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orange · warm

#cf8b0b

a dark, electric orange · warm · closest name: Dark Goldenrod

Token name suggestion: Slate Marmalade

RGB
207, 139, 11
HSL
39°, 90%, 43%
CMYK
0, 33, 95, 19
Luminance
0.3175

#cf8b0b is a dark electric orange, 39° on the wheel and 8/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (7.35:1). As text it scores 2.86:1 on white — use #9E6A08 instead. Nearest name is Dark Goldenrod, nearest Tailwind family is amber.

hsl(39 90% 43%)rgb(207 139 11)Base step 700AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cf8b0b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cf8b0b
Hue
39°
orange
Saturation
90%
electric
Lightness
43%
dark
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
61%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3175
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
8/100 cool
Color family
Orange
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
7.35:1
Closest name
Dark Goldenrod
ΔE2000 5.5
Chroma
69.0
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.689
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
amber
500 · ΔE 7.8
Web-safe
#CC9900
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue39° of 360°
Saturation90%
Lightness43%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cf8b0b.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool8% 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
Red42%
Green58%
Blue0%

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

Every format

HEX#cf8b0b
HEX (8-digit)#cf8b0bff
RGBrgb(207, 139, 11)
RGBArgba(207, 139, 11, 1)
HSLhsl(39, 90%, 43%)
HSV / HSBhsv(39, 95%, 81%)
HWBhwb(39 4% 19%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 33%, 95%, 19%)
LABlab(63.1 17.4 66.8)
LCHlch(63.1 69.0 75.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.689 0.144 73.9)
XYZ (D65)xyz(35.03, 31.76, 4.60)
Decimal13601547
Display P3color(display-p3 0.812 0.545 0.043)
Web-safe#CC9900

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cf8b0b;
background-color: #cf8b0b;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cf8b0b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cf8b0b] bg-[#cf8b0b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cf8b0b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.812, green: 0.545, blue: 0.043)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.812, green: 0.545, blue: 0.043, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CF8B0B</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCF8B0B)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCF8B0B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(11, 139, 207)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(207, 139, 11)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(207, 139, 11)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 207, 139, 11)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8118f, 0.5451f, 0.0431f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{207,139,11}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cf8b0b 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cf8b0b 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#795106, #EEE5D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cf8b0b 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: #FDF9F2;
  --brand-100: #FBF3E5;
  --brand-200: #F8E6C3;
  --brand-300: #F9D694;
  --brand-400: #F7C25F;
  --brand-500: #F4AE2A;
  --brand-600: #E89C0C;
  --brand-700: #cf8b0b;
  --brand-800: #9B6808;
  --brand-900: #704D0B;
  --brand-950: #463007;
  --brand: #cf8b0b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF8F4;
  --brand-border: #EDDDC0;
  --brand-hover: #AD7409;
  --brand-pressed: #8B5D07;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241F14;
    --brand-ink: #EEE5D3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FDF9F2',
        100: '#FBF3E5',
        200: '#F8E6C3',
        300: '#F9D694',
        400: '#F7C25F',
        500: '#F4AE2A',
        600: '#E89C0C',
        700: '#cf8b0b',
        800: '#9B6808',
        900: '#704D0B',
        950: '#463007',
        DEFAULT: '#cf8b0b',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FDF9F2,
  '100': #FBF3E5,
  '200': #F8E6C3,
  '300': #F9D694,
  '400': #F7C25F,
  '500': #F4AE2A,
  '600': #E89C0C,
  '700': #cf8b0b,
  '800': #9B6808,
  '900': #704D0B,
  '950': #463007,
);
$brand-base: #cf8b0b;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FDF9F2", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#FBF3E5", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#F8E6C3", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#F9D694", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#F7C25F", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#F4AE2A", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#E89C0C", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#cf8b0b", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#9B6808", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#704D0B", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#463007", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cf8b0b · 7.35:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.86:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 7.35:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cf8b0b as text scores 2.86:1 on white and 7.35:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #795106 at 2.46:1.

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
#9E6A08 · 4.65:1
AA on white−10% L
#9E6A08
The quick fox
#785006 · 7.12:1
AAA on white−18% L
#785006
The quick fox
#cf8b0b · 7.35:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cf8b0b
The quick fox
#cf8b0b · 7.35:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cf8b0b

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #C5840A 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
#cf8b0b on white: 2.86:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cf8b0b on black: 7.35:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cf8b0b as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cf8b0b.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.86:1AaAa
Slate 502.73:1AaAa
Slate 1002.61:1AaAa
Slate 2002.32:1AaAa
Slate 3001.92:1AaAa
Slate 4001.11:1AaAa
Slate 5001.67:1AaAa
Slate 6002.65:1AaAa
Slate 7003.62:1AaAa
Slate 8005.12:1AaAa
Slate 9006.25:1AaAa
Black7.35:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #A38F00
deuteranopia · #B39F14
tritanopia · #E27976

