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orange · warm

#cdbda3

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

Token name suggestion: Meadow Amber

RGB
205, 189, 163
HSL
37°, 30%, 72%
CMYK
0, 8, 21, 20
Luminance
0.5202

#cdbda3 is a light soft orange, 37° on the wheel and 13/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (11.40:1). As text it scores 1.84:1 on white — use #8B734C instead. Nearest name is Tan, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(37 30% 72%)rgb(205 189 163)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cdbda3 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cdbda3
Hue
37°
orange
Saturation
30%
soft
Lightness
72%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
75%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5202
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
13/100 cool
Color family
Orange
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
11.40:1
Closest name
Tan
ΔE2000 5.9
Chroma
15.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.805
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 20.3
Web-safe
#CCCC99
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue37° of 360°
Saturation30%
Lightness72%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cdbda3.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool13% 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
Red25%
Green70%
Blue5%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#cdbda3
HEX (8-digit)#cdbda3ff
RGBrgb(205, 189, 163)
RGBArgba(205, 189, 163, 1)
HSLhsl(37, 30%, 72%)
HSV / HSBhsv(37, 20%, 80%)
HWBhwb(37 64% 20%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 8%, 21%, 20%)
LABlab(77.3 1.5 15.2)
LCHlch(77.3 15.3 84.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.805 0.040 80.0)
XYZ (D65)xyz(49.99, 52.02, 42.05)
Decimal13483427
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.741 0.639)
Web-safe#CCCC99

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cdbda3;
background-color: #cdbda3;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cdbda3;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdbda3] bg-[#cdbda3]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdbda3;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.741, blue: 0.639)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.804, green: 0.741, blue: 0.639, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CDBDA3</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCDBDA3)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDBDA3)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(163, 189, 205)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(205, 189, 163)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(205, 189, 163)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 205, 189, 163)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8039f, 0.7412f, 0.6392f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{205,189,163}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cdbda3 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cdbda3 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#53442D, #E9E3D7);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cdbda3 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: #F9F8F6;
  --brand-100: #F3F1EC;
  --brand-200: #E6E0D5;
  --brand-300: #D8CBB6;
  --brand-400: #cdbda3;
  --brand-500: #B0976E;
  --brand-600: #9F8356;
  --brand-700: #846D48;
  --brand-800: #6A5739;
  --brand-900: #4E412D;
  --brand-950: #31291C;
  --brand: #cdbda3;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF8F5;
  --brand-border: #E2D9CA;
  --brand-hover: #C1AC8C;
  --brand-pressed: #B49C75;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241E14;
    --brand-ink: #E9E3D7;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F8F6',
        100: '#F3F1EC',
        200: '#E6E0D5',
        300: '#D8CBB6',
        400: '#cdbda3',
        500: '#B0976E',
        600: '#9F8356',
        700: '#846D48',
        800: '#6A5739',
        900: '#4E412D',
        950: '#31291C',
        DEFAULT: '#cdbda3',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F8F6,
  '100': #F3F1EC,
  '200': #E6E0D5,
  '300': #D8CBB6,
  '400': #cdbda3,
  '500': #B0976E,
  '600': #9F8356,
  '700': #846D48,
  '800': #6A5739,
  '900': #4E412D,
  '950': #31291C,
);
$brand-base: #cdbda3;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9F8F6", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F3F1EC", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E6E0D5", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D8CBB6", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#cdbda3", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#B0976E", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#9F8356", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#846D48", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#6A5739", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#4E412D", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#31291C", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cdbda3 · 11.40:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.84:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.40:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdbda3 as text scores 1.84:1 on white and 11.40:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #53442D at 5.11:1.

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
#8B734C · 4.51:1
AA on white−30% L
#8B734C
The quick fox
#675538 · 7.16:1
AAA on white−41% L
#675538
The quick fox
#cdbda3 · 11.40:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cdbda3
The quick fox
#cdbda3 · 11.40:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cdbda3

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #AB9064 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
#cdbda3 on white: 1.84:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdbda3 on black: 11.40:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cdbda3 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cdbda3.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.84:1AaAa
Slate 501.76:1AaAa
Slate 1001.68:1AaAa
Slate 2001.49:1AaAa
Slate 3001.24:1AaAa
Slate 4001.39:1AaAa
Slate 5002.58:1AaAa
Slate 6004.11:1AaAa
Slate 7005.62:1AaAa
Slate 8007.94:1AaAa
Slate 9009.69:1AaAa
Black11.40:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #C4BDA1
deuteranopia · #C8C1A4
tritanopia · #D5B8B6

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. #cdbda3 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.

