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orange · warm

#c98b13

a dark, electric orange · warm · closest name: Dark Goldenrod

Token name suggestion: Slate Marmalade

RGB
201, 139, 19
HSL
40°, 83%, 43%
CMYK
0, 31, 91, 21
Luminance
0.3093

#c98b13 is a dark electric orange, 40° on the wheel and 8/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (7.19:1). As text it scores 2.92:1 on white — use #9A6B0F instead. Nearest name is Dark Goldenrod, nearest Tailwind family is amber.

hsl(40 83% 43%)rgb(201 139 19)Base step 700AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c98b13 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c98b13
Hue
40°
orange
Saturation
83%
electric
Lightness
43%
dark
Brightness
79%
HSV value
Perceived
60%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3093
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
8/100 cool
Color family
Orange
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
7.19:1
Closest name
Dark Goldenrod
ΔE2000 4.1
Chroma
66.2
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.682
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
amber
500 · ΔE 9
Web-safe
#CC9900
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue40° of 360°
Saturation83%
Lightness43%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #c98b13.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool8% cool

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

Luminance by channel
Red40%
Green60%
Blue0%

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

Every format

HEX#c98b13
HEX (8-digit)#c98b13ff
RGBrgb(201, 139, 19)
RGBArgba(201, 139, 19, 1)
HSLhsl(40, 83%, 43%)
HSV / HSBhsv(40, 91%, 79%)
HWBhwb(40 7% 21%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 31%, 91%, 21%)
LABlab(62.5 14.8 64.5)
LCHlch(62.5 66.2 77.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.682 0.139 76.1)
XYZ (D65)xyz(33.44, 30.93, 4.83)
Decimal13208339
Display P3color(display-p3 0.788 0.545 0.075)
Web-safe#CC9900

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #c98b13;
background-color: #c98b13;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #c98b13;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c98b13] bg-[#c98b13]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c98b13;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.788, green: 0.545, blue: 0.075)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.788, green: 0.545, blue: 0.075, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#C98B13</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFC98B13)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC98B13)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(19, 139, 201)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(201, 139, 19)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(201, 139, 19)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 201, 139, 19)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7882f, 0.5451f, 0.0745f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{201,139,19}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #c98b13 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #c98b13 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#74510B, #EEE5D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #c98b13 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: #FCF9F2;
  --brand-100: #FAF3E6;
  --brand-200: #F6E6C6;
  --brand-300: #F5D699;
  --brand-400: #F0C165;
  --brand-500: #ECAC32;
  --brand-600: #E09B15;
  --brand-700: #c98b13;
  --brand-800: #95670E;
  --brand-900: #6C4C0F;
  --brand-950: #433009;
  --brand: #c98b13;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF8F4;
  --brand-border: #EDDDC0;
  --brand-hover: #A87410;
  --brand-pressed: #885E0D;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241F14;
    --brand-ink: #EEE5D3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FCF9F2',
        100: '#FAF3E6',
        200: '#F6E6C6',
        300: '#F5D699',
        400: '#F0C165',
        500: '#ECAC32',
        600: '#E09B15',
        700: '#c98b13',
        800: '#95670E',
        900: '#6C4C0F',
        950: '#433009',
        DEFAULT: '#c98b13',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FCF9F2,
  '100': #FAF3E6,
  '200': #F6E6C6,
  '300': #F5D699,
  '400': #F0C165,
  '500': #ECAC32,
  '600': #E09B15,
  '700': #c98b13,
  '800': #95670E,
  '900': #6C4C0F,
  '950': #433009,
);
$brand-base: #c98b13;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FCF9F2", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#FAF3E6", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#F6E6C6", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#F5D699", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#F0C165", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#ECAC32", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#E09B15", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#c98b13", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#95670E", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#6C4C0F", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#433009", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #c98b13 · 7.19:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.92:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 7.19:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c98b13 as text scores 2.92:1 on white and 7.19:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #74510B at 2.46:1.

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
#9A6B0F · 4.68:1
AA on white−10% L
#9A6B0F
The quick fox
#75510B · 7.15:1
AAA on white−18% L
#75510B
The quick fox
#c98b13 · 7.19:1
AA on blackalready passes
#c98b13
The quick fox
#c98b13 · 7.19:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#c98b13

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #C48813 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
#c98b13 on white: 2.92:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c98b13 on black: 7.19:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #c98b13 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #c98b13.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.92:1AaAa
Slate 502.79:1AaAa
Slate 1002.67:1AaAa
Slate 2002.37:1AaAa
Slate 3001.97:1AaAa
Slate 4001.14:1AaAa
Slate 5001.63:1AaAa
Slate 6002.59:1AaAa
Slate 7003.54:1AaAa
Slate 8005.01:1AaAa
Slate 9006.11:1AaAa
Black7.19:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #A28E00
deuteranopia · #B09D1A
tritanopia · #DC7A77

