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yellow · warm

#dbd8ba

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

Token name suggestion: Drift Citron

RGB
219, 216, 186
HSL
55°, 31%, 79%
CMYK
0, 1, 15, 14
Luminance
0.6772

#dbd8ba is a light soft yellow, 55° on the wheel and 23/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (14.54:1). As text it scores 1.44:1 on white — use #7D7841 instead. Nearest name is Beige, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(55 31% 79%)rgb(219 216 186)Base step 300AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dbd8ba is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dbd8ba
Hue
55°
yellow
Saturation
31%
soft
Lightness
79%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
84%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6772
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
23/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
14.54:1
Closest name
Beige
ΔE2000 6.6
Chroma
15.7
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.877
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 22.8
Web-safe
#CCCCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue55° of 360°
Saturation31%
Lightness79%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #dbd8ba.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool23% 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
Red22%
Green73%
Blue5%

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

Every format

HEX#dbd8ba
HEX (8-digit)#dbd8baff
RGBrgb(219, 216, 186)
RGBArgba(219, 216, 186, 1)
HSLhsl(55, 31%, 79%)
HSV / HSBhsv(55, 15%, 86%)
HWBhwb(55 73% 14%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 1%, 15%, 14%)
LABlab(85.9 -4.0 15.2)
LCHlch(85.9 15.7 104.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.877 0.040 102.5)
XYZ (D65)xyz(62.63, 67.72, 56.22)
Decimal14407866
Display P3color(display-p3 0.859 0.847 0.729)
Web-safe#CCCCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #dbd8ba;
background-color: #dbd8ba;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #dbd8ba;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dbd8ba] bg-[#dbd8ba]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dbd8ba;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.859, green: 0.847, blue: 0.729)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.859, green: 0.847, blue: 0.729, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#DBD8BA</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFDBD8BA)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDBD8BA)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(186, 216, 219)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(219, 216, 186)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(219, 216, 186)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 219, 216, 186)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8588f, 0.8471f, 0.7294f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{219,216,186}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #dbd8ba 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #dbd8ba 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#54502C, #EAE8D7);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #dbd8ba 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: #F9F9F5;
  --brand-100: #F3F3EC;
  --brand-200: #E7E5D5;
  --brand-300: #dbd8ba;
  --brand-400: #C5C090;
  --brand-500: #B2AC6C;
  --brand-600: #A19A54;
  --brand-700: #868046;
  --brand-800: #6B6738;
  --brand-900: #4F4C2C;
  --brand-950: #312F1B;
  --brand: #dbd8ba;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF9F5;
  --brand-border: #E3E1C9;
  --brand-hover: #CFCBA3;
  --brand-pressed: #C2BD8B;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242314;
    --brand-ink: #EAE8D7;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F9F5',
        100: '#F3F3EC',
        200: '#E7E5D5',
        300: '#dbd8ba',
        400: '#C5C090',
        500: '#B2AC6C',
        600: '#A19A54',
        700: '#868046',
        800: '#6B6738',
        900: '#4F4C2C',
        950: '#312F1B',
        DEFAULT: '#dbd8ba',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F9F5,
  '100': #F3F3EC,
  '200': #E7E5D5,
  '300': #dbd8ba,
  '400': #C5C090,
  '500': #B2AC6C,
  '600': #A19A54,
  '700': #868046,
  '800': #6B6738,
  '900': #4F4C2C,
  '950': #312F1B,
);
$brand-base: #dbd8ba;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9F9F5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F3F3EC", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E7E5D5", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#dbd8ba", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#C5C090", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#B2AC6C", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#A19A54", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#868046", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#6B6738", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#4F4C2C", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#312F1B", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #dbd8ba · 14.54:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.44:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.54:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dbd8ba as text scores 1.44:1 on white and 14.54:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #54502C at 5.68:1.

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
#7D7841 · 4.53:1
AA on white−42% L
#7D7841
The quick fox
#5C5830 · 7.26:1
AAA on white−52% L
#5C5830
The quick fox
#dbd8ba · 14.54:1
AA on blackalready passes
#dbd8ba
The quick fox
#dbd8ba · 14.54:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#dbd8ba

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #9B9551 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
#dbd8ba on white: 1.44:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dbd8ba on black: 14.54:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #dbd8ba as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #dbd8ba.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.44:1AaAa
Slate 501.38:1AaAa
Slate 1001.32:1AaAa
Slate 2001.17:1AaAa
Slate 3001.03:1AaAa
Slate 4001.78:1AaAa
Slate 5003.30:1AaAa
Slate 6005.25:1AaAa
Slate 7007.17:1AaAa
Slate 80010.13:1AaAa
Slate 90012.36:1AaAa
Black14.54:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #DED6B8
deuteranopia · #DFD8BB
tritanopia · #E0D4CF

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. #dbd8ba 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.

