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red · warm

#dbb5ae

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

Token name suggestion: Drift Cardinal

RGB
219, 181, 174
HSL
9°, 39%, 77%
CMYK
0, 17, 21, 14
Luminance
0.5116

#dbb5ae is a light soft red, 9° on the wheel and 11/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (11.23:1). As text it scores 1.87:1 on white — use #B15E4F instead. Nearest name is Pink, nearest Tailwind family is orange.

hsl(9 39% 77%)rgb(219 181 174)Base step 300AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dbb5ae is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dbb5ae
Hue
red
Saturation
39%
soft
Lightness
77%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
75%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5116
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
11/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
11.23:1
Closest name
Pink
ΔE2000 10.2
Chroma
15.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.805
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
orange
500 · ΔE 24.7
Web-safe
#CCCC99
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue9° of 360°
Saturation39%
Lightness77%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #dbb5ae.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool11% 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
Red29%
Green65%
Blue6%

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

Every format

HEX#dbb5ae
HEX (8-digit)#dbb5aeff
RGBrgb(219, 181, 174)
RGBArgba(219, 181, 174, 1)
HSLhsl(9, 39%, 77%)
HSV / HSBhsv(9, 21%, 86%)
HWBhwb(9 68% 14%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 17%, 21%, 14%)
LABlab(76.8 12.6 8.7)
LCHlch(76.8 15.3 34.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.805 0.045 30.3)
XYZ (D65)xyz(53.38, 51.17, 47.10)
Decimal14398894
Display P3color(display-p3 0.859 0.710 0.682)
Web-safe#CCCC99

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #dbb5ae;
background-color: #dbb5ae;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #dbb5ae;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dbb5ae] bg-[#dbb5ae]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dbb5ae;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.859, green: 0.710, blue: 0.682)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.859, green: 0.710, blue: 0.682, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#DBB5AE</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFDBB5AE)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDBB5AE)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(174, 181, 219)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(219, 181, 174)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(219, 181, 174)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 219, 181, 174)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8588f, 0.7098f, 0.6824f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{219,181,174}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #dbb5ae 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #dbb5ae 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#582F27, #ECD8D5);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #dbb5ae 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: #FAF6F5;
  --brand-100: #F4EDEB;
  --brand-200: #E9D6D3;
  --brand-300: #dbb5ae;
  --brand-400: #CB948A;
  --brand-500: #BA7164;
  --brand-600: #AA5A4B;
  --brand-700: #8D4B3F;
  --brand-800: #713C32;
  --brand-900: #532E28;
  --brand-950: #341D19;
  --brand: #dbb5ae;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF5F4;
  --brand-border: #E6CBC6;
  --brand-hover: #D09F95;
  --brand-pressed: #C5887D;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241614;
    --brand-ink: #ECD8D5;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FAF6F5',
        100: '#F4EDEB',
        200: '#E9D6D3',
        300: '#dbb5ae',
        400: '#CB948A',
        500: '#BA7164',
        600: '#AA5A4B',
        700: '#8D4B3F',
        800: '#713C32',
        900: '#532E28',
        950: '#341D19',
        DEFAULT: '#dbb5ae',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FAF6F5,
  '100': #F4EDEB,
  '200': #E9D6D3,
  '300': #dbb5ae,
  '400': #CB948A,
  '500': #BA7164,
  '600': #AA5A4B,
  '700': #8D4B3F,
  '800': #713C32,
  '900': #532E28,
  '950': #341D19,
);
$brand-base: #dbb5ae;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FAF6F5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F4EDEB", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E9D6D3", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#dbb5ae", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#CB948A", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#BA7164", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#AA5A4B", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#8D4B3F", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#713C32", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#532E28", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#341D19", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #dbb5ae · 11.23:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.87:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.23:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dbb5ae as text scores 1.87:1 on white and 11.23:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #582F27 at 6.07:1.

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
#B15E4F · 4.58:1
AA on white−27% L
#B15E4F
The quick fox
#87473C · 7.01:1
AAA on white−39% L
#87473C
The quick fox
#dbb5ae · 11.23:1
AA on blackalready passes
#dbb5ae
The quick fox
#dbb5ae · 11.23:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#dbb5ae

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #C48579 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
#dbb5ae on white: 1.87:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dbb5ae on black: 11.23:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #dbb5ae as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #dbb5ae.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.87:1AaAa
Slate 501.79:1AaAa
Slate 1001.71:1AaAa
Slate 2001.52:1AaAa
Slate 3001.26:1AaAa
Slate 4001.37:1AaAa
Slate 5002.55:1AaAa
Slate 6004.05:1AaAa
Slate 7005.54:1AaAa
Slate 8007.82:1AaAa
Slate 9009.55:1AaAa
Black11.23:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #BDB9AD
deuteranopia · #C5C0AE
tritanopia · #E4B1B3

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. #dbb5ae 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.

