Skip to content

#ecac9f

a light, vivid red · warm · closest name: Dark Salmon

RGB
236, 172, 159
HSL
10°, 67%, 78%
CMYK
0, 27, 33, 8
Luminance
0.4984

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ecac9f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ecac9f
Hue
10°
red
Saturation
67%
vivid
Lightness
78%
light
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
75%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4984
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
11/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
10.97:1
Closest name
Dark Salmon
ΔE2000 7.6
Where it sits
Hue10° of 360°
Saturation67%
Lightness78%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool11% 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#ecac9f
RGBrgb(236, 172, 159)
HSLhsl(10, 67%, 78%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 27%, 33%, 8%)
LABlab(76.0 21.7 15.9)
LCHlch(76.0 27.0 36.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.801 0.078 31.7)
Decimal15510687
Display P3color(display-p3 0.925 0.675 0.624)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ecac9f;
background-color: #ecac9f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ecac9f] bg-[#ecac9f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ecac9f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.925, green: 0.675, blue: 0.624)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ecac9f")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFECAC9F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(159, 172, 236)

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 #ecac9f · 10.97:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.91:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.97:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ecac9f as text scores 1.91:1 on white and 10.97:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ecac9f on white: 1.91:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ecac9f on black: 10.97:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BAB49E
deuteranopia · #C9C09E
tritanopia · #FAA4A9

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ecac9f 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.

#FBF5F3
#F8EAE8
#F1D1CA
#ecac9f
#E38572
#DA5D44
#CC4428
#AA3922
#882D1B
#632417
#3E170F
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FBF5F3Darkest = 950 · #3E170F
:root {
  --brand-50: #FBF5F3;
  --brand-100: #F8EAE8;
  --brand-200: #F1D1CA;
  --brand-300: #ecac9f;
  --brand-400: #E38572;
  --brand-500: #DA5D44;
  --brand-600: #CC4428;
  --brand-700: #AA3922;
  --brand-800: #882D1B;
  --brand-900: #632417;
  --brand-950: #3E170F;
  --brand: #ecac9f;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ecac9f

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#FAF5F4
Tinted page background
Border#EDC7C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B584B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1EAEA3
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6A2315
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FBEDEA
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241614
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 #ecac9f

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#9FDFEC
Analogous left#EC9FB9
Analogous right#ECD39F
Split-complement 1#9FECD3
Split-complement 2#9FB9EC
Triadic 1#9FECAC
Triadic 2#AC9FEC
Tetradic#B9EC9F

RGB percentages

Red92.5%
Green67.5%
Blue62.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta27.1%
Yellow32.6%
Key (black)7.5%

Color previews

#ecac9f text on a black background

contrast 10.97:1

Card sample

#ecac9f text on a white background

contrast 1.91:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ecac9f;
Background color
Panel with #ecac9f background
background-color: #ecac9f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ecac9f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(236, 172, 159, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(236, 172, 159, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ecac9f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ecac9f, #ECDF9F);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ecac9f

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.

#ecac9f in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
Food and drinkEntertainmentRetailSport
Common UI roles
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#ecac9f, answered

What color is #ecac9f?

#ecac9f is a light vivid red, closest to Dark Salmon (ΔE2000 7.6). It sits at 10° on the hue wheel with 67% saturation and 78% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ecac9f?

rgb(236, 172, 159) — 236 red, 172 green and 159 blue out of 255, or 92.5% / 67.5% / 62.4% by channel.

Is #ecac9f a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4984 and perceived brightness is 75%, so black text on it reaches 10.97:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ecac9f?

Black. It scores 10.97:1 against #ecac9f, versus 1.91:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ecac9f?

#9FDFEC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9FECD3 and #9FB9EC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ecac9f?

For interface work: #FAF5F4 as the surface, #EDC7C0 for borders, #9B584B for secondary text, #1EAEA3 as an accent and #6A2315 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EC9FB9 and #ECD39F stays calm, while #9FDFEC is the loudest partner.

What is #ecac9f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 27%, 33%, 8%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ecac9f warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 11 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #ECBB9F; nudged cooler, #ED9EAE.

Work with #ecac9f in the Color Lab