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green · neutral

#b9cba2

a light, soft green · neutral · closest name: Dark Sea Green

Token name suggestion: Drift Basil

RGB
185, 203, 162
HSL
86°, 28%, 72%
CMYK
9, 0, 20, 20
Luminance
0.5563

#b9cba2 is a light soft green, 86° on the wheel and 48/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (12.13:1). As text it scores 1.73:1 on white — use #667E47 instead. Nearest name is Dark Sea Green, nearest Tailwind family is lime.

hsl(86 28% 72%)rgb(185 203 162)Base step 400AAA inkNeutral

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b9cba2 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b9cba2
Hue
86°
green
Saturation
28%
soft
Lightness
72%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
76%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5563
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
48/100 cool
Color family
Green
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
12.13:1
Closest name
Dark Sea Green
ΔE2000 8.3
Chroma
22.8
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.818
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
lime
500 · ΔE 18.6
Web-safe
#CCCC99
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue86° of 360°
Saturation28%
Lightness72%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b9cba2.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool48% cool

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

Luminance by channel
Red19%
Green77%
Blue5%

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

Every format

HEX#b9cba2
HEX (8-digit)#b9cba2ff
RGBrgb(185, 203, 162)
RGBArgba(185, 203, 162, 1)
HSLhsl(86, 28%, 72%)
HSV / HSBhsv(86, 20%, 80%)
HWBhwb(86 64% 20%)
CMYKcmyk(9%, 0%, 20%, 20%)
LABlab(79.4 -13.4 18.4)
LCHlch(79.4 22.8 125.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.818 0.059 127.0)
XYZ (D65)xyz(47.88, 55.63, 42.39)
Decimal12176290
Display P3color(display-p3 0.725 0.796 0.635)
Web-safe#CCCC99

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b9cba2;
background-color: #b9cba2;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b9cba2;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b9cba2] bg-[#b9cba2]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b9cba2;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.725, green: 0.796, blue: 0.635)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.725, green: 0.796, blue: 0.635, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B9CBA2</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB9CBA2)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB9CBA2)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(162, 203, 185)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(185, 203, 162)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(185, 203, 162)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 185, 203, 162)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7255f, 0.7961f, 0.6353f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{185,203,162}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b9cba2 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b9cba2 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#42522E, #E1E9D8);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b9cba2 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: #F8F9F6;
  --brand-100: #F0F3EC;
  --brand-200: #DFE6D6;
  --brand-300: #C9D7B7;
  --brand-400: #b9cba2;
  --brand-500: #93AF6F;
  --brand-600: #7F9D58;
  --brand-700: #6A8349;
  --brand-800: #54693B;
  --brand-900: #3F4D2D;
  --brand-950: #27301C;
  --brand: #b9cba2;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F8FAF5;
  --brand-border: #D8E2CB;
  --brand-hover: #A8BE8B;
  --brand-pressed: #97B174;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1D2414;
    --brand-ink: #E1E9D8;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F8F9F6',
        100: '#F0F3EC',
        200: '#DFE6D6',
        300: '#C9D7B7',
        400: '#b9cba2',
        500: '#93AF6F',
        600: '#7F9D58',
        700: '#6A8349',
        800: '#54693B',
        900: '#3F4D2D',
        950: '#27301C',
        DEFAULT: '#b9cba2',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F8F9F6,
  '100': #F0F3EC,
  '200': #DFE6D6,
  '300': #C9D7B7,
  '400': #b9cba2,
  '500': #93AF6F,
  '600': #7F9D58,
  '700': #6A8349,
  '800': #54693B,
  '900': #3F4D2D,
  '950': #27301C,
);
$brand-base: #b9cba2;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F8F9F6", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F0F3EC", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#DFE6D6", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#C9D7B7", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#b9cba2", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#93AF6F", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#7F9D58", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#6A8349", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#54693B", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#3F4D2D", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#27301C", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #b9cba2 · 12.13:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.73:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.13:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b9cba2 as text scores 1.73:1 on white and 12.13:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #42522E at 4.89:1.

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
#667E47 · 4.53:1
AA on white−33% L
#667E47
The quick fox
#4B5E34 · 7.12:1
AAA on white−43% L
#4B5E34
The quick fox
#b9cba2 · 12.13:1
AA on blackalready passes
#b9cba2
The quick fox
#b9cba2 · 12.13:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#b9cba2

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #7E9C57 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
#b9cba2 on white: 1.73:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b9cba2 on black: 12.13:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b9cba2 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b9cba2.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.73:1AaAa
Slate 501.66:1AaAa
Slate 1001.58:1AaAa
Slate 2001.40:1AaAa
Slate 3001.17:1AaAa
Slate 4001.48:1AaAa
Slate 5002.75:1AaAa
Slate 6004.38:1AaAa
Slate 7005.98:1AaAa
Slate 8008.45:1AaAa
Slate 90010.31:1AaAa
Black12.13:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #D0C5A0
deuteranopia · #CDC4A4
tritanopia · #BBC7C0

