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orange · warm

#ceaf96

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

Token name suggestion: Drift Marmalade

RGB
206, 175, 150
HSL
27°, 36%, 70%
CMYK
0, 15, 27, 19
Luminance
0.4598

#ceaf96 is a light soft orange, 27° on the wheel and 2/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (10.20:1). As text it scores 2.06:1 on white — use #986B47 instead. Nearest name is Tan, nearest Tailwind family is amber.

hsl(27 36% 70%)rgb(206 175 150)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ceaf96 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ceaf96
Hue
27°
orange
Saturation
36%
soft
Lightness
70%
light
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
71%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4598
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
2/100 cool
Color family
Orange
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
10.20:1
Closest name
Tan
ΔE2000 5.5
Chroma
18.6
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.775
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
amber
500 · ΔE 19.1
Web-safe
#CC9999
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue27° of 360°
Saturation36%
Lightness70%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #ceaf96.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool2% 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
Red29%
Green67%
Blue5%

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

Every format

HEX#ceaf96
HEX (8-digit)#ceaf96ff
RGBrgb(206, 175, 150)
RGBArgba(206, 175, 150, 1)
HSLhsl(27, 36%, 70%)
HSV / HSBhsv(27, 27%, 81%)
HWBhwb(27 59% 19%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 15%, 27%, 19%)
LABlab(73.5 7.5 17.0)
LCHlch(73.5 18.6 66.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.775 0.050 60.9)
XYZ (D65)xyz(46.29, 45.99, 35.29)
Decimal13545366
Display P3color(display-p3 0.808 0.686 0.588)
Web-safe#CC9999

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #ceaf96;
background-color: #ceaf96;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #ceaf96;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ceaf96] bg-[#ceaf96]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ceaf96;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.808, green: 0.686, blue: 0.588)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.808, green: 0.686, blue: 0.588, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CEAF96</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCEAF96)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCEAF96)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(150, 175, 206)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(206, 175, 150)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(206, 175, 150)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 206, 175, 150)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8078f, 0.6863f, 0.5882f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{206,175,150}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #ceaf96 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #ceaf96 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#573D29, #ECDFD5);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #ceaf96 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: #FAF7F5;
  --brand-100: #F4EFEB;
  --brand-200: #E8DDD3;
  --brand-300: #DBC5B2;
  --brand-400: #ceaf96;
  --brand-500: #B88A66;
  --brand-600: #A7764E;
  --brand-700: #8B6241;
  --brand-800: #6F4E34;
  --brand-900: #523B29;
  --brand-950: #332519;
  --brand: #ceaf96;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF7F5;
  --brand-border: #E5D5C7;
  --brand-hover: #C39C7E;
  --brand-pressed: #B78A65;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241B14;
    --brand-ink: #ECDFD5;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FAF7F5',
        100: '#F4EFEB',
        200: '#E8DDD3',
        300: '#DBC5B2',
        400: '#ceaf96',
        500: '#B88A66',
        600: '#A7764E',
        700: '#8B6241',
        800: '#6F4E34',
        900: '#523B29',
        950: '#332519',
        DEFAULT: '#ceaf96',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FAF7F5,
  '100': #F4EFEB,
  '200': #E8DDD3,
  '300': #DBC5B2,
  '400': #ceaf96,
  '500': #B88A66,
  '600': #A7764E,
  '700': #8B6241,
  '800': #6F4E34,
  '900': #523B29,
  '950': #332519,
);
$brand-base: #ceaf96;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FAF7F5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F4EFEB", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E8DDD3", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#DBC5B2", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#ceaf96", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#B88A66", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#A7764E", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#8B6241", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#6F4E34", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#523B29", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#332519", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #ceaf96 · 10.20:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.06:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.20:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ceaf96 as text scores 2.06:1 on white and 10.20:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #573D29 at 4.84:1.

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
#986B47 · 4.64:1
AA on white−26% L
#986B47
The quick fox
#725035 · 7.21:1
AAA on white−37% L
#725035
The quick fox
#ceaf96 · 10.20:1
AA on blackalready passes
#ceaf96
The quick fox
#ceaf96 · 10.20:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#ceaf96

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #B78A65 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
#ceaf96 on white: 2.06:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ceaf96 on black: 10.20:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #ceaf96 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #ceaf96.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.06:1AaAa
Slate 501.97:1AaAa
Slate 1001.88:1AaAa
Slate 2001.67:1AaAa
Slate 3001.39:1AaAa
Slate 4001.24:1AaAa
Slate 5002.31:1AaAa
Slate 6003.68:1AaAa
Slate 7005.03:1AaAa
Slate 8007.10:1AaAa
Slate 9008.67:1AaAa
Black10.20:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #B9B194
deuteranopia · #C0B796
tritanopia · #D8A9A8

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. #ceaf96 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.