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. #c98b13 is pinned to step 700; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FCF9F2
#FAF3E6
#F6E6C6
#F5D699
#F0C165
#ECAC32
#E09B15
#c98b13
#95670E
#6C4C0F
#433009
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FCF9F2Darkest = 950 · #433009Text 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 0.035 76.1);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.056 76.1);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.083 76.1);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.108 76.1);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.128 76.1);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.139 76.1);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.139 76.1);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.131 76.1);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.117 76.1);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.097 76.1);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.076 76.1);
}

Colors that work with #c98b13

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#EDDDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B804B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0F7FCD
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#74510B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDF6E8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241F14
Dark-mode background
Hover#A87410
One step down in lightness
Pressed#885E0D
Two steps down
Disabled#BAAC92
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#E79C09
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 #c98b13

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
  • Headers, footers and dark-mode surfaces
  • 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
  • Black text placed on it
  • 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 #74510B
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #C48813

Meaning and mood

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

friendlyenergeticaffordablesocial

Orange is red with the aggression taken out — approachable, active, and strongly associated with buying and doing.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. The low lightness adds weight and formality.

Worth knowing

Hard to make feel premium, and it collides with the "caution" band in status systems.

Reads as
  • FormalityHigh
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight57/100
  • TemperatureWarm
  • ApproachabilityHigh

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#1351C9
Analogous left#C93013
Analogous right#ACC913
Split-complement 1#13ACC9
Split-complement 2#3013C9
Triadic 1#13C98B
Triadic 2#8B13C9
Tetradic#13C930
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°40°

#c98b13 sits at 40°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red78.8%
Green54.5%
Blue7.5%
R · 0–255
201
0xc9
G · 0–255
139
0x8b
B · 0–255
19
0x13

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta30.8%
Yellow90.5%
Key (black)21.2%

Total ink coverage is 143%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#c98b13 text on a black background

contrast 7.19:1

Card sample

#c98b13 text on a white background

contrast 2.92:1

Card sample

#c98b13 on grey

2.67:1

#c98b13 on its own surface

2.76:1

#c98b13 on its dark surface

5.61:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c98b13;
Background color
Panel with #c98b13 background
background-color: #c98b13;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c98b13;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(201, 139, 19, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(201, 139, 19, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c98b13;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c98b13, #8DC913);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c98b13, #60C913);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #c98b13;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #c98b13;
caret-color: #c98b13;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #c98b13;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FDF6E8;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #c98b13;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#c98b13 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #c98b13 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(201, 139, 19, 0.5)
rgb(201 139 19 / 50%)
#c98b1380
hsl(40 83% 43% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #c98b13 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#c98b131a#FAF3E7
20%#c98b1333#F4E8D0
40%#c98b1366#E9D1A1
60%#c98b1399#DFB971
80%#c98b13cc#D4A242

Gradients from #c98b13

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, #EBAB2E, #c98b13 45%, #74510B);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #c98b13, #6DAD10);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c98b13, #1351C9);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #EEB64A 0%, #c98b13 45%, #74510B 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF8F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #EA3424 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #B2E516 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #74510B 0%, transparent 65%), #c98b13;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c98b13

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.

#c98b13 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
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

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 7.19:1.

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.

#c98b13, answered

What color is #c98b13?

#c98b13 is a dark electric orange, closest to Dark Goldenrod (ΔE2000 4.1). It sits at 40° on the hue wheel with 83% saturation and 43% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #c98b13?

rgb(201, 139, 19) — 201 red, 139 green and 19 blue out of 255, or 78.8% / 54.5% / 7.5% by channel.

What is #c98b13 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(40, 83%, 43%) and hsv(40, 91%, 79%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #c98b13 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3093 and perceived brightness is 60%, so black text on it reaches 7.19:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c98b13?

Black. It scores 7.19:1 against #c98b13, versus 2.92:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #c98b13 accessible on a white background?

#c98b13 on white scores 2.92:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #9A6B0F to reach 4.5:1, or #75510B for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #c98b13?

#1351C9 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #13ACC9 and #3013C9, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c98b13?

For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #EDDDC0 for borders, #9B804B for secondary text, #0F7FCD as an accent and #74510B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C93013 and #ACC913 stays calm, while #1351C9 is the loudest partner.

What is #c98b13 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 31%, 91%, 21%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — a color this saturated sits outside most CMYK gamuts and will print duller than it looks here.

Is #c98b13 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 8 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C97313; nudged cooler, #C6CB11.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #c98b13?

The amber family — its 500 step is #f59e0b, ΔE2000 9 away. That is a visible difference, so define #c98b13 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #c98b13 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#c98b13] or text-[#c98b13], 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 #c98b13 with 50% opacity?

rgba(201, 139, 19, 0.5), or #c98b1380 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E4C589; over black, #65460A.

Is #c98b13 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC9900, ΔE2000 5.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #c98b13 mean?

As a orange, it reads friendly, energetic, affordable. Orange is red with the aggression taken out — approachable, active, and strongly associated with buying and doing. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #c98b13?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #EBAB2E, #c98b13 45%, #74510B). For more colour, a short hue run to #6DAD10 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #c98b13 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #c98b13 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.