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red · warm

#cdadb4

a light, soft red · warm · closest name: Thistle

Token name suggestion: Morning Cardinal

RGB
205, 173, 180
HSL
347°, 24%, 74%
CMYK
0, 16, 12, 20
Luminance
0.4616

#cdadb4 is a light soft red, 347° on the wheel and 32/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (10.23:1). As text it scores 2.05:1 on white — use #A06471 instead. Nearest name is Thistle, nearest Tailwind family is pink.

hsl(347 24% 74%)rgb(205 173 180)Base step 300AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cdadb4 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cdadb4
Hue
347°
red
Saturation
24%
soft
Lightness
74%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
72%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4616
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
32/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
10.23:1
Closest name
Thistle
ΔE2000 8.3
Chroma
12.8
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.778
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
pink
500 · ΔE 24.4
Web-safe
#CC99CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue347° of 360°
Saturation24%
Lightness74%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cdadb4.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool32% 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
Red28%
Green65%
Blue7%

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

Every format

HEX#cdadb4
HEX (8-digit)#cdadb4ff
RGBrgb(205, 173, 180)
RGBArgba(205, 173, 180, 1)
HSLhsl(347, 24%, 74%)
HSV / HSBhsv(347, 16%, 80%)
HWBhwb(347 68% 20%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 16%, 12%, 20%)
LABlab(73.7 12.7 0.8)
LCHlch(73.7 12.8 3.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.778 0.038 3.3)
XYZ (D65)xyz(48.36, 46.16, 49.53)
Decimal13479348
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.678 0.706)
Web-safe#CC99CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cdadb4;
background-color: #cdadb4;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cdadb4;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdadb4] bg-[#cdadb4]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdadb4;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.678, blue: 0.706)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.804, green: 0.678, blue: 0.706, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CDADB4</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCDADB4)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDADB4)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(180, 173, 205)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(205, 173, 180)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(205, 173, 180)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 205, 173, 180)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8039f, 0.6784f, 0.7059f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{205,173,180}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cdadb4 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cdadb4 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#4F3037, #E8D9DC);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cdadb4 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: #F9F6F7;
  --brand-100: #F3EDEE;
  --brand-200: #E5D7DA;
  --brand-300: #cdadb4;
  --brand-400: #BF969F;
  --brand-500: #AA7480;
  --brand-600: #985D6A;
  --brand-700: #7F4D58;
  --brand-800: #653E46;
  --brand-900: #4B3036;
  --brand-950: #2F1E21;
  --brand: #cdadb4;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F9F5F6;
  --brand-border: #E0CCD1;
  --brand-hover: #BF97A0;
  --brand-pressed: #B2818B;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #231518;
    --brand-ink: #E8D9DC;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F6F7',
        100: '#F3EDEE',
        200: '#E5D7DA',
        300: '#cdadb4',
        400: '#BF969F',
        500: '#AA7480',
        600: '#985D6A',
        700: '#7F4D58',
        800: '#653E46',
        900: '#4B3036',
        950: '#2F1E21',
        DEFAULT: '#cdadb4',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F6F7,
  '100': #F3EDEE,
  '200': #E5D7DA,
  '300': #cdadb4,
  '400': #BF969F,
  '500': #AA7480,
  '600': #985D6A,
  '700': #7F4D58,
  '800': #653E46,
  '900': #4B3036,
  '950': #2F1E21,
);
$brand-base: #cdadb4;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9F6F7", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F3EDEE", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E5D7DA", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#cdadb4", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#BF969F", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#AA7480", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#985D6A", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#7F4D58", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#653E46", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#4B3036", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#2F1E21", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cdadb4 · 10.23:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.05:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.23:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdadb4 as text scores 2.05:1 on white and 10.23:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #4F3037 at 5.65:1.

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
#A06471 · 4.61:1
AA on white−23% L
#A06471
The quick fox
#794A54 · 7.19:1
AAA on white−36% L
#794A54
The quick fox
#cdadb4 · 10.23:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cdadb4
The quick fox
#cdadb4 · 10.23:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cdadb4

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #B68791 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
#cdadb4 on white: 2.05:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdadb4 on black: 10.23:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cdadb4 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cdadb4.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.05:1AaAa
Slate 501.96:1AaAa
Slate 1001.87:1AaAa
Slate 2001.66:1AaAa
Slate 3001.38:1AaAa
Slate 4001.25:1AaAa
Slate 5002.32:1AaAa
Slate 6003.69:1AaAa
Slate 7005.05:1AaAa
Slate 8007.13:1AaAa
Slate 9008.70:1AaAa
Black10.23:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #B1B2B4
deuteranopia · #B8B7B3
tritanopia · #D3ABAF

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. #cdadb4 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.

