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#dbdbb1

a light, soft yellow · warm · closest name: Pale Goldenrod

RGB
219, 219, 177
HSL
60°, 37%, 78%
CMYK
0, 0, 19, 14
Luminance
0.6890

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dbdbb1 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dbdbb1
Hue
60°
yellow
Saturation
37%
soft
Lightness
78%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
84%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6890
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
25/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
14.78:1
Closest name
Pale Goldenrod
ΔE2000 5.7
Where it sits
Hue60° of 360°
Saturation37%
Lightness78%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool25% 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#dbdbb1
RGBrgb(219, 219, 177)
HSLhsl(60, 37%, 78%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 