#FAF6F5
#F4EDEB
#E9D6D3
#dbb5ae
#CB948A
#BA7164
#AA5A4B
#8D4B3F
#713C32
#532E28
#341D19
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FAF6F5Darkest = 950 · #341D19Text 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 0.011 30.3);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.018 30.3);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.027 30.3);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.035 30.3);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.042 30.3);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.045 30.3);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.045 30.3);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.043 30.3);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.038 30.3);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.032 30.3);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.025 30.3);
}

Colors that work with #dbb5ae

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#FAF5F4
Tinted page background
Border#E6CBC6
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B574B
Captions on the surface
Accent#3B918A
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#582F27
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F7EFED
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241614
Dark-mode background
Hover#D09F95
One step down in lightness
Pressed#C5887D
Two steps down
Disabled#F7F3F3
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#E6BFB7
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 #dbb5ae

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 #582F27
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #C48579

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
  • Weight23/100
  • 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#AED4DB
Analogous left#DBAEBE
Analogous right#DBCCAE
Split-complement 1#AEDBCC
Split-complement 2#AEBEDB
Triadic 1#AEDBB5
Triadic 2#B5AEDB
Tetradic#BEDBAE
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°9°

#dbb5ae sits at 9°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red85.9%
Green71.0%
Blue68.2%
R · 0–255
219
0xdb
G · 0–255
181
0xb5
B · 0–255
174
0xae

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta17.4%
Yellow20.5%
Key (black)14.1%

Total ink coverage is 52%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#dbb5ae text on a black background

contrast 11.23:1

Card sample

#dbb5ae text on a white background

contrast 1.87:1

Card sample

#dbb5ae on grey

1.71:1

#dbb5ae on its own surface

1.73:1

#dbb5ae on its dark surface

9.36:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dbb5ae;
Background color
Panel with #dbb5ae background
background-color: #dbb5ae;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dbb5ae;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(219, 181, 174, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(219, 181, 174, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dbb5ae;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dbb5ae, #DBD3AE);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dbb5ae, #D8DBAE);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #dbb5ae;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #dbb5ae;
caret-color: #dbb5ae;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #dbb5ae;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F7EFED;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #dbb5ae;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#dbb5ae 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #dbb5ae 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(219, 181, 174, 0.5)
rgb(219 181 174 / 50%)
#dbb5ae80
hsl(9 39% 77% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #dbb5ae 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#dbb5ae1a#FBF8F7
20%#dbb5ae33#F8F0EF
40%#dbb5ae66#F1E1DF
60%#dbb5ae99#E9D3CE
80%#dbb5aecc#E2C4BE

Gradients from #dbb5ae

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, #EEDCD9, #dbb5ae 45%, #582F27);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #dbb5ae, #D2CC99);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dbb5ae, #AED4DB);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F7EFEE 0%, #dbb5ae 45%, #582F27 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF5F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #EBD1DC 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #E4DCC3 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #582F27 0%, transparent 65%), #dbb5ae;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dbb5ae

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.

#dbb5ae 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 11.23:1.

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.

#dbb5ae, answered

What color is #dbb5ae?

#dbb5ae is a light soft red, closest to Pink (ΔE2000 10.2). It sits at 9° on the hue wheel with 39% saturation and 77% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dbb5ae?

rgb(219, 181, 174) — 219 red, 181 green and 174 blue out of 255, or 85.9% / 71% / 68.2% by channel.

What is #dbb5ae in HSL and HSV?

hsl(9, 39%, 77%) and hsv(9, 21%, 86%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #dbb5ae a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5116 and perceived brightness is 75%, so black text on it reaches 11.23:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dbb5ae?

Black. It scores 11.23:1 against #dbb5ae, versus 1.87:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #dbb5ae accessible on a white background?

#dbb5ae on white scores 1.87:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #B15E4F to reach 4.5:1, or #87473C for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #dbb5ae?

#AED4DB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #AEDBCC and #AEBEDB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dbb5ae?

For interface work: #FAF5F4 as the surface, #E6CBC6 for borders, #9B574B for secondary text, #3B918A as an accent and #582F27 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DBAEBE and #DBCCAE stays calm, while #AED4DB is the loudest partner.

What is #dbb5ae in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 17%, 21%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dbb5ae warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 11 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DBBFAE; nudged cooler, #DCADB7.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #dbb5ae?

The orange family — its 500 step is #f97316, ΔE2000 24.7 away. That is a visible difference, so define #dbb5ae as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #dbb5ae in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#dbb5ae] or text-[#dbb5ae], 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 #dbb5ae with 50% opacity?

rgba(219, 181, 174, 0.5), or #dbb5ae80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #EDDAD7; over black, #6E5B57.

Is #dbb5ae a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCC99, ΔE2000 25.3 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #dbb5ae 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 #dbb5ae?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #EEDCD9, #dbb5ae 45%, #582F27). For more colour, a short hue run to #D2CC99 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #dbb5ae in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #dbb5ae at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.