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orange · warm

#cdac94

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

Token name suggestion: Morning Apricot

RGB
205, 172, 148
HSL
25°, 36%, 69%
CMYK
0, 16, 28, 20
Luminance
0.4462

#cdac94 is a light soft orange, 25° on the wheel and 3/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (9.92:1). As text it scores 2.12:1 on white — use #9A6A48 instead. Nearest name is Tan, nearest Tailwind family is amber.

hsl(25 36% 69%)rgb(205 172 148)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cdac94 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cdac94
Hue
25°
orange
Saturation
36%
soft
Lightness
69%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
71%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4462
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
3/100 cool
Color family
Orange
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
9.92:1
Closest name
Tan
ΔE2000 6.5
Chroma
18.8
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.767
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
amber
500 · ΔE 19.3
Web-safe
#CC9999
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue25° of 360°
Saturation36%
Lightness69%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cdac94.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool3% 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#cdac94
HEX (8-digit)#cdac94ff
RGBrgb(205, 172, 148)
RGBArgba(205, 172, 148, 1)
HSLhsl(25, 36%, 69%)
HSV / HSBhsv(25, 28%, 80%)
HWBhwb(25 58% 20%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 16%, 28%, 20%)
LABlab(72.6 8.4 16.8)
LCHlch(72.6 18.8 63.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.767 0.051 57.9)
XYZ (D65)xyz(45.28, 44.62, 34.24)
Decimal13479060
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.675 0.580)
Web-safe#CC9999

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cdac94;
background-color: #cdac94;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cdac94;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdac94] bg-[#cdac94]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdac94;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.675, blue: 0.580)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.804, green: 0.675, blue: 0.580, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CDAC94</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCDAC94)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDAC94)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(148, 172, 205)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(205, 172, 148)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(205, 172, 148)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 205, 172, 148)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8039f, 0.6745f, 0.5804f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{205,172,148}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cdac94 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cdac94 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#573C29, #ECDFD5);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cdac94 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: #FAF7F5;
  --brand-100: #F4EFEB;
  --brand-200: #E8DCD3;
  --brand-300: #DBC4B3;
  --brand-400: #cdac94;
  --brand-500: #B88866;
  --brand-600: #A7734E;
  --brand-700: #8B6041;
  --brand-800: #6F4D34;
  --brand-900: #523A29;
  --brand-950: #332419;
  --brand: #cdac94;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF7F5;
  --brand-border: #E5D4C7;
  --brand-hover: #C2997C;
  --brand-pressed: #B68663;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241B14;
    --brand-ink: #ECDFD5;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FAF7F5',
        100: '#F4EFEB',
        200: '#E8DCD3',
        300: '#DBC4B3',
        400: '#cdac94',
        500: '#B88866',
        600: '#A7734E',
        700: '#8B6041',
        800: '#6F4D34',
        900: '#523A29',
        950: '#332419',
        DEFAULT: '#cdac94',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FAF7F5,
  '100': #F4EFEB,
  '200': #E8DCD3,
  '300': #DBC4B3,
  '400': #cdac94,
  '500': #B88866,
  '600': #A7734E,
  '700': #8B6041,
  '800': #6F4D34,
  '900': #523A29,
  '950': #332419,
);
$brand-base: #cdac94;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FAF7F5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F4EFEB", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E8DCD3", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#DBC4B3", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#cdac94", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#B88866", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#A7734E", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#8B6041", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#6F4D34", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#523A29", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#332419", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cdac94 · 9.92:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.12:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.92:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdac94 as text scores 2.12:1 on white and 9.92:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #573C29 at 4.76:1.

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
#9A6A48 · 4.64:1
AA on white−25% L
#9A6A48
The quick fox
#735036 · 7.17:1
AAA on white−36% L
#735036
The quick fox
#cdac94 · 9.92:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cdac94
The quick fox
#cdac94 · 9.92:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cdac94

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #B88967 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
#cdac94 on white: 2.12:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdac94 on black: 9.92:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cdac94 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cdac94.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.12:1AaAa
Slate 502.02:1AaAa
Slate 1001.93:1AaAa
Slate 2001.72:1AaAa
Slate 3001.43:1AaAa
Slate 4001.21:1AaAa
Slate 5002.25:1AaAa
Slate 6003.58:1AaAa
Slate 7004.89:1AaAa
Slate 8006.91:1AaAa
Slate 9008.44:1AaAa
Black9.92:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #B6AE92
deuteranopia · #BDB594
tritanopia · #D7A6A5

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. #cdac94 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.