#FAF7F5
#F4EFEB
#E8DDD3
#DBC5B2
#ceaf96
#B88A66
#A7764E
#8B6241
#6F4E34
#523B29
#332519
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FAF7F5Darkest = 950 · #332519Text 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 0.012 60.9);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.020 60.9);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.030 60.9);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.039 60.9);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.046 60.9);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.050 60.9);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.050 60.9);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.047 60.9);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.042 60.9);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.035 60.9);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.027 60.9);
}

Colors that work with #ceaf96

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#FAF7F5
Tinted page background
Border#E5D5C7
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B6E4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#3D7F8F
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#573D29
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F7F2EE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241B14
Dark-mode background
Hover#C39C7E
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B78A65
Two steps down
Disabled#EFEAE5
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#DBB99D
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 #ceaf96

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 #573D29
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #B78A65

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
  • Weight30/100
  • 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#96B5CE
Analogous left#CE9699
Analogous right#CECB96
Split-complement 1#96CECB
Split-complement 2#9699CE
Triadic 1#96CEAF
Triadic 2#AF96CE
Tetradic#99CE96
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°27°

#ceaf96 sits at 27°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red80.8%
Green68.6%
Blue58.8%
R · 0–255
206
0xce
G · 0–255
175
0xaf
B · 0–255
150
0x96

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta15.0%
Yellow27.2%
Key (black)19.2%

Total ink coverage is 61%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#ceaf96 text on a black background

contrast 10.20:1

Card sample

#ceaf96 text on a white background

contrast 2.06:1

Card sample

#ceaf96 on grey

1.88:1

#ceaf96 on its own surface

1.93:1

#ceaf96 on its dark surface

8.21:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ceaf96;
Background color
Panel with #ceaf96 background
background-color: #ceaf96;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ceaf96;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(206, 175, 150, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(206, 175, 150, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ceaf96;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ceaf96, #C8CE96);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ceaf96, #BACE96);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #ceaf96;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #ceaf96;
caret-color: #ceaf96;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #ceaf96;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F7F2EE;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #ceaf96;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#ceaf96 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #ceaf96 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(206, 175, 150, 0.5)
rgb(206 175 150 / 50%)
#ceaf9680
hsl(27 36% 70% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #ceaf96 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#ceaf961a#FAF7F5
20%#ceaf9633#F5EFEA
40%#ceaf9666#EBDFD5
60%#ceaf9699#E2CFC0
80%#ceaf96cc#D8BFAB

Gradients from #ceaf96

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, #E1CFC0, #ceaf96 45%, #573D29);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #ceaf96, #B7C481);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ceaf96, #96B5CE);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #EBDFD5 0%, #ceaf96 45%, #573D29 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF7F5, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #DEB9BE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D6D8AB 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #573D29 0%, transparent 65%), #ceaf96;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ceaf96

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.

#ceaf96 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 10.20:1.

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.

#ceaf96, answered

What color is #ceaf96?

#ceaf96 is a light soft orange, closest to Tan (ΔE2000 5.5). It sits at 27° on the hue wheel with 36% saturation and 70% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ceaf96?

rgb(206, 175, 150) — 206 red, 175 green and 150 blue out of 255, or 80.8% / 68.6% / 58.8% by channel.

What is #ceaf96 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(27, 36%, 70%) and hsv(27, 27%, 81%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #ceaf96 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4598 and perceived brightness is 71%, so black text on it reaches 10.20:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ceaf96?

Black. It scores 10.20:1 against #ceaf96, versus 2.06:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #ceaf96 accessible on a white background?

#ceaf96 on white scores 2.06:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #986B47 to reach 4.5:1, or #725035 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #ceaf96?

#96B5CE sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #96CECB and #9699CE, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ceaf96?

For interface work: #FAF7F5 as the surface, #E5D5C7 for borders, #9B6E4B for secondary text, #3D7F8F as an accent and #573D29 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CE9699 and #CECB96 stays calm, while #96B5CE is the loudest partner.

What is #ceaf96 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 15%, 27%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ceaf96 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 2 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #D6BBA7; nudged cooler, #D09994.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #ceaf96?

The amber family — its 500 step is #f59e0b, ΔE2000 19.1 away. That is a visible difference, so define #ceaf96 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #ceaf96 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#ceaf96] or text-[#ceaf96], 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 #ceaf96 with 50% opacity?

rgba(206, 175, 150, 0.5), or #ceaf9680 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E7D7CB; over black, #67584B.

Is #ceaf96 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC9999, ΔE2000 14.4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #ceaf96 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 #ceaf96?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E1CFC0, #ceaf96 45%, #573D29). For more colour, a short hue run to #B7C481 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #ceaf96 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #ceaf96 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.