#F9F8F6
#F3F1EC
#E6E0D5
#D8CBB6
#cdbda3
#B0976E
#9F8356
#846D48
#6A5739
#4E412D
#31291C
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9F8F6Darkest = 950 · #31291CText 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 0.010 80.0);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.016 80.0);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.024 80.0);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.031 80.0);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.037 80.0);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.040 80.0);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.040 80.0);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.037 80.0);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.033 80.0);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.028 80.0);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.022 80.0);
}

Colors that work with #cdbda3

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#FAF8F5
Tinted page background
Border#E2D9CA
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#957B51
Captions on the surface
Accent#446F88
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#53442D
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6F3EE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241E14
Dark-mode background
Hover#C1AC8C
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B49C75
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F1ED
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#DAC8AA
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 #cdbda3

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 #53442D
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #AB9064

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
  • Weight28/100
  • 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#A3B3CD
Analogous left#CDA8A3
Analogous right#C8CDA3
Split-complement 1#A3C8CD
Split-complement 2#A8A3CD
Triadic 1#A3CDBD
Triadic 2#BDA3CD
Tetradic#A3CDA8
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°37°

#cdbda3 sits at 37°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green74.1%
Blue63.9%
R · 0–255
205
0xcd
G · 0–255
189
0xbd
B · 0–255
163
0xa3

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta7.8%
Yellow20.5%
Key (black)19.6%

Total ink coverage is 48%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#cdbda3 text on a black background

contrast 11.40:1

Card sample

#cdbda3 text on a white background

contrast 1.84:1

Card sample

#cdbda3 on grey

1.68:1

#cdbda3 on its own surface

1.74:1

#cdbda3 on its dark surface

8.97:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cdbda3;
Background color
Panel with #cdbda3 background
background-color: #cdbda3;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cdbda3;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 189, 163, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 189, 163, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdbda3;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdbda3, #C1CDA3);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cdbda3, #B7CDA3);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cdbda3;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cdbda3;
caret-color: #cdbda3;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cdbda3;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F6F3EE;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cdbda3;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cdbda3 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cdbda3 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, 189, 163, 0.5)
rgb(205 189 163 / 50%)
#cdbda380
hsl(37 30% 72% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cdbda3 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cdbda31a#FAF8F6
20%#cdbda333#F5F2ED
40%#cdbda366#EBE5DA
60%#cdbda399#E1D7C8
80%#cdbda3cc#D7CAB5

Gradients from #cdbda3

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, #E3DACB, #cdbda3 45%, #53442D);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cdbda3, #B0C28F);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cdbda3, #A3B3CD);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #EDE8DF 0%, #cdbda3 45%, #53442D 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF8F5, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #DFC5C4 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D1D8B7 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #53442D 0%, transparent 65%), #cdbda3;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdbda3

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.

#cdbda3 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 11.40:1.

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.

#cdbda3, answered

What color is #cdbda3?

#cdbda3 is a light soft orange, closest to Tan (ΔE2000 5.9). It sits at 37° on the hue wheel with 30% saturation and 72% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cdbda3?

rgb(205, 189, 163) — 205 red, 189 green and 163 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 74.1% / 63.9% by channel.

What is #cdbda3 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(37, 30%, 72%) and hsv(37, 20%, 80%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cdbda3 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5202 and perceived brightness is 75%, so black text on it reaches 11.40:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdbda3?

Black. It scores 11.40:1 against #cdbda3, versus 1.84:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cdbda3 accessible on a white background?

#cdbda3 on white scores 1.84:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #8B734C to reach 4.5:1, or #675538 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cdbda3?

#A3B3CD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #A3C8CD and #A8A3CD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cdbda3?

For interface work: #FAF8F5 as the surface, #E2D9CA for borders, #957B51 for secondary text, #446F88 as an accent and #53442D for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CDA8A3 and #C8CDA3 stays calm, while #A3B3CD is the loudest partner.

What is #cdbda3 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 8%, 21%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cdbda3 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 13 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CDB6A3; nudged cooler, #CFCEA2.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cdbda3?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 20.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cdbda3 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cdbda3 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cdbda3] or text-[#cdbda3], 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 #cdbda3 with 50% opacity?

rgba(205, 189, 163, 0.5), or #cdbda380 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E6DED1; over black, #675F52.

Is #cdbda3 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCC99, ΔE2000 10.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cdbda3 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 #cdbda3?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E3DACB, #cdbda3 45%, #53442D). For more colour, a short hue run to #B0C28F keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cdbda3 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cdbda3 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.