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. #b9cba2 is pinned to step 400; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F8F9F6
#F0F3EC
#DFE6D6
#C9D7B7
#b9cba2
#93AF6F
#7F9D58
#6A8349
#54693B
#3F4D2D
#27301C
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F8F9F6Darkest = 950 · #27301CText 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 0.015 127.0);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.024 127.0);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.035 127.0);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.046 127.0);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.054 127.0);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.059 127.0);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.059 127.0);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.056 127.0);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.050 127.0);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.041 127.0);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.033 127.0);
}

Colors that work with #b9cba2

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#F8FAF5
Tinted page background
Border#D8E2CB
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#779352
Captions on the surface
Accent#524587
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#42522E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F3F6EF
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1D2414
Dark-mode background
Hover#A8BE8B
One step down in lightness
Pressed#97B174
Two steps down
Disabled#EFF2EB
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#C4D9A9
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 #b9cba2

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
  • Status meaning — pair it with an icon or label, never colour alone
  • 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 #42522E
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #7E9C57

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

safegrowingnaturalpermissive

Green means go, well, and grown. It carries finance, sustainability and health with almost no explanation needed.

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

Red/green pairs are the most common colour-blindness failure — never let the two carry meaning alone.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight28/100
  • TemperatureNeutral
  • ApproachabilityBalanced

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#B4A2CB
Analogous left#CBC9A2
Analogous right#A5CBA2
Split-complement 1#A2A5CB
Split-complement 2#C9A2CB
Triadic 1#A2B9CB
Triadic 2#CBA2B9
Tetradic#A2CBC9
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°86°

#b9cba2 sits at 86°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red72.5%
Green79.6%
Blue63.5%
R · 0–255
185
0xb9
G · 0–255
203
0xcb
B · 0–255
162
0xa2

CMYK percentages

Cyan8.9%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow20.2%
Key (black)20.4%

Total ink coverage is 50%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b9cba2 text on a black background

contrast 12.13:1

Card sample

#b9cba2 text on a white background

contrast 1.73:1

Card sample

#b9cba2 on grey

1.58:1

#b9cba2 on its own surface

1.65:1

#b9cba2 on its dark surface

9.22:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b9cba2;
Background color
Panel with #b9cba2 background
background-color: #b9cba2;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b9cba2;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(185, 203, 162, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(185, 203, 162, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b9cba2;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b9cba2, #A2CBA6);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b9cba2, #A2CBB1);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b9cba2;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b9cba2;
caret-color: #b9cba2;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b9cba2;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F3F6EF;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b9cba2;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b9cba2 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b9cba2 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(185, 203, 162, 0.5)
rgb(185 203 162 / 50%)
#b9cba280
hsl(86 28% 72% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b9cba2 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b9cba21a#F8FAF6
20%#b9cba233#F1F5EC
40%#b9cba266#E3EADA
60%#b9cba299#D5E0C7
80%#b9cba2cc#C7D5B5

Gradients from #b9cba2

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, #D7E1C9, #b9cba2 45%, #42522E);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b9cba2, #8EC098);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b9cba2, #B4A2CB);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E5ECDD 0%, #b9cba2 45%, #42522E 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F8FAF5, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #DDDAC3 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #B6D6B6 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #42522E 0%, transparent 65%), #b9cba2;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b9cba2

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.

#b9cba2 in the real world

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

Industries
SustainabilityFinanceHealth and wellnessAgriculture
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 12.13:1.

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.

#b9cba2, answered

What color is #b9cba2?

#b9cba2 is a light soft green, closest to Dark Sea Green (ΔE2000 8.3). It sits at 86° on the hue wheel with 28% saturation and 72% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #b9cba2?

rgb(185, 203, 162) — 185 red, 203 green and 162 blue out of 255, or 72.5% / 79.6% / 63.5% by channel.

What is #b9cba2 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(86, 28%, 72%) and hsv(86, 20%, 80%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b9cba2 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5563 and perceived brightness is 76%, so black text on it reaches 12.13:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b9cba2?

Black. It scores 12.13:1 against #b9cba2, versus 1.73:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #b9cba2 accessible on a white background?

#b9cba2 on white scores 1.73:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #667E47 to reach 4.5:1, or #4B5E34 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #b9cba2?

#B4A2CB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #A2A5CB and #C9A2CB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b9cba2?

For interface work: #F8FAF5 as the surface, #D8E2CB for borders, #779352 for secondary text, #524587 as an accent and #42522E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CBC9A2 and #A5CBA2 stays calm, while #B4A2CB is the loudest partner.

What is #b9cba2 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(9%, 0%, 20%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b9cba2 warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 48 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C8CBA2; nudged cooler, #A9CDA1.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b9cba2?

The lime family — its 500 step is #84cc16, ΔE2000 18.6 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b9cba2 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b9cba2 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b9cba2] or text-[#b9cba2], 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 #b9cba2 with 50% opacity?

rgba(185, 203, 162, 0.5), or #b9cba280 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DCE5D1; over black, #5D6651.

Is #b9cba2 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCC99, ΔE2000 6.4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #b9cba2 mean?

As a green, it reads safe, growing, natural. Green means go, well, and grown. It carries finance, sustainability and health with almost no explanation needed. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #b9cba2?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D7E1C9, #b9cba2 45%, #42522E). For more colour, a short hue run to #8EC098 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b9cba2 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b9cba2 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.