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#dcd7ad

a light, soft yellow · warm · closest name: Pale Goldenrod

RGB
220, 215, 173
HSL
54°, 40%, 77%
CMYK
0, 2, 21, 14
Luminance
0.6683

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dcd7ad is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dcd7ad
Hue
54°
yellow
Saturation
40%
soft
Lightness
77%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
83%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6683
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
20/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
14.37:1
Closest name
Pale Goldenrod
ΔE2000 5.8
Where it sits
Hue54° of 360°
Saturation40%
Lightness77%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool20% cool

Reads warm. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Every format

HEX#dcd7ad
RGBrgb(220, 215, 173)
HSLhsl(54, 40%, 77%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 2%, 21%, 14%)
LABlab(85.4 -5.0 21.4)
LCHlch(85.4 22.0 103.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.873 0.056 101.8)
Decimal14473133
Display P3color(display-p3 0.863 0.843 0.678)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #dcd7ad;
background-color: #dcd7ad;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dcd7ad] bg-[#dcd7ad]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dcd7ad;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.863, green: 0.843, blue: 0.678)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dcd7ad")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDCD7AD)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(173, 215, 220)

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 #dcd7ad · 14.37:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.46:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.37:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dcd7ad as text scores 1.46:1 on white and 14.37:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dcd7ad on white: 1.46:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dcd7ad on black: 14.37:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #DFD4AA
deuteranopia · #E1D7AE
tritanopia · #E3D1CB

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dcd7ad 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.

#FAF9F5
#F4F3EB
#EAE7D2
#dcd7ad
#CDC589
#BCB262
#ACA149
#8F863D
#726B31
#544F27
#343118
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FAF9F5Darkest = 950 · #343118
:root {
  --brand-50: #FAF9F5;
  --brand-100: #F4F3EB;
  --brand-200: #EAE7D2;
  --brand-300: #dcd7ad;
  --brand-400: #CDC589;
  --brand-500: #BCB262;
  --brand-600: #ACA149;
  --brand-700: #8F863D;
  --brand-800: #726B31;
  --brand-900: #544F27;
  --brand-950: #343118;
  --brand: #dcd7ad;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #dcd7ad

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#FAFAF4
Tinted page background
Border#E7E3C6
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B924B
Captions on the surface
Accent#3A5992
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#595426
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F7F6ED
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242314
Dark-mode background
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

How to use #dcd7ad

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

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#ADB2DC
Analogous left#DCC0AD
Analogous right#CADCAD
Split-complement 1#ADCADC
Split-complement 2#C0ADDC
Triadic 1#ADDCD7
Triadic 2#D7ADDC
Tetradic#ADDCC0

RGB percentages

Red86.3%
Green84.3%
Blue67.8%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta2.3%
Yellow21.4%
Key (black)13.7%

Color previews

#dcd7ad text on a black background

contrast 14.37:1

Card sample

#dcd7ad text on a white background

contrast 1.46:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dcd7ad;
Background color
Panel with #dcd7ad background
background-color: #dcd7ad;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dcd7ad;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(220, 215, 173, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(220, 215, 173, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dcd7ad;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dcd7ad, #C2DCAD);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dcd7ad

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

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.

#dcd7ad 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.

#dcd7ad, answered

What color is #dcd7ad?

#dcd7ad is a light soft yellow, closest to Pale Goldenrod (ΔE2000 5.8). It sits at 54° on the hue wheel with 40% saturation and 77% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dcd7ad?

rgb(220, 215, 173) — 220 red, 215 green and 173 blue out of 255, or 86.3% / 84.3% / 67.8% by channel.

Is #dcd7ad a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6683 and perceived brightness is 83%, so black text on it reaches 14.37:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dcd7ad?

Black. It scores 14.37:1 against #dcd7ad, versus 1.46:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #dcd7ad?

#ADB2DC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #ADCADC and #C0ADDC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dcd7ad?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #E7E3C6 for borders, #9B924B for secondary text, #3A5992 as an accent and #595426 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DCC0AD and #CADCAD stays calm, while #ADB2DC is the loudest partner.

What is #dcd7ad in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 2%, 21%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dcd7ad warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 20 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DCC6AD; nudged cooler, #D0DDAC.

Work with #dcd7ad in the Color Lab