Skip to content
yellow · warm

#cdc29d

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

Token name suggestion: Linen Honey

RGB
205, 194, 157
HSL
46°, 32%, 71%
CMYK
0, 5, 23, 20
Luminance
0.5400

#cdc29d is a light soft yellow, 46° on the wheel and 16/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (11.80:1). As text it scores 1.78:1 on white — use #847543 instead. Nearest name is Tan, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(46 32% 71%)rgb(205 194 157)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cdc29d is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cdc29d
Hue
46°
yellow
Saturation
32%
soft
Lightness
71%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
76%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5400
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
16/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
11.80:1
Closest name
Tan
ΔE2000 7.7
Chroma
20.1
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.814
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 18.9
Web-safe
#CCCC99
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue46° of 360°
Saturation32%
Lightness71%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cdc29d.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool16% 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
Red24%
Green71%
Blue5%

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

Every format

HEX#cdc29d
HEX (8-digit)#cdc29dff
RGBrgb(205, 194, 157)
RGBArgba(205, 194, 157, 1)
HSLhsl(46, 32%, 71%)
HSV / HSBhsv(46, 23%, 80%)
HWBhwb(46 62% 20%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 5%, 23%, 20%)
LABlab(78.5 -2.0 20.0)
LCHlch(78.5 20.1 95.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.814 0.051 93.4)
XYZ (D65)xyz(50.55, 54.00, 39.65)
Decimal13484701
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.761 0.616)
Web-safe#CCCC99

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cdc29d;
background-color: #cdc29d;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cdc29d;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdc29d] bg-[#cdc29d]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdc29d;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.761, blue: 0.616)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.804, green: 0.761, blue: 0.616, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CDC29D</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCDC29D)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDC29D)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(157, 194, 205)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(205, 194, 157)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(205, 194, 157)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 205, 194, 157)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8039f, 0.7608f, 0.6157f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{205,194,157}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cdc29d 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cdc29d 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#544B2B, #EAE6D6);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cdc29d 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: #F9F8F5;
  --brand-100: #F4F2EC;
  --brand-200: #E7E3D4;
  --brand-300: #D9D1B5;
  --brand-400: #cdc29d;
  --brand-500: #B3A26A;
  --brand-600: #A29053;
  --brand-700: #877845;
  --brand-800: #6C6037;
  --brand-900: #4F472B;
  --brand-950: #322C1B;
  --brand: #cdc29d;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF9F5;
  --brand-border: #E3DDC9;
  --brand-hover: #C1B385;
  --brand-pressed: #B5A56E;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242114;
    --brand-ink: #EAE6D6;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F8F5',
        100: '#F4F2EC',
        200: '#E7E3D4',
        300: '#D9D1B5',
        400: '#cdc29d',
        500: '#B3A26A',
        600: '#A29053',
        700: '#877845',
        800: '#6C6037',
        900: '#4F472B',
        950: '#322C1B',
        DEFAULT: '#cdc29d',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F8F5,
  '100': #F4F2EC,
  '200': #E7E3D4,
  '300': #D9D1B5,
  '400': #cdc29d,
  '500': #B3A26A,
  '600': #A29053,
  '700': #877845,
  '800': #6C6037,
  '900': #4F472B,
  '950': #322C1B,
);
$brand-base: #cdc29d;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9F8F5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F4F2EC", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E7E3D4", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D9D1B5", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#cdc29d", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#B3A26A", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#A29053", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#877845", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#6C6037", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#4F472B", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#322C1B", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cdc29d · 11.80:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.78:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.80:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdc29d as text scores 1.78:1 on white and 11.80:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #544B2B at 4.88:1.

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
#847543 · 4.56:1
AA on white−32% L
#847543
The quick fox
#625732 · 7.17:1
AAA on white−42% L
#625732
The quick fox
#cdc29d · 11.80:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cdc29d
The quick fox
#cdc29d · 11.80:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cdc29d

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #A59354 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
#cdc29d on white: 1.78:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdc29d on black: 11.80:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cdc29d as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cdc29d.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.78:1AaAa
Slate 501.70:1AaAa
Slate 1001.62:1AaAa
Slate 2001.44:1AaAa
Slate 3001.20:1AaAa
Slate 4001.44:1AaAa
Slate 5002.67:1AaAa
Slate 6004.26:1AaAa
Slate 7005.82:1AaAa
Slate 8008.22:1AaAa
Slate 90010.03:1AaAa
Black11.80:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #CAC09B
deuteranopia · #CDC49E
tritanopia · #D5BCB8

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. #cdc29d 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.

