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orange · warm

#cbab97

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

Token name suggestion: Meadow Marmalade

RGB
203, 171, 151
HSL
23°, 33%, 69%
CMYK
0, 16, 26, 20
Luminance
0.4406

#cbab97 is a light soft orange, 23° on the wheel and 6/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (9.81:1). As text it scores 2.14:1 on white — use #9A6B4D instead. Nearest name is Tan, nearest Tailwind family is amber.

hsl(23 33% 69%)rgb(203 171 151)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cbab97 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cbab97
Hue
23°
orange
Saturation
33%
soft
Lightness
69%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
70%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4406
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
6/100 cool
Color family
Orange
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
9.81:1
Closest name
Tan
ΔE2000 8
Chroma
17.0
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.764
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
amber
500 · ΔE 20.4
Web-safe
#CC9999
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue23° of 360°
Saturation33%
Lightness69%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cbab97.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool6% 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
Red29%
Green66%
Blue5%

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

Every format

HEX#cbab97
HEX (8-digit)#cbab97ff
RGBrgb(203, 171, 151)
RGBArgba(203, 171, 151, 1)
HSLhsl(23, 33%, 69%)
HSV / HSBhsv(23, 26%, 80%)
HWBhwb(23 59% 20%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 16%, 26%, 20%)
LABlab(72.3 8.6 14.6)
LCHlch(72.3 17.0 59.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.764 0.047 53.8)
XYZ (D65)xyz(44.78, 44.06, 35.42)
Decimal13347735
Display P3color(display-p3 0.796 0.671 0.592)
Web-safe#CC9999

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cbab97;
background-color: #cbab97;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cbab97;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cbab97] bg-[#cbab97]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cbab97;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.796, green: 0.671, blue: 0.592)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.796, green: 0.671, blue: 0.592, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CBAB97</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCBAB97)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCBAB97)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(151, 171, 203)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(203, 171, 151)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(203, 171, 151)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 203, 171, 151)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7961f, 0.6706f, 0.5922f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{203,171,151}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cbab97 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cbab97 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#553B2B, #EBDED6);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cbab97 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: #F9F7F5;
  --brand-100: #F4EFEC;
  --brand-200: #E8DCD4;
  --brand-300: #DAC3B4;
  --brand-400: #cbab97;
  --brand-500: #B48669;
  --brand-600: #A37152;
  --brand-700: #885E44;
  --brand-800: #6D4B36;
  --brand-900: #50392A;
  --brand-950: #32241B;
  --brand: #cbab97;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF7F5;
  --brand-border: #E4D3C9;
  --brand-hover: #BF987F;
  --brand-pressed: #B38567;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241A14;
    --brand-ink: #EBDED6;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F7F5',
        100: '#F4EFEC',
        200: '#E8DCD4',
        300: '#DAC3B4',
        400: '#cbab97',
        500: '#B48669',
        600: '#A37152',
        700: '#885E44',
        800: '#6D4B36',
        900: '#50392A',
        950: '#32241B',
        DEFAULT: '#cbab97',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F7F5,
  '100': #F4EFEC,
  '200': #E8DCD4,
  '300': #DAC3B4,
  '400': #cbab97,
  '500': #B48669,
  '600': #A37152,
  '700': #885E44,
  '800': #6D4B36,
  '900': #50392A,
  '950': #32241B,
);
$brand-base: #cbab97;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9F7F5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F4EFEC", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E8DCD4", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#DAC3B4", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#cbab97", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#B48669", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#A37152", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#885E44", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#6D4B36", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#50392A", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#32241B", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cbab97 · 9.81:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.14:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.81:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cbab97 as text scores 2.14:1 on white and 9.81:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #553B2B at 4.79:1.

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
#9A6B4D · 4.58:1
AA on white−24% L
#9A6B4D
The quick fox
#75513B · 7.01:1
AAA on white−35% L
#75513B
The quick fox
#cbab97 · 9.81:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cbab97
The quick fox
#cbab97 · 9.81:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cbab97

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #B78A6E 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
#cbab97 on white: 2.14:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cbab97 on black: 9.81:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cbab97 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cbab97.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.14:1AaAa
Slate 502.05:1AaAa
Slate 1001.95:1AaAa
Slate 2001.74:1AaAa
Slate 3001.44:1AaAa
Slate 4001.20:1AaAa
Slate 5002.22:1AaAa
Slate 6003.54:1AaAa
Slate 7004.84:1AaAa
Slate 8006.83:1AaAa
Slate 9008.34:1AaAa
Black9.81:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #B4AD96
deuteranopia · #BBB497
tritanopia · #D5A5A5

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. #cbab97 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.

