Skip to content

#dec49c

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

RGB
222, 196, 156
HSL
36°, 50%, 74%
CMYK
0, 12, 30, 13
Luminance
0.5741

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dec49c is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dec49c
Hue
36°
orange
Saturation
50%
vivid
Lightness
74%
light
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
78%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5741
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
5/100 cool
Color family
Orange
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
12.48:1
Closest name
Tan
ΔE2000 4.2
Where it sits
Hue36° of 360°
Saturation50%
Lightness74%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool5% 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#dec49c
RGBrgb(222, 196, 156)
HSLhsl(36, 50%, 74%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 12%, 30%, 13%)
LABlab(80.4 3.3 23.5)
LCHlch(80.4 23.7 82.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.832 0.061 78.4)
Decimal14599324
Display P3color(display-p3 0.871 0.769 0.612)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #dec49c;
background-color: #dec49c;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dec49c] bg-[#dec49c]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dec49c;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.871, green: 0.769, blue: 0.612)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dec49c")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDEC49C)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(156, 196, 222)

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 #dec49c · 12.48:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.68:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.48:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dec49c as text scores 1.68:1 on white and 12.48:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dec49c on white: 1.68:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dec49c on black: 12.48:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #CFC499
deuteranopia · #D5CA9D
tritanopia · #E9BCB9

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dec49c 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.

#FAF8F4
#F6F1EA
#ECE1CF
#dec49c
#D5B481
#C79B57
#B8873D
#997133
#7A5A29
#594321
#382A15
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FAF8F4Darkest = 950 · #382A15
:root {
  --brand-50: #FAF8F4;
  --brand-100: #F6F1EA;
  --brand-200: #ECE1CF;
  --brand-300: #dec49c;
  --brand-400: #D5B481;
  --brand-500: #C79B57;
  --brand-600: #B8873D;
  --brand-700: #997133;
  --brand-800: #7A5A29;
  --brand-900: #594321;
  --brand-950: #382A15;
  --brand: #dec49c;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #dec49c

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#EBDBC2
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B7B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#2E759E
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#604720
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F9F4EC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241E14
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 #dec49c

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
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • 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
  • White text placed on it
  • 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#9CB6DE
Analogous left#DEA39C
Analogous right#D7DE9C
Split-complement 1#9CD7DE
Split-complement 2#A39CDE
Triadic 1#9CDEC4
Triadic 2#C49CDE
Tetradic#9CDEA3

RGB percentages

Red87.1%
Green76.9%
Blue61.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta11.7%
Yellow29.7%
Key (black)12.9%

Color previews

#dec49c text on a black background

contrast 12.48:1

Card sample

#dec49c text on a white background

contrast 1.68:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dec49c;
Background color
Panel with #dec49c background
background-color: #dec49c;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dec49c;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(222, 196, 156, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(222, 196, 156, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dec49c;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dec49c, #CCDE9C);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dec49c

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.

#dec49c 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.

#dec49c, answered

What color is #dec49c?

#dec49c is a light vivid orange, closest to Tan (ΔE2000 4.2). It sits at 36° on the hue wheel with 50% saturation and 74% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dec49c?

rgb(222, 196, 156) — 222 red, 196 green and 156 blue out of 255, or 87.1% / 76.9% / 61.2% by channel.

Is #dec49c a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5741 and perceived brightness is 78%, so black text on it reaches 12.48:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dec49c?

Black. It scores 12.48:1 against #dec49c, versus 1.68:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #dec49c?

#9CB6DE sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9CD7DE and #A39CDE, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dec49c?

For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #EBDBC2 for borders, #9B7B4B for secondary text, #2E759E as an accent and #604720 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DEA39C and #D7DE9C stays calm, while #9CB6DE is the loudest partner.

What is #dec49c in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 12%, 30%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dec49c warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 5 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DEBB9C; nudged cooler, #DFDD9B.

Work with #dec49c in the Color Lab