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#cac2ab

a light, soft yellow · warm · closest name: Tan

RGB
202, 194, 171
HSL
45°, 23%, 73%
CMYK
0, 4, 15, 21
Luminance
0.5408

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cac2ab is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cac2ab
Hue
45°
yellow
Saturation
23%
soft
Lightness
73%
light
Brightness
79%
HSV value
Perceived
76%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5408
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
26/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
11.82:1
Closest name
Tan
ΔE2000 9.3
Where it sits
Hue45° of 360°
Saturation23%
Lightness73%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool26% 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#cac2ab
RGBrgb(202, 194, 171)
HSLhsl(45, 23%, 73%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 4%, 15%, 21%)
LABlab(78.5 -1.1 12.6)
LCHlch(78.5 12.6 94.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.814 0.033 91.1)
Decimal13288107
Display P3color(display-p3 0.792 0.761 0.671)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cac2ab;
background-color: #cac2ab;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cac2ab] bg-[#cac2ab]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cac2ab;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.792, green: 0.761, blue: 0.671)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cac2ab")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCAC2AB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(171, 194, 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 #cac2ab · 11.82:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.78:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.82:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cac2ab as text scores 1.78:1 on white and 11.82:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cac2ab on white: 1.78:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cac2ab on black: 11.82:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C8C1AA
deuteranopia · #CAC3AC
tritanopia · #CFBEBB

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cac2ab is pinned to step 300; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F9F8F6
#F2F1ED
#E4E1D7
#cac2ab
#BEB498
#A89B75
#96885F
#7D714F
#645B3F
#4A4330
#2E2A1E
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F9F8F6Darkest = 950 · #2E2A1E
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F8F6;
  --brand-100: #F2F1ED;
  --brand-200: #E4E1D7;
  --brand-300: #cac2ab;
  --brand-400: #BEB498;
  --brand-500: #A89B75;
  --brand-600: #96885F;
  --brand-700: #7D714F;
  --brand-800: #645B3F;
  --brand-900: #4A4330;
  --brand-950: #2E2A1E;
  --brand: #cac2ab;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cac2ab

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#F9F8F6
Tinted page background
Border#DFDBCD
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8D7F59
Captions on the surface
Accent#4A6782
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4E4731
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5F4EF
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#221F16
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 #cac2ab

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

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#ABB3CA
Analogous left#CAB2AB
Analogous right#C2CAAB
Split-complement 1#ABC2CA
Split-complement 2#B2ABCA
Triadic 1#ABCAC2
Triadic 2#C2ABCA
Tetradic#ABCAB2

RGB percentages

Red79.2%
Green76.1%
Blue67.1%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta4.0%
Yellow15.3%
Key (black)20.8%

Color previews

#cac2ab text on a black background

contrast 11.82:1

Card sample

#cac2ab text on a white background

contrast 1.78:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cac2ab;
Background color
Panel with #cac2ab background
background-color: #cac2ab;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cac2ab;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(202, 194, 171, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(202, 194, 171, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cac2ab;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cac2ab, #BDCAAB);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cac2ab

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.

#cac2ab 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.

#cac2ab, answered

What color is #cac2ab?

#cac2ab is a light soft yellow, closest to Tan (ΔE2000 9.3). It sits at 45° on the hue wheel with 23% saturation and 73% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cac2ab?

rgb(202, 194, 171) — 202 red, 194 green and 171 blue out of 255, or 79.2% / 76.1% / 67.1% by channel.

Is #cac2ab a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5408 and perceived brightness is 76%, so black text on it reaches 11.82:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cac2ab?

Black. It scores 11.82:1 against #cac2ab, versus 1.78:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cac2ab?

#ABB3CA sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #ABC2CA and #B2ABCA, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cac2ab?

For interface work: #F9F8F6 as the surface, #DFDBCD for borders, #8D7F59 for secondary text, #4A6782 as an accent and #4E4731 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CAB2AB and #C2CAAB stays calm, while #ABB3CA is the loudest partner.

What is #cac2ab in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 4%, 15%, 21%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cac2ab warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 26 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CAB9AB; nudged cooler, #C8CBAA.

Work with #cac2ab in the Color Lab