#FAF7F5
#F4EFEB
#E8DCD3
#DBC4B3
#cdac94
#B88866
#A7734E
#8B6041
#6F4D34
#523A29
#332419
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FAF7F5Darkest = 950 · #332419Text 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 0.013 57.9);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.020 57.9);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.031 57.9);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.040 57.9);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.047 57.9);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.051 57.9);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.051 57.9);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.048 57.9);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.043 57.9);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.036 57.9);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.028 57.9);
}

Colors that work with #cdac94

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#E5D4C7
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B6C4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#3D818F
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#573C29
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F7F2EE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241B14
Dark-mode background
Hover#C2997C
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B68663
Two steps down
Disabled#EDE8E4
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#DAB69B
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 #cdac94

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 #573C29
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #B88967

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#94B5CD
Analogous left#CD9498
Analogous right#CDC994
Split-complement 1#94CDC9
Split-complement 2#9498CD
Triadic 1#94CDAC
Triadic 2#AC94CD
Tetradic#98CD94
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°25°

#cdac94 sits at 25°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green67.5%
Blue58.0%
R · 0–255
205
0xcd
G · 0–255
172
0xac
B · 0–255
148
0x94

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta16.1%
Yellow27.8%
Key (black)19.6%

Total ink coverage is 64%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#cdac94 text on a black background

contrast 9.92:1

Card sample

#cdac94 text on a white background

contrast 2.12:1

Card sample

#cdac94 on grey

1.93:1

#cdac94 on its own surface

1.98:1

#cdac94 on its dark surface

7.99:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cdac94;
Background color
Panel with #cdac94 background
background-color: #cdac94;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cdac94;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 172, 148, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 172, 148, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdac94;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdac94, #C8CD94);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cdac94, #BACD94);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cdac94;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cdac94;
caret-color: #cdac94;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cdac94;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F7F2EE;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cdac94;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cdac94 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cdac94 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(205, 172, 148, 0.5)
rgb(205 172 148 / 50%)
#cdac9480
hsl(25 36% 69% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cdac94 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cdac941a#FAF7F4
20%#cdac9433#F5EEEA
40%#cdac9466#EBDED4
60%#cdac9499#E1CDBF
80%#cdac94cc#D7BDA9

Gradients from #cdac94

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, #E0CCBE, #cdac94 45%, #573C29);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cdac94, #B8C37F);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cdac94, #94B5CD);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #EADDD3 0%, #cdac94 45%, #573C29 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%, #DDB7BD 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D6D7A9 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #573C29 0%, transparent 65%), #cdac94;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdac94

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.

#cdac94 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 9.92:1.

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.

#cdac94, answered

What color is #cdac94?

#cdac94 is a light soft orange, closest to Tan (ΔE2000 6.5). It sits at 25° on the hue wheel with 36% saturation and 69% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cdac94?

rgb(205, 172, 148) — 205 red, 172 green and 148 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 67.5% / 58% by channel.

What is #cdac94 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(25, 36%, 69%) and hsv(25, 28%, 80%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cdac94 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4462 and perceived brightness is 71%, so black text on it reaches 9.92:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdac94?

Black. It scores 9.92:1 against #cdac94, versus 2.12:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cdac94 accessible on a white background?

#cdac94 on white scores 2.12:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #9A6A48 to reach 4.5:1, or #735036 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cdac94?

#94B5CD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #94CDC9 and #9498CD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cdac94?

For interface work: #FAF7F5 as the surface, #E5D4C7 for borders, #9B6C4B for secondary text, #3D818F as an accent and #573C29 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CD9498 and #CDC994 stays calm, while #94B5CD is the loudest partner.

What is #cdac94 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 16%, 28%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cdac94 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 3 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #D5BAA5; nudged cooler, #CF9692.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cdac94?

The amber family — its 500 step is #f59e0b, ΔE2000 19.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cdac94 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cdac94 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cdac94] or text-[#cdac94], 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 #cdac94 with 50% opacity?

rgba(205, 172, 148, 0.5), or #cdac9480 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E6D6CA; over black, #67564A.

Is #cdac94 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC9999, ΔE2000 13.3 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cdac94 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 #cdac94?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E0CCBE, #cdac94 45%, #573C29). For more colour, a short hue run to #B8C37F keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cdac94 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cdac94 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.