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. #cf8b0b is pinned to step 700; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FDF9F2
#FBF3E5
#F8E6C3
#F9D694
#F7C25F
#F4AE2A
#E89C0C
#cf8b0b
#9B6808
#704D0B
#463007
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FDF9F2Darkest = 950 · #463007Text 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 0.036 73.9);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.058 73.9);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.086 73.9);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.112 73.9);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.132 73.9);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.144 73.9);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.144 73.9);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.135 73.9);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.121 73.9);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.101 73.9);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.079 73.9);
}

Colors that work with #cf8b0b

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#FAF8F4
Tinted page background
Border#EDDDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B7F4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0781D3
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#795106
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEF6E7
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241F14
Dark-mode background
Hover#AD7409
One step down in lightness
Pressed#8B5D07
Two steps down
Disabled#B9AB91
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#EE9C00
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 #cf8b0b

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Headers, footers and dark-mode surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Black 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 #795106
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #C5840A

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.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. The low lightness adds weight and formality.

Worth knowing

Hard to make feel premium, and it collides with the "caution" band in status systems.

Reads as
  • FormalityHigh
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight57/100
  • 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#0B4FCF
Analogous left#CF290B
Analogous right#B1CF0B
Split-complement 1#0BB1CF
Split-complement 2#290BCF
Triadic 1#0BCF8B
Triadic 2#8B0BCF
Tetradic#0BCF29
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°39°

#cf8b0b sits at 39°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red81.2%
Green54.5%
Blue4.3%
R · 0–255
207
0xcf
G · 0–255
139
0x8b
B · 0–255
11
0x0b

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta32.9%
Yellow94.7%
Key (black)18.8%

Total ink coverage is 146%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#cf8b0b text on a black background

contrast 7.35:1

Card sample

#cf8b0b text on a white background

contrast 2.86:1

Card sample

#cf8b0b on grey

2.61:1

#cf8b0b on its own surface

2.69:1

#cf8b0b on its dark surface

5.74:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cf8b0b;
Background color
Panel with #cf8b0b background
background-color: #cf8b0b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cf8b0b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(207, 139, 11, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(207, 139, 11, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cf8b0b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cf8b0b, #90CF0B);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cf8b0b, #5FCF0B);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cf8b0b;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cf8b0b;
caret-color: #cf8b0b;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cf8b0b;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FEF6E7;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cf8b0b;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cf8b0b 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cf8b0b 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(207, 139, 11, 0.5)
rgb(207 139 11 / 50%)
#cf8b0b80
hsl(39 90% 43% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cf8b0b 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cf8b0b1a#FAF3E7
20%#cf8b0b33#F5E8CE
40%#cf8b0b66#ECD19D
60%#cf8b0b99#E2B96D
80%#cf8b0bcc#D9A23C

Gradients from #cf8b0b

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, #F3AB24, #cf8b0b 45%, #795106);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cf8b0b, #6EB209);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cf8b0b, #0B4FCF);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F5B641 0%, #cf8b0b 45%, #795106 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF8F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #F3291A 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #B7EC0D 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #795106 0%, transparent 65%), #cf8b0b;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cf8b0b

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.

#cf8b0b 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
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

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 7.35:1.

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.

#cf8b0b, answered

What color is #cf8b0b?

#cf8b0b is a dark electric orange, closest to Dark Goldenrod (ΔE2000 5.5). It sits at 39° on the hue wheel with 90% saturation and 43% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cf8b0b?

rgb(207, 139, 11) — 207 red, 139 green and 11 blue out of 255, or 81.2% / 54.5% / 4.3% by channel.

What is #cf8b0b in HSL and HSV?

hsl(39, 90%, 43%) and hsv(39, 95%, 81%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cf8b0b a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3175 and perceived brightness is 61%, so black text on it reaches 7.35:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cf8b0b?

Black. It scores 7.35:1 against #cf8b0b, versus 2.86:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cf8b0b accessible on a white background?

#cf8b0b on white scores 2.86:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #9E6A08 to reach 4.5:1, or #785006 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cf8b0b?

#0B4FCF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #0BB1CF and #290BCF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cf8b0b?

For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #EDDDC0 for borders, #9B7F4B for secondary text, #0781D3 as an accent and #795106 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CF290B and #B1CF0B stays calm, while #0B4FCF is the loudest partner.

What is #cf8b0b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 33%, 95%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — a color this saturated sits outside most CMYK gamuts and will print duller than it looks here.

Is #cf8b0b warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 8 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CF730B; nudged cooler, #CDD109.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cf8b0b?

The amber family — its 500 step is #f59e0b, ΔE2000 7.8 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cf8b0b as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cf8b0b in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cf8b0b] or text-[#cf8b0b], 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 #cf8b0b with 50% opacity?

rgba(207, 139, 11, 0.5), or #cf8b0b80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E7C585; over black, #684606.

Is #cf8b0b a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC9900, ΔE2000 6.5 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cf8b0b 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 chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #cf8b0b?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #F3AB24, #cf8b0b 45%, #795106). For more colour, a short hue run to #6EB209 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cf8b0b in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cf8b0b at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.