Skip to content
red · warm

#cba69c

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

Token name suggestion: Morning Rust

RGB
203, 166, 156
HSL
13°, 31%, 70%
CMYK
0, 18, 23, 20
Luminance
0.4237

#cba69c is a light soft red, 13° on the wheel and 14/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (9.47:1). As text it scores 2.22:1 on white — use #A26555 instead. Nearest name is Rosy Brown, nearest Tailwind family is orange.

hsl(13 31% 70%)rgb(203 166 156)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cba69c is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cba69c
Hue
13°
red
Saturation
31%
soft
Lightness
70%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
69%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4237
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
14/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
9.47:1
Closest name
Rosy Brown
ΔE2000 8
Chroma
15.8
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.756
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
orange
500 · ΔE 22.4
Web-safe
#CC9999
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue13° of 360°
Saturation31%
Lightness70%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cba69c.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool14% 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
Red30%
Green64%
Blue6%

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

Every format

HEX#cba69c
HEX (8-digit)#cba69cff
RGBrgb(203, 166, 156)
RGBArgba(203, 166, 156, 1)
HSLhsl(13, 31%, 70%)
HSV / HSBhsv(13, 23%, 80%)
HWBhwb(13 61% 20%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 18%, 23%, 20%)
LABlab(71.1 12.0 10.3)
LCHlch(71.1 15.8 40.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.756 0.046 35.6)
XYZ (D65)xyz(44.27, 42.37, 37.29)
Decimal13346460
Display P3color(display-p3 0.796 0.651 0.612)
Web-safe#CC9999

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cba69c;
background-color: #cba69c;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cba69c;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cba69c] bg-[#cba69c]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cba69c;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.796, green: 0.651, blue: 0.612)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.796, green: 0.651, blue: 0.612, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CBA69C</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCBA69C)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCBA69C)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(156, 166, 203)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(203, 166, 156)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(203, 166, 156)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 203, 166, 156)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7961f, 0.6510f, 0.6118f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{203,166,156}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cba69c 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cba69c 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#54342C, #EADBD7);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cba69c 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: #F9F6F5;
  --brand-100: #F3EEEC;
  --brand-200: #E7D9D5;
  --brand-300: #D8BDB5;
  --brand-400: #cba69c;
  --brand-500: #B27B6C;
  --brand-600: #A06554;
  --brand-700: #865446;
  --brand-800: #6B4338;
  --brand-900: #4F332C;
  --brand-950: #31201B;
  --brand: #cba69c;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF6F5;
  --brand-border: #E3CFCA;
  --brand-hover: #BF9185;
  --brand-pressed: #B27C6D;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241714;
    --brand-ink: #EADBD7;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F6F5',
        100: '#F3EEEC',
        200: '#E7D9D5',
        300: '#D8BDB5',
        400: '#cba69c',
        500: '#B27B6C',
        600: '#A06554',
        700: '#865446',
        800: '#6B4338',
        900: '#4F332C',
        950: '#31201B',
        DEFAULT: '#cba69c',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F6F5,
  '100': #F3EEEC,
  '200': #E7D9D5,
  '300': #D8BDB5,
  '400': #cba69c,
  '500': #B27B6C,
  '600': #A06554,
  '700': #865446,
  '800': #6B4338,
  '900': #4F332C,
  '950': #31201B,
);
$brand-base: #cba69c;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9F6F5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F3EEEC", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E7D9D5", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D8BDB5", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#cba69c", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#B27B6C", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#A06554", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#865446", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#6B4338", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#4F332C", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#31201B", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cba69c · 9.47:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.22:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.47:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cba69c as text scores 2.22:1 on white and 9.47:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #54342C at 4.97:1.

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
#A26555 · 4.64:1
AA on white−22% L
#A26555
The quick fox
#7A4C40 · 7.15:1
AAA on white−34% L
#7A4C40
The quick fox
#cba69c · 9.47:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cba69c
The quick fox
#cba69c · 9.47:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cba69c

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #B9887B 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
#cba69c on white: 2.22:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cba69c on black: 9.47:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cba69c as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cba69c.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.22:1AaAa
Slate 502.12:1AaAa
Slate 1002.02:1AaAa
Slate 2001.80:1AaAa
Slate 3001.49:1AaAa
Slate 4001.16:1AaAa
Slate 5002.15:1AaAa
Slate 6003.42:1AaAa
Slate 7004.67:1AaAa
Slate 8006.60:1AaAa
Slate 9008.05:1AaAa
Black9.47:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #AEAA9B
deuteranopia · #B7B19C
tritanopia · #D4A1A3

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. #cba69c 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.

