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#cdaca4

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

RGB
205, 172, 164
HSL
12°, 29%, 72%
CMYK
0, 16, 20, 20
Luminance
0.4516

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cdaca4 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cdaca4
Hue
12°
red
Saturation
29%
soft
Lightness
72%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
71%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4516
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
17/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
10.03:1
Closest name
Rosy Brown
ΔE2000 9.2
Where it sits
Hue12° of 360°
Saturation29%
Lightness72%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool17% 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#cdaca4
RGBrgb(205, 172, 164)
HSLhsl(12, 29%, 72%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 16%, 20%, 20%)
LABlab(73.0 10.7 8.6)
LCHlch(73.0 13.7 38.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.771 0.040 33.9)
Decimal13479076
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.675 0.643)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cdaca4;
background-color: #cdaca4;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdaca4] bg-[#cdaca4]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdaca4;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.675, blue: 0.643)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cdaca4")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDACA4)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(164, 172, 205)

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 #cdaca4 · 10.03:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.09:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.03:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdaca4 as text scores 2.09:1 on white and 10.03:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cdaca4 on white: 2.09:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdaca4 on black: 10.03:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #B3AFA3
deuteranopia · #BBB6A4
tritanopia · #D5A8AA

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cdaca4 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.

#F9F6F6
#F3EEEC
#E6D9D5
#D7BDB7
#cdaca4
#AF7B6E
#9E6557
#845448
#69433A
#4E332D
#30201C
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9F6F6Darkest = 950 · #30201C
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F6F6;
  --brand-100: #F3EEEC;
  --brand-200: #E6D9D5;
  --brand-300: #D7BDB7;
  --brand-400: #cdaca4;
  --brand-500: #AF7B6E;
  --brand-600: #9E6557;
  --brand-700: #845448;
  --brand-800: #69433A;
  --brand-900: #4E332D;
  --brand-950: #30201C;
  --brand: #cdaca4;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cdaca4

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#E2CFCA
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#945E51
Captions on the surface
Accent#448884
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#52342D
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6F0EF
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241714
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 #cdaca4

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

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#A4C5CD
Analogous left#CDA4B1
Analogous right#CDC1A4
Split-complement 1#A4CDC1
Split-complement 2#A4B1CD
Triadic 1#A4CDAC
Triadic 2#ACA4CD
Tetradic#B1CDA4

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green67.5%
Blue64.3%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta16.1%
Yellow20.0%
Key (black)19.6%

Color previews

#cdaca4 text on a black background

contrast 10.03:1

Card sample

#cdaca4 text on a white background

contrast 2.09:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cdaca4;
Background color
Panel with #cdaca4 background
background-color: #cdaca4;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cdaca4;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 172, 164, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 172, 164, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdaca4;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdaca4, #CDC7A4);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdaca4

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.

#cdaca4 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.

#cdaca4, answered

What color is #cdaca4?

#cdaca4 is a light soft red, closest to Rosy Brown (ΔE2000 9.2). It sits at 12° on the hue wheel with 29% saturation and 72% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cdaca4?

rgb(205, 172, 164) — 205 red, 172 green and 164 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 67.5% / 64.3% by channel.

Is #cdaca4 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4516 and perceived brightness is 71%, so black text on it reaches 10.03:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdaca4?

Black. It scores 10.03:1 against #cdaca4, versus 2.09:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cdaca4?

#A4C5CD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #A4CDC1 and #A4B1CD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cdaca4?

For interface work: #FAF6F5 as the surface, #E2CFCA for borders, #945E51 for secondary text, #448884 as an accent and #52342D for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CDA4B1 and #CDC1A4 stays calm, while #A4C5CD is the loudest partner.

What is #cdaca4 in CMYK for printing?

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

Is #cdaca4 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 17 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CDB4A4; nudged cooler, #CFA3AA.

Work with #cdaca4 in the Color Lab