#F9F9F5
#F3F3EC
#E7E5D5
#dbd8ba
#C5C090
#B2AC6C
#A19A54
#868046
#6B6738
#4F4C2C
#312F1B
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F9F9F5Darkest = 950 · #312F1BText 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 0.010 102.5);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.016 102.5);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.024 102.5);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.031 102.5);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.037 102.5);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.040 102.5);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.040 102.5);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.038 102.5);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.034 102.5);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.028 102.5);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.022 102.5);
}

Colors that work with #dbd8ba

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#E3E1C9
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#97904F
Captions on the surface
Accent#425B8A
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#54502C
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6F6EE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242314
Dark-mode background
Hover#CFCBA3
One step down in lightness
Pressed#C2BD8B
Two steps down
Disabled#F7F7F3
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#E6E3C3
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 #dbd8ba

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 #54502C
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #9B9551

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
  • Weight21/100
  • 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#BABDDB
Analogous left#DBC7BA
Analogous right#CDDBBA
Split-complement 1#BACDDB
Split-complement 2#C7BADB
Triadic 1#BADBD8
Triadic 2#D8BADB
Tetradic#BADBC7
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°55°

#dbd8ba sits at 55°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red85.9%
Green84.7%
Blue72.9%
R · 0–255
219
0xdb
G · 0–255
216
0xd8
B · 0–255
186
0xba

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta1.4%
Yellow15.1%
Key (black)14.1%

Total ink coverage is 31%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#dbd8ba text on a black background

contrast 14.54:1

Card sample

#dbd8ba text on a white background

contrast 1.44:1

Card sample

#dbd8ba on grey

1.32:1

#dbd8ba on its own surface

1.37:1

#dbd8ba on its dark surface

10.97:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dbd8ba;
Background color
Panel with #dbd8ba background
background-color: #dbd8ba;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dbd8ba;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(219, 216, 186, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(219, 216, 186, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dbd8ba;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dbd8ba, #C8DBBA);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dbd8ba, #C0DBBA);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #dbd8ba;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #dbd8ba;
caret-color: #dbd8ba;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #dbd8ba;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F6F6EE;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #dbd8ba;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#dbd8ba 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #dbd8ba 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(219, 216, 186, 0.5)
rgb(219 216 186 / 50%)
#dbd8ba80
hsl(55 31% 79% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #dbd8ba 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#dbd8ba1a#FBFBF8
20%#dbd8ba33#F8F7F1
40%#dbd8ba66#F1EFE3
60%#dbd8ba99#E9E8D6
80%#dbd8bacc#E2E0C8

Gradients from #dbd8ba

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, #F0EFE2, #dbd8ba 45%, #54502C);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #dbd8ba, #B4D0A6);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dbd8ba, #BABDDB);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #FAF9F5 0%, #dbd8ba 45%, #54502C 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%, #ECE1DB 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #DAE5CE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #54502C 0%, transparent 65%), #dbd8ba;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dbd8ba

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.

#dbd8ba 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 14.54:1.

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.

#dbd8ba, answered

What color is #dbd8ba?

#dbd8ba is a light soft yellow, closest to Beige (ΔE2000 6.6). It sits at 55° on the hue wheel with 31% saturation and 79% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dbd8ba?

rgb(219, 216, 186) — 219 red, 216 green and 186 blue out of 255, or 85.9% / 84.7% / 72.9% by channel.

What is #dbd8ba in HSL and HSV?

hsl(55, 31%, 79%) and hsv(55, 15%, 86%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #dbd8ba a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6772 and perceived brightness is 84%, so black text on it reaches 14.54:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dbd8ba?

Black. It scores 14.54:1 against #dbd8ba, versus 1.44:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #dbd8ba accessible on a white background?

#dbd8ba on white scores 1.44:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #7D7841 to reach 4.5:1, or #5C5830 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #dbd8ba?

#BABDDB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #BACDDB and #C7BADB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dbd8ba?

For interface work: #FAF9F5 as the surface, #E3E1C9 for borders, #97904F for secondary text, #425B8A as an accent and #54502C for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DBC7BA and #CDDBBA stays calm, while #BABDDB is the loudest partner.

What is #dbd8ba in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 1%, 15%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dbd8ba warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 23 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DBCCBA; nudged cooler, #D2DCB9.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #dbd8ba?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 22.8 away. That is a visible difference, so define #dbd8ba as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #dbd8ba in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#dbd8ba] or text-[#dbd8ba], 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 #dbd8ba with 50% opacity?

rgba(219, 216, 186, 0.5), or #dbd8ba80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #EDECDD; over black, #6E6C5D.

Is #dbd8ba a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCCC, ΔE2000 12.2 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #dbd8ba 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 #dbd8ba?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #F0EFE2, #dbd8ba 45%, #54502C). For more colour, a short hue run to #B4D0A6 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #dbd8ba in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #dbd8ba at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.