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#cdcbad

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

RGB
205, 203, 173
HSL
56°, 24%, 74%
CMYK
0, 1, 16, 20
Luminance
0.5871

At a glance

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

Hex
#cdcbad
Hue
56°
yellow
Saturation
24%
soft
Lightness
74%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
79%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5871
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
31/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
12.74:1
Closest name
Beige
ΔE2000 9.6
Where it sits
Hue56° of 360°
Saturation24%
Lightness74%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool31% 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#cdcbad
RGBrgb(205, 203, 173)
HSLhsl(56, 24%, 74%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 1%, 16%, 20%)
LABlab(81.1 -4.4 15.2)
LCHlch(81.1 15.8 106.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.836 0.041 104.1)
Decimal13487021
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.796 0.678)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cdcbad;
background-color: #cdcbad;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdcbad] bg-[#cdcbad]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdcbad;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.796, blue: 0.678)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cdcbad")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDCBAD)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(173, 203, 205)

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 #cdcbad · 12.74:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.65:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.74:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdcbad as text scores 1.65:1 on white and 12.74:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cdcbad on white: 1.65:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdcbad on black: 12.74:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D1C9AB
deuteranopia · #D2CAAE
tritanopia · #D2C7C3

Color scale — 50 to 950

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

#F9F9F6
#F3F2ED
#E5E4D7
#cdcbad
#BFBD96
#AAA774
#98945D
#7F7C4D
#65633E
#4B4930
#2F2E1E
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F9F9F6Darkest = 950 · #2F2E1E
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F9F6;
  --brand-100: #F3F2ED;
  --brand-200: #E5E4D7;
  --brand-300: #cdcbad;
  --brand-400: #BFBD96;
  --brand-500: #AAA774;
  --brand-600: #98945D;
  --brand-700: #7F7C4D;
  --brand-800: #65633E;
  --brand-900: #4B4930;
  --brand-950: #2F2E1E;
  --brand: #cdcbad;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cdcbad

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#F9F9F5
Tinted page background
Border#E0DFCC
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8F8B57
Captions on the surface
Accent#495B83
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4F4D30
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5F5EF
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#232215
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 #cdcbad

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#ADAFCD
Analogous left#CDBBAD
Analogous right#BFCDAD
Split-complement 1#ADBFCD
Split-complement 2#BBADCD
Triadic 1#ADCDCB
Triadic 2#CBADCD
Tetradic#ADCDBB

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green79.6%
Blue67.8%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta1.0%
Yellow15.6%
Key (black)19.6%

Color previews

#cdcbad text on a black background

contrast 12.74:1

Card sample

#cdcbad text on a white background

contrast 1.65:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

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

Glowing headline

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

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 203, 173, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 203, 173, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdcbad;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdcbad, #BACDAD);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdcbad

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.

#cdcbad 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.

#cdcbad, answered

What color is #cdcbad?

#cdcbad is a light soft yellow, closest to Beige (ΔE2000 9.6). It sits at 56° on the hue wheel with 24% saturation and 74% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cdcbad?

rgb(205, 203, 173) — 205 red, 203 green and 173 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 79.6% / 67.8% by channel.

Is #cdcbad a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5871 and perceived brightness is 79%, so black text on it reaches 12.74:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdcbad?

Black. It scores 12.74:1 against #cdcbad, versus 1.65:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cdcbad?

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

What colors go well with #cdcbad?

For interface work: #F9F9F5 as the surface, #E0DFCC for borders, #8F8B57 for secondary text, #495B83 as an accent and #4F4D30 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CDBBAD and #BFCDAD stays calm, while #ADAFCD is the loudest partner.

What is #cdcbad in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 1%, 16%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cdcbad warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 31 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CDBFAD; nudged cooler, #C4CEAC.

Work with #cdcbad in the Color Lab