#F9F7F5
#F4EFEC
#E8DCD4
#DAC3B4
#cbab97
#B48669
#A37152
#885E44
#6D4B36
#50392A
#32241B
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9F7F5Darkest = 950 · #32241BText step on white = 700
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 53.8);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.019 53.8);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.028 53.8);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.036 53.8);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.043 53.8);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.047 53.8);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.047 53.8);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.044 53.8);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.039 53.8);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.033 53.8);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.026 53.8);
}

Colors that work with #cbab97

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#FAF7F5
Tinted page background
Border#E4D3C9
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#996A4D
Captions on the surface
Accent#40818C
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#553B2B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6F1EE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241A14
Dark-mode background
Hover#BF987F
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B38567
Two steps down
Disabled#EEE8E4
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D9B49E
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 #cbab97

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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #553B2B
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #B78A6E

Meaning and mood

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

friendlyenergeticaffordablesocial

Orange is red with the aggression taken out — approachable, active, and strongly associated with buying and doing.

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

Hard to make feel premium, and it collides with the "caution" band in status systems.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight31/100
  • 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#97B7CB
Analogous left#CB979D
Analogous right#CBC597
Split-complement 1#97CBC5
Split-complement 2#979DCB
Triadic 1#97CBAB
Triadic 2#AB97CB
Tetradic#9DCB97
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°23°

#cbab97 sits at 23°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red79.6%
Green67.1%
Blue59.2%
R · 0–255
203
0xcb
G · 0–255
171
0xab
B · 0–255
151
0x97

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta15.8%
Yellow25.6%
Key (black)20.4%

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

Color previews

#cbab97 text on a black background

contrast 9.81:1

Card sample

#cbab97 text on a white background

contrast 2.14:1

Card sample

#cbab97 on grey

1.95:1

#cbab97 on its own surface

2.01:1

#cbab97 on its dark surface

7.96:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cbab97;
Background color
Panel with #cbab97 background
background-color: #cbab97;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cbab97;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(203, 171, 151, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(203, 171, 151, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cbab97;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cbab97, #C8CB97);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cbab97, #BBCB97);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cbab97;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cbab97;
caret-color: #cbab97;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cbab97;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F6F1EE;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cbab97;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cbab97 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cbab97 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, 171, 151, 0.5)
rgb(203 171 151 / 50%)
#cbab9780
hsl(23 33% 69% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cbab97 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cbab971a#FAF7F5
20%#cbab9733#F5EEEA
40%#cbab9766#EADDD5
60%#cbab9799#E0CDC1
80%#cbab97cc#D5BCAC

Gradients from #cbab97

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, #DFCCC0, #cbab97 45%, #553B2B);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cbab97, #B8C183);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cbab97, #97B7CB);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #EADCD4 0%, #cbab97 45%, #553B2B 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF7F5, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #DCB9C0 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D5D4AB 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #553B2B 0%, transparent 65%), #cbab97;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cbab97

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.

#cbab97 in the real world

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

Industries
E-commerceFood deliveryLogisticsCreator tools
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 9.81:1.

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.

#cbab97, answered

What color is #cbab97?

#cbab97 is a light soft orange, closest to Tan (ΔE2000 8). It sits at 23° on the hue wheel with 33% saturation and 69% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cbab97?

rgb(203, 171, 151) — 203 red, 171 green and 151 blue out of 255, or 79.6% / 67.1% / 59.2% by channel.

What is #cbab97 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(23, 33%, 69%) and hsv(23, 26%, 80%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cbab97 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4406 and perceived brightness is 70%, so black text on it reaches 9.81:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cbab97?

Black. It scores 9.81:1 against #cbab97, versus 2.14:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cbab97 accessible on a white background?

#cbab97 on white scores 2.14:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #9A6B4D to reach 4.5:1, or #75513B for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cbab97?

#97B7CB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #97CBC5 and #979DCB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cbab97?

For interface work: #FAF7F5 as the surface, #E4D3C9 for borders, #996A4D for secondary text, #40818C as an accent and #553B2B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CB979D and #CBC597 stays calm, while #97B7CB is the loudest partner.

What is #cbab97 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 16%, 26%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cbab97 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 6 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #D3BAA8; nudged cooler, #CD9695.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cbab97?

The amber family — its 500 step is #f59e0b, ΔE2000 20.4 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cbab97 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cbab97 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cbab97] or text-[#cbab97], 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 #cbab97 with 50% opacity?

rgba(203, 171, 151, 0.5), or #cbab9780 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E5D5CB; over black, #66564C.

Is #cbab97 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC9999, ΔE2000 11.9 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cbab97 mean?

As a orange, it reads friendly, energetic, affordable. Orange is red with the aggression taken out — approachable, active, and strongly associated with buying and doing. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #cbab97?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #DFCCC0, #cbab97 45%, #553B2B). For more colour, a short hue run to #B8C183 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cbab97 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cbab97 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.