Skip to content

#cdb0ae

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

RGB
205, 176, 174
HSL
4°, 24%, 74%
CMYK
0, 14, 15, 20
Luminance
0.4709

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cdb0ae is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cdb0ae
Hue
red
Saturation
24%
soft
Lightness
74%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
73%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4709
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
26/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
10.42:1
Closest name
Rosy Brown
ΔE2000 9.9
Where it sits
Hue4° of 360°
Saturation24%
Lightness74%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool26% 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#cdb0ae
RGBrgb(205, 176, 174)
HSLhsl(4, 24%, 74%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 14%, 15%, 20%)
LABlab(74.3 10.1 4.9)
LCHlch(74.3 11.3 25.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.782 0.034 22.6)
Decimal13480110
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.690 0.682)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cdb0ae;
background-color: #cdb0ae;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdb0ae] bg-[#cdb0ae]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdb0ae;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.690, blue: 0.682)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cdb0ae")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDB0AE)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(174, 176, 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 #cdb0ae · 10.42:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.02:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.42:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdb0ae as text scores 2.02:1 on white and 10.42:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cdb0ae on white: 2.02:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdb0ae on black: 10.42:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #B5B3AE
deuteranopia · #BCB9AE
tritanopia · #D4ADB0

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cdb0ae is pinned to step 300; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F9F6F6
#F3EDED
#E5D8D7
#cdb0ae
#BF9997
#A97874
#97615D
#7E514E
#65413E
#4B3230
#2F1F1E
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F9F6F6Darkest = 950 · #2F1F1E
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F6F6;
  --brand-100: #F3EDED;
  --brand-200: #E5D8D7;
  --brand-300: #cdb0ae;
  --brand-400: #BF9997;
  --brand-500: #A97874;
  --brand-600: #97615D;
  --brand-700: #7E514E;
  --brand-800: #65413E;
  --brand-900: #4B3230;
  --brand-950: #2F1F1E;
  --brand: #cdb0ae;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cdb0ae

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#F9F6F6
Tinted page background
Border#E0CECD
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8E5B58
Captions on the surface
Accent#498378
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4F3331
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5F0EF
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#231615
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 #cdb0ae

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#AECBCD
Analogous left#CDAEBB
Analogous right#CDBFAE
Split-complement 1#AECDBF
Split-complement 2#AEBBCD
Triadic 1#AECDB0
Triadic 2#B0AECD
Tetradic#BBCDAE

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green69.0%
Blue68.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta14.1%
Yellow15.1%
Key (black)19.6%

Color previews

#cdb0ae text on a black background

contrast 10.42:1

Card sample

#cdb0ae text on a white background

contrast 2.02:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cdb0ae;
Background color
Panel with #cdb0ae background
background-color: #cdb0ae;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cdb0ae;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 176, 174, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 176, 174, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdb0ae;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdb0ae, #CDC5AE);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdb0ae

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.

#cdb0ae 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.

#cdb0ae, answered

What color is #cdb0ae?

#cdb0ae is a light soft red, closest to Rosy Brown (ΔE2000 9.9). It sits at 4° on the hue wheel with 24% saturation and 74% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cdb0ae?

rgb(205, 176, 174) — 205 red, 176 green and 174 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 69% / 68.2% by channel.

Is #cdb0ae a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4709 and perceived brightness is 73%, so black text on it reaches 10.42:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdb0ae?

Black. It scores 10.42:1 against #cdb0ae, versus 2.02:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cdb0ae?

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

What colors go well with #cdb0ae?

For interface work: #F9F6F6 as the surface, #E0CECD for borders, #8E5B58 for secondary text, #498378 as an accent and #4F3331 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CDAEBB and #CDBFAE stays calm, while #AECBCD is the loudest partner.

What is #cdb0ae in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 14%, 15%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cdb0ae warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 26 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CDBAAE; nudged cooler, #CEADB7.

Work with #cdb0ae in the Color Lab