Skip to content

#bcbda2

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

RGB
188, 189, 162
HSL
62°, 17%, 69%
CMYK
1, 0, 14, 26
Luminance
0.4970

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bcbda2 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bcbda2
Hue
62°
yellow
Saturation
17%
soft
Lightness
69%
light
Brightness
74%
HSV value
Perceived
73%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4970
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
39/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
10.94:1
Closest name
Silver
ΔE2000 11.6
Where it sits
Hue62° of 360°
Saturation17%
Lightness69%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool39% 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#bcbda2
RGBrgb(188, 189, 162)
HSLhsl(62, 17%, 69%)
CMYKcmyk(1%, 0%, 14%, 26%)
LABlab(75.9 -5.0 13.6)
LCHlch(75.9 14.5 110.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.790 0.037 109.0)
Decimal12369314
Display P3color(display-p3 0.737 0.741 0.635)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #bcbda2;
background-color: #bcbda2;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bcbda2] bg-[#bcbda2]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bcbda2;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.737, green: 0.741, blue: 0.635)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#bcbda2")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBCBDA2)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(162, 189, 188)

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 #bcbda2 · 10.94:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.92:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.94:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bcbda2 as text scores 1.92:1 on white and 10.94:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#bcbda2 on white: 1.92:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bcbda2 on black: 10.94:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C2BAA0
deuteranopia · #C2BCA3
tritanopia · #C0B9B5

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #bcbda2 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.

#F8F8F6
#F2F2EE
#E2E3D9
#D0D0BD
#bcbda2
#A0A27C
#8E8F66
#767755
#5E5F44
#464734
#2C2C20
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F8F8F6Darkest = 950 · #2C2C20
:root {
  --brand-50: #F8F8F6;
  --brand-100: #F2F2EE;
  --brand-200: #E2E3D9;
  --brand-300: #D0D0BD;
  --brand-400: #bcbda2;
  --brand-500: #A0A27C;
  --brand-600: #8E8F66;
  --brand-700: #767755;
  --brand-800: #5E5F44;
  --brand-900: #464734;
  --brand-950: #2C2C20;
  --brand: #bcbda2;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #bcbda2

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#F9F9F6
Tinted page background
Border#DDDDCF
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#85865F
Captions on the surface
Accent#515A7B
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4A4B35
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F4F4F0
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#202117
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 #bcbda2

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#A3A2BD
Analogous left#BDB0A2
Analogous right#AEBDA2
Split-complement 1#A2AEBD
Split-complement 2#B0A2BD
Triadic 1#A2BCBD
Triadic 2#BDA2BC
Tetradic#A2BDB0

RGB percentages

Red73.7%
Green74.1%
Blue63.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.5%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow14.3%
Key (black)25.9%

Color previews

#bcbda2 text on a black background

contrast 10.94:1

Card sample

#bcbda2 text on a white background

contrast 1.92:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bcbda2;
Background color
Panel with #bcbda2 background
background-color: #bcbda2;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bcbda2;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(188, 189, 162, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(188, 189, 162, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bcbda2;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bcbda2, #AABDA2);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bcbda2

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.

#bcbda2 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.

#bcbda2, answered

What color is #bcbda2?

#bcbda2 is a light soft yellow, closest to Silver (ΔE2000 11.6). It sits at 62° on the hue wheel with 17% saturation and 69% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #bcbda2?

rgb(188, 189, 162) — 188 red, 189 green and 162 blue out of 255, or 73.7% / 74.1% / 63.5% by channel.

Is #bcbda2 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4970 and perceived brightness is 73%, so black text on it reaches 10.94:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bcbda2?

Black. It scores 10.94:1 against #bcbda2, versus 1.92:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #bcbda2?

#A3A2BD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #A2AEBD and #B0A2BD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bcbda2?

For interface work: #F9F9F6 as the surface, #DDDDCF for borders, #85865F for secondary text, #515A7B as an accent and #4A4B35 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BDB0A2 and #AEBDA2 stays calm, while #A3A2BD is the loudest partner.

What is #bcbda2 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(1%, 0%, 14%, 26%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #bcbda2 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 39 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BDB4A2; nudged cooler, #B2BFA0.

Work with #bcbda2 in the Color Lab