99.8);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.072 99.8);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.068 99.8);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.060 99.8);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.050 99.8);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.040 99.8);
}

Colors that work with #cac18b

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#FAF9F4
Tinted page background
Border#E5E1C7
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8F4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#3C5D90
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#585128
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F7F6ED
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242214
Dark-mode background
Hover#BFB473
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B4A75A
Two steps down
Disabled#E9E7DC
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D8CE92
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 #cac18b

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 #585128
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #A19449

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
  • Weight33/100
  • 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#8B94CA
Analogous left#CAA28B
Analogous right#B4CA8B
Split-complement 1#8BB4CA
Split-complement 2#A28BCA
Triadic 1#8BCAC1
Triadic 2#C18BCA
Tetradic#8BCAA2
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°51°

#cac18b sits at 51°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red79.2%
Green75.7%
Blue54.5%
R · 0–255
202
0xca
G · 0–255
193
0xc1
B · 0–255
139
0x8b

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta4.5%
Yellow31.2%
Key (black)20.8%

Total ink coverage is 57%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#cac18b text on a black background

contrast 11.51:1

Card sample

#cac18b text on a white background

contrast 1.82:1

Card sample

#cac18b on grey

1.67:1

#cac18b on its own surface

1.73:1

#cac18b on its dark surface

8.76:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cac18b;
Background color
Panel with #cac18b background
background-color: #cac18b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cac18b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(202, 193, 139, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(202, 193, 139, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cac18b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cac18b, #A9CA8B);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cac18b, #99CA8B);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cac18b;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cac18b;
caret-color: #cac18b;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cac18b;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F7F6ED;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cac18b;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cac18b 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cac18b 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(202, 193, 139, 0.5)
rgb(202 193 139 / 50%)
#cac18b80
hsl(51 37% 67% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cac18b 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cac18b1a#FAF9F3
20%#cac18b33#F4F3E8
40%#cac18b66#EAE6D1
60%#cac18b99#DFDAB9
80%#cac18bcc#D5CDA2

Gradients from #cac18b

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, #DDD8B5, #cac18b 45%, #585128);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cac18b, #93C076);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cac18b, #8B94CA);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E7E3CA 0%, #cac18b 45%, #585128 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF9F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #DABAAE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #BDD4A0 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #585128 0%, transparent 65%), #cac18b;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cac18b

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.

#cac18b 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 11.51:1.

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.

#cac18b, answered

What color is #cac18b?

#cac18b is a light soft yellow, closest to Dark Khaki (ΔE2000 5.5). It sits at 51° on the hue wheel with 37% saturation and 67% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cac18b?

rgb(202, 193, 139) — 202 red, 193 green and 139 blue out of 255, or 79.2% / 75.7% / 54.5% by channel.

What is #cac18b in HSL and HSV?

hsl(51, 37%, 67%) and hsv(51, 31%, 79%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cac18b a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5256 and perceived brightness is 75%, so black text on it reaches 11.51:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cac18b?

Black. It scores 11.51:1 against #cac18b, versus 1.82:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cac18b accessible on a white background?

#cac18b on white scores 1.82:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #81773B to reach 4.5:1, or #5E572B for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cac18b?

#8B94CA sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #8BB4CA and #A28BCA, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cac18b?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #E5E1C7 for borders, #9B8F4B for secondary text, #3C5D90 as an accent and #585128 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CAA28B and #B4CA8B stays calm, while #8B94CA is the loudest partner.

What is #cac18b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 5%, 31%, 21%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cac18b warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 18 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CAAC8B; nudged cooler, #BDCC89.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cac18b?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 16.9 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cac18b as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cac18b in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cac18b] or text-[#cac18b], 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 #cac18b with 50% opacity?

rgba(202, 193, 139, 0.5), or #cac18b80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E5E0C5; over black, #656146.

Is #cac18b a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCC99, ΔE2000 3.9 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cac18b 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 #cac18b?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #DDD8B5, #cac18b 45%, #585128). For more colour, a short hue run to #93C076 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cac18b in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cac18b at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.