Skip to content

#cdbab5

a light, soft red · warm · closest name: Silver

RGB
205, 186, 181
HSL
13°, 19%, 76%
CMYK
0, 9, 12, 20
Luminance
0.5143

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cdbab5 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cdbab5
Hue
13°
red
Saturation
19%
soft
Lightness
76%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
75%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5143
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
28/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
11.29:1
Closest name
Silver
ΔE2000 8.3
Where it sits
Hue13° of 360°
Saturation19%
Lightness76%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool28% 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#cdbab5
RGBrgb(205, 186, 181)
HSLhsl(13, 19%, 76%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 9%, 12%, 20%)
LABlab(76.9 5.9 5.0)
LCHlch(76.9 7.7 40.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.803 0.023 35.1)
Decimal13482677
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.729 0.710)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cdbab5;
background-color: #cdbab5;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdbab5] bg-[#cdbab5]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdbab5;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.729, blue: 0.710)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cdbab5")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDBAB5)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(181, 186, 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 #cdbab5 · 11.29:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.86:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.29:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdbab5 as text scores 1.86:1 on white and 11.29:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cdbab5 on white: 1.86:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdbab5 on black: 11.29:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BEBCB5
deuteranopia · #C2BFB5
tritanopia · #D2B8B9

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cdbab5 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.

#F9F7F6
#F2EEED
#E4DBD8
#cdbab5
#BBA19B
#A58279
#926D63
#7A5A52
#614842
#483732
#2D221F
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F9F7F6Darkest = 950 · #2D221F
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F7F6;
  --brand-100: #F2EEED;
  --brand-200: #E4DBD8;
  --brand-300: #cdbab5;
  --brand-400: #BBA19B;
  --brand-500: #A58279;
  --brand-600: #926D63;
  --brand-700: #7A5A52;
  --brand-800: #614842;
  --brand-900: #483732;
  --brand-950: #2D221F;
  --brand: #cdbab5;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cdbab5

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#DED2CE
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#89665C
Captions on the surface
Accent#4E7E7B
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4C3933
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5F1F0
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#211917
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 #cdbab5

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#B5C8CD
Analogous left#CDB5BC
Analogous right#CDC6B5
Split-complement 1#B5CDC6
Split-complement 2#B5BCCD
Triadic 1#B5CDBA
Triadic 2#BAB5CD
Tetradic#BCCDB5

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green72.9%
Blue71.0%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta9.3%
Yellow11.7%
Key (black)19.6%

Color previews

#cdbab5 text on a black background

contrast 11.29:1

Card sample

#cdbab5 text on a white background

contrast 1.86:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cdbab5;
Background color
Panel with #cdbab5 background
background-color: #cdbab5;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cdbab5;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 186, 181, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 186, 181, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdbab5;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdbab5, #CDCAB5);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdbab5

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.

#cdbab5 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.

#cdbab5, answered

What color is #cdbab5?

#cdbab5 is a light soft red, closest to Silver (ΔE2000 8.3). It sits at 13° on the hue wheel with 19% saturation and 76% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cdbab5?

rgb(205, 186, 181) — 205 red, 186 green and 181 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 72.9% / 71% by channel.

Is #cdbab5 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5143 and perceived brightness is 75%, so black text on it reaches 11.29:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdbab5?

Black. It scores 11.29:1 against #cdbab5, versus 1.86:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cdbab5?

#B5C8CD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #B5CDC6 and #B5BCCD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cdbab5?

For interface work: #F9F6F6 as the surface, #DED2CE for borders, #89665C for secondary text, #4E7E7B as an accent and #4C3933 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CDB5BC and #CDC6B5 stays calm, while #B5C8CD is the loudest partner.

What is #cdbab5 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 9%, 12%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cdbab5 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 28 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CDBFB5; nudged cooler, #CEB4B8.

Work with #cdbab5 in the Color Lab