#F9F6F7
#F3EDEE
#E5D7DA
#cdadb4
#BF969F
#AA7480
#985D6A
#7F4D58
#653E46
#4B3036
#2F1E21
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F9F6F7Darkest = 950 · #2F1E21Text step on white = 600
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 0.010 3.3);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.015 3.3);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.023 3.3);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.030 3.3);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.035 3.3);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.038 3.3);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.038 3.3);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.036 3.3);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.032 3.3);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.027 3.3);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.021 3.3);
}

Colors that work with #cdadb4

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#F9F5F6
Tinted page background
Border#E0CCD1
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8F5763
Captions on the surface
Accent#498368
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4F3037
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5EFF1
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#231518
Dark-mode background
Hover#BF97A0
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B2818B
Two steps down
Disabled#F7F3F4
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#DAB4BC
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 #cdadb4

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 #4F3037
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #B68791

Meaning and mood

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

urgentappetisingboldphysical

Red arrives before the rest of the page does. It raises attention and appetite, which is why it runs food, sport and clearance pricing.

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

It is also the universal error colour. Use it as a brand accent and users may read a warning that is not there.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight26/100
  • 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#ADCDC6
Analogous left#CDADC4
Analogous right#CDB6AD
Split-complement 1#ADCDB6
Split-complement 2#ADC4CD
Triadic 1#B4CDAD
Triadic 2#ADB4CD
Tetradic#C4CDAD
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°347°

#cdadb4 sits at 347°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green67.8%
Blue70.6%
R · 0–255
205
0xcd
G · 0–255
173
0xad
B · 0–255
180
0xb4

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta15.6%
Yellow12.2%
Key (black)19.6%

Total ink coverage is 47%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#cdadb4 text on a black background

contrast 10.23:1

Card sample

#cdadb4 text on a white background

contrast 2.05:1

Card sample

#cdadb4 on grey

1.87:1

#cdadb4 on its own surface

1.90:1

#cdadb4 on its dark surface

8.58:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cdadb4;
Background color
Panel with #cdadb4 background
background-color: #cdadb4;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cdadb4;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 173, 180, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 173, 180, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdadb4;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdadb4, #CDBBAD);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cdadb4, #CDC3AD);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cdadb4;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cdadb4;
caret-color: #cdadb4;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cdadb4;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F5EFF1;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cdadb4;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cdadb4 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cdadb4 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(205, 173, 180, 0.5)
rgb(205 173 180 / 50%)
#cdadb480
hsl(347 24% 74% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cdadb4 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cdadb41a#FAF7F8
20%#cdadb433#F5EFF0
40%#cdadb466#EBDEE1
60%#cdadb499#E1CED2
80%#cdadb4cc#D7BDC3

Gradients from #cdadb4

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, #E4D3D7, #cdadb4 45%, #4F3037);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cdadb4, #C1AF9A);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cdadb4, #ADCDC6);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F0E6E8 0%, #cdadb4 45%, #4F3037 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F9F5F6, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #E0CDDC 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D9C9C0 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #4F3037 0%, transparent 65%), #cdadb4;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdadb4

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.

#cdadb4 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.

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 10.23:1.

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.

#cdadb4, answered

What color is #cdadb4?

#cdadb4 is a light soft red, closest to Thistle (ΔE2000 8.3). It sits at 347° on the hue wheel with 24% saturation and 74% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cdadb4?

rgb(205, 173, 180) — 205 red, 173 green and 180 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 67.8% / 70.6% by channel.

What is #cdadb4 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(347, 24%, 74%) and hsv(347, 16%, 80%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cdadb4 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4616 and perceived brightness is 72%, so black text on it reaches 10.23:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdadb4?

Black. It scores 10.23:1 against #cdadb4, versus 2.05:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cdadb4 accessible on a white background?

#cdadb4 on white scores 2.05:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #A06471 to reach 4.5:1, or #794A54 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cdadb4?

#ADCDC6 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #ADCDB6 and #ADC4CD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cdadb4?

For interface work: #F9F5F6 as the surface, #E0CCD1 for borders, #8F5763 for secondary text, #498368 as an accent and #4F3037 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CDADC4 and #CDB6AD stays calm, while #ADCDC6 is the loudest partner.

What is #cdadb4 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 16%, 12%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cdadb4 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 32 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CDB2AD; nudged cooler, #CEACC0.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cdadb4?

The pink family — its 500 step is #ec4899, ΔE2000 24.4 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cdadb4 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cdadb4 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cdadb4] or text-[#cdadb4], 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 #cdadb4 with 50% opacity?

rgba(205, 173, 180, 0.5), or #cdadb480 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E6D6DA; over black, #67575A.

Is #cdadb4 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC99CC, ΔE2000 13.8 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cdadb4 mean?

As a red, it reads urgent, appetising, bold. Red arrives before the rest of the page does. It raises attention and appetite, which is why it runs food, sport and clearance pricing. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #cdadb4?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E4D3D7, #cdadb4 45%, #4F3037). For more colour, a short hue run to #C1AF9A keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cdadb4 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cdadb4 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.