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#cbbc9d

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

RGB
203, 188, 157
HSL
40°, 31%, 71%
CMYK
0, 7, 23, 20
Luminance
0.5110

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cbbc9d is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cbbc9d
Hue
40°
yellow
Saturation
31%
soft
Lightness
71%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
74%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5110
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
14/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
11.22:1
Closest name
Tan
ΔE2000 5.7
Where it sits
Hue40° of 360°
Saturation31%
Lightness71%
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.

Every format

HEX#cbbc9d
RGBrgb(203, 188, 157)
HSLhsl(40, 31%, 71%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 7%, 23%, 20%)
LABlab(76.7 0.4 17.6)
LCHlch(76.7 17.6 88.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.800 0.045 85.2)
Decimal13352093
Display P3color(display-p3 0.796 0.737 0.616)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cbbc9d;
background-color: #cbbc9d;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cbbc9d] bg-[#cbbc9d]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cbbc9d;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.796, green: 0.737, blue: 0.616)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cbbc9d")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCBBC9D)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(157, 188, 203)

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 #cbbc9d · 11.22:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.87:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.22:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cbbc9d as text scores 1.87:1 on white and 11.22:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cbbc9d on white: 1.87:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cbbc9d on black: 11.22:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C4BB9B
deuteranopia · #C8BF9E
tritanopia · #D3B7B3

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cbbc9d 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.

#F9F8F6
#F3F1EC
#E7E1D5
#D8CDB6
#cbbc9d
#B19B6C
#A08755
#857147
#6B5A39
#4E432C
#312A1B
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9F8F6Darkest = 950 · #312A1B
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F8F6;
  --brand-100: #F3F1EC;
  --brand-200: #E7E1D5;
  --brand-300: #D8CDB6;
  --brand-400: #cbbc9d;
  --brand-500: #B19B6C;
  --brand-600: #A08755;
  --brand-700: #857147;
  --brand-800: #6B5A39;
  --brand-900: #4E432C;
  --brand-950: #312A1B;
  --brand: #cbbc9d;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cbbc9d

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#FAF8F5
Tinted page background
Border#E3DBCA
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#967F50
Captions on the surface
Accent#436B89
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#53472C
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6F4EE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241F14
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 #cbbc9d

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#9DACCB
Analogous left#CBA59D
Analogous right#C3CB9D
Split-complement 1#9DC3CB
Split-complement 2#A59DCB
Triadic 1#9DCBBC
Triadic 2#BC9DCB
Tetradic#9DCBA5

RGB percentages

Red79.6%
Green73.7%
Blue61.6%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta7.4%
Yellow22.7%
Key (black)20.4%

Color previews

#cbbc9d text on a black background

contrast 11.22:1

Card sample

#cbbc9d text on a white background

contrast 1.87:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cbbc9d;
Background color
Panel with #cbbc9d background
background-color: #cbbc9d;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cbbc9d;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(203, 188, 157, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(203, 188, 157, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cbbc9d;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cbbc9d, #BBCB9D);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cbbc9d

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.

#cbbc9d 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.

#cbbc9d, answered

What color is #cbbc9d?

#cbbc9d is a light soft yellow, closest to Tan (ΔE2000 5.7). It sits at 40° on the hue wheel with 31% saturation and 71% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cbbc9d?

rgb(203, 188, 157) — 203 red, 188 green and 157 blue out of 255, or 79.6% / 73.7% / 61.6% by channel.

Is #cbbc9d a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5110 and perceived brightness is 74%, so black text on it reaches 11.22:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cbbc9d?

Black. It scores 11.22:1 against #cbbc9d, versus 1.87:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cbbc9d?

#9DACCB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9DC3CB and #A59DCB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cbbc9d?

For interface work: #FAF8F5 as the surface, #E3DBCA for borders, #967F50 for secondary text, #436B89 as an accent and #53472C for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CBA59D and #C3CB9D stays calm, while #9DACCB is the loudest partner.

What is #cbbc9d in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 7%, 23%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cbbc9d 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 #CBB29D; nudged cooler, #CBCD9C.

Work with #cbbc9d in the Color Lab