#F9F6F5
#F3EEEC
#E7D9D5
#D8BDB5
#cba69c
#B27B6C
#A06554
#865446
#6B4338
#4F332C
#31201B
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9F6F5Darkest = 950 · #31201BText step on white = 600
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 0.012 35.6);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.018 35.6);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.028 35.6);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.036 35.6);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.042 35.6);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.046 35.6);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.046 35.6);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.043 35.6);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.039 35.6);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.032 35.6);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.025 35.6);
}

Colors that work with #cba69c

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#FAF6F5
Tinted page background
Border#E3CFCA
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#965E4F
Captions on the surface
Accent#428A87
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#54342C
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6F0EE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241714
Dark-mode background
Hover#BF9185
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B27C6D
Two steps down
Disabled#F0E9E7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D9AEA3
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 #cba69c

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
  • Status meaning — pair it with an icon or label, never colour alone
  • 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 #54342C
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #B9887B

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

urgentappetisingboldphysical

Red arrives before the rest of the page does. It raises attention and appetite, which is why it runs food, sport and clearance pricing.

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

It is also the universal error colour. Use it as a brand accent and users may read a warning that is not there.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight30/100
  • 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#9CC1CB
Analogous left#CB9CAA
Analogous right#CBBE9C
Split-complement 1#9CCBBE
Split-complement 2#9CAACB
Triadic 1#9CCBA6
Triadic 2#A69CCB
Tetradic#AACB9C
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°13°

#cba69c sits at 13°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red79.6%
Green65.1%
Blue61.2%
R · 0–255
203
0xcb
G · 0–255
166
0xa6
B · 0–255
156
0x9c

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta18.2%
Yellow23.2%
Key (black)20.4%

Total ink coverage is 62%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#cba69c text on a black background

contrast 9.47:1

Card sample

#cba69c text on a white background

contrast 2.22:1

Card sample

#cba69c on grey

2.02:1

#cba69c on its own surface

2.07:1

#cba69c on its dark surface

7.84:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cba69c;
Background color
Panel with #cba69c background
background-color: #cba69c;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cba69c;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(203, 166, 156, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(203, 166, 156, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cba69c;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cba69c, #CBC59C);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cba69c, #C5CB9C);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cba69c;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cba69c;
caret-color: #cba69c;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cba69c;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F6F0EE;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cba69c;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cba69c 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cba69c 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(203, 166, 156, 0.5)
rgb(203 166 156 / 50%)
#cba69c80
hsl(13 31% 70% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cba69c 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cba69c1a#FAF6F5
20%#cba69c33#F5EDEB
40%#cba69c66#EADBD7
60%#cba69c99#E0CAC4
80%#cba69ccc#D5B8B0

Gradients from #cba69c

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, #E0CAC4, #cba69c 45%, #54342C);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cba69c, #C0BE88);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cba69c, #9CC1CB);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #EBDCD8 0%, #cba69c 45%, #54342C 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF6F5, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #DDBDC9 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D6CEB0 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #54342C 0%, transparent 65%), #cba69c;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cba69c

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.

#cba69c 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.

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 9.47:1.

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.

#cba69c, answered

What color is #cba69c?

#cba69c is a light soft red, closest to Rosy Brown (ΔE2000 8). It sits at 13° on the hue wheel with 31% saturation and 70% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cba69c?

rgb(203, 166, 156) — 203 red, 166 green and 156 blue out of 255, or 79.6% / 65.1% / 61.2% by channel.

What is #cba69c in HSL and HSV?

hsl(13, 31%, 70%) and hsv(13, 23%, 80%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cba69c a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4237 and perceived brightness is 69%, so black text on it reaches 9.47:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cba69c?

Black. It scores 9.47:1 against #cba69c, versus 2.22:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cba69c accessible on a white background?

#cba69c on white scores 2.22:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #A26555 to reach 4.5:1, or #7A4C40 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cba69c?

#9CC1CB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9CCBBE and #9CAACB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cba69c?

For interface work: #FAF6F5 as the surface, #E3CFCA for borders, #965E4F for secondary text, #428A87 as an accent and #54342C for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CB9CAA and #CBBE9C stays calm, while #9CC1CB is the loudest partner.

What is #cba69c in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 18%, 23%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cba69c warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 14 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CBAE9C; nudged cooler, #CD9BA2.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cba69c?

The orange family — its 500 step is #f97316, ΔE2000 22.4 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cba69c as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cba69c in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cba69c] or text-[#cba69c], 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 #cba69c with 50% opacity?

rgba(203, 166, 156, 0.5), or #cba69c80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E5D3CE; over black, #66534E.

Is #cba69c a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC9999, ΔE2000 6.6 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cba69c mean?

As a red, it reads urgent, appetising, bold. Red arrives before the rest of the page does. It raises attention and appetite, which is why it runs food, sport and clearance pricing. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #cba69c?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E0CAC4, #cba69c 45%, #54342C). For more colour, a short hue run to #C0BE88 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cba69c in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cba69c at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.