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#ccc59f

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

RGB
204, 197, 159
HSL
51°, 31%, 71%
CMYK
0, 3, 22, 20
Luminance
0.5527

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ccc59f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ccc59f
Hue
51°
yellow
Saturation
31%
soft
Lightness
71%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
77%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5527
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
21/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
12.05:1
Closest name
Wheat
ΔE2000 8.8
Where it sits
Hue51° of 360°
Saturation31%
Lightness71%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool21% 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#ccc59f
RGBrgb(204, 197, 159)
HSLhsl(51, 31%, 71%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 3%, 22%, 20%)
LABlab(79.2 -3.7 20.0)
LCHlch(79.2 20.3 100.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.819 0.052 98.7)
Decimal13419935
Display P3color(display-p3 0.800 0.773 0.624)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ccc59f;
background-color: #ccc59f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ccc59f] bg-[#ccc59f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ccc59f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.800, green: 0.773, blue: 0.624)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ccc59f")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCCC59F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(159, 197, 204)

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 #ccc59f · 12.05:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.74:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.05:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ccc59f as text scores 1.74:1 on white and 12.05:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ccc59f on white: 1.74:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ccc59f on black: 12.05:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #CDC29D
deuteranopia · #CFC5A0
tritanopia · #D3BFBB

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ccc59f 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.

#F9F9F6
#F3F2EC
#E7E4D5
#D8D3B6
#ccc59f
#B1A66C
#A09455
#857C47
#6B6339
#4E492C
#312E1B
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9F9F6Darkest = 950 · #312E1B
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F9F6;
  --brand-100: #F3F2EC;
  --brand-200: #E7E4D5;
  --brand-300: #D8D3B6;
  --brand-400: #ccc59f;
  --brand-500: #B1A66C;
  --brand-600: #A09455;
  --brand-700: #857C47;
  --brand-800: #6B6339;
  --brand-900: #4E492C;
  --brand-950: #312E1B;
  --brand: #ccc59f;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ccc59f

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#FAF9F5
Tinted page background
Border#E3DFCA
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#968B50
Captions on the surface
Accent#436089
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#534D2C
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6F5EE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242214
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 #ccc59f

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#9FA6CC
Analogous left#CCAF9F
Analogous right#BDCC9F
Split-complement 1#9FBDCC
Split-complement 2#AF9FCC
Triadic 1#9FCCC5
Triadic 2#C59FCC
Tetradic#9FCCAF

RGB percentages

Red80.0%
Green77.3%
Blue62.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta3.4%
Yellow22.1%
Key (black)20.0%

Color previews

#ccc59f text on a black background

contrast 12.05:1

Card sample

#ccc59f text on a white background

contrast 1.74:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ccc59f;
Background color
Panel with #ccc59f background
background-color: #ccc59f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ccc59f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(204, 197, 159, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(204, 197, 159, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ccc59f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ccc59f, #B5CC9F);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ccc59f

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.

#ccc59f 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.

#ccc59f, answered

What color is #ccc59f?

#ccc59f is a light soft yellow, closest to Wheat (ΔE2000 8.8). It sits at 51° on the hue wheel with 31% saturation and 71% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ccc59f?

rgb(204, 197, 159) — 204 red, 197 green and 159 blue out of 255, or 80% / 77.3% / 62.4% by channel.

Is #ccc59f a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5527 and perceived brightness is 77%, so black text on it reaches 12.05:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ccc59f?

Black. It scores 12.05:1 against #ccc59f, versus 1.74:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ccc59f?

#9FA6CC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9FBDCC and #AF9FCC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ccc59f?

For interface work: #FAF9F5 as the surface, #E3DFCA for borders, #968B50 for secondary text, #436089 as an accent and #534D2C for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CCAF9F and #BDCC9F stays calm, while #9FA6CC is the loudest partner.

What is #ccc59f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 3%, 22%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ccc59f warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 21 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CCB59F; nudged cooler, #C3CE9E.

Work with #ccc59f in the Color Lab