#F9F8F5
#F4F2EC
#E7E3D4
#D9D1B5
#cdc29d
#B3A26A
#A29053
#877845
#6C6037
#4F472B
#322C1B
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9F8F5Darkest = 950 · #322C1BText step on white = 800
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 93.4);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.020 93.4);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.031 93.4);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.040 93.4);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.047 93.4);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.051 93.4);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.051 93.4);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.048 93.4);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.043 93.4);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.036 93.4);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.028 93.4);
}

Colors that work with #cdc29d

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#FAF9F5
Tinted page background
Border#E3DDC9
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#98874E
Captions on the surface
Accent#41658B
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#544B2B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6F4EE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242114
Dark-mode background
Hover#C1B385
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B5A56E
Two steps down
Disabled#F1EFE9
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#DACEA4
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 #cdc29d

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
  • Thin strokes and 1px borders — they disappear on light UI
  • 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 #544B2B
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #A59354

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

optimisticalertcheap-and-cheerfulvisible

The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail.

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

Almost never passes contrast against white. Treat it as a surface or a marker, not as text.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight29/100
  • 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#9DA8CD
Analogous left#CDAA9D
Analogous right#C0CD9D
Split-complement 1#9DC0CD
Split-complement 2#AA9DCD
Triadic 1#9DCDC2
Triadic 2#C29DCD
Tetradic#9DCDAA
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°46°

#cdc29d sits at 46°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green76.1%
Blue61.6%
R · 0–255
205
0xcd
G · 0–255
194
0xc2
B · 0–255
157
0x9d

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta5.4%
Yellow23.4%
Key (black)19.6%

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

Color previews

#cdc29d text on a black background

contrast 11.80:1

Card sample

#cdc29d text on a white background

contrast 1.78:1

Card sample

#cdc29d on grey

1.62:1

#cdc29d on its own surface

1.69:1

#cdc29d on its dark surface

9.06:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cdc29d;
Background color
Panel with #cdc29d background
background-color: #cdc29d;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cdc29d;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 194, 157, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 194, 157, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdc29d;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdc29d, #B8CD9D);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cdc29d, #ACCD9D);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cdc29d;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cdc29d;
caret-color: #cdc29d;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cdc29d;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F6F4EE;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cdc29d;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cdc29d 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cdc29d 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, 194, 157, 0.5)
rgb(205 194 157 / 50%)
#cdc29d80
hsl(46 32% 71% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cdc29d 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cdc29d1a#FAF9F5
20%#cdc29d33#F5F3EB
40%#cdc29d66#EBE7D8
60%#cdc29d99#E1DAC4
80%#cdc29dcc#D7CEB1

Gradients from #cdc29d

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, #E2DBC6, #cdc29d 45%, #544B2B);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cdc29d, #A5C389);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cdc29d, #9DA8CD);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #ECE8DA 0%, #cdc29d 45%, #544B2B 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF9F5, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #DEC5BF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #CAD7B1 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #544B2B 0%, transparent 65%), #cdc29d;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdc29d

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.

#cdc29d in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
RetailLeisureEnergyWarning systems
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 11.80:1.

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.

#cdc29d, answered

What color is #cdc29d?

#cdc29d is a light soft yellow, closest to Tan (ΔE2000 7.7). It sits at 46° on the hue wheel with 32% saturation and 71% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cdc29d?

rgb(205, 194, 157) — 205 red, 194 green and 157 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 76.1% / 61.6% by channel.

What is #cdc29d in HSL and HSV?

hsl(46, 32%, 71%) and hsv(46, 23%, 80%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cdc29d a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5400 and perceived brightness is 76%, so black text on it reaches 11.80:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdc29d?

Black. It scores 11.80:1 against #cdc29d, versus 1.78:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cdc29d accessible on a white background?

#cdc29d on white scores 1.78:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #847543 to reach 4.5:1, or #625732 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cdc29d?

#9DA8CD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9DC0CD and #AA9DCD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cdc29d?

For interface work: #FAF9F5 as the surface, #E3DDC9 for borders, #98874E for secondary text, #41658B as an accent and #544B2B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CDAA9D and #C0CD9D stays calm, while #9DA8CD is the loudest partner.

What is #cdc29d in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 5%, 23%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cdc29d warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 16 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CDB49D; nudged cooler, #C8CE9C.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cdc29d?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 18.9 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cdc29d as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cdc29d in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cdc29d] or text-[#cdc29d], 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 #cdc29d with 50% opacity?

rgba(205, 194, 157, 0.5), or #cdc29d80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E6E1CE; over black, #67614F.

Is #cdc29d a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCC99, ΔE2000 5.9 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cdc29d mean?

As a yellow, it reads optimistic, alert, cheap-and-cheerful. The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #cdc29d?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E2DBC6, #cdc29d 45%, #544B2B). For more colour, a short hue run to #A5C389 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cdc29d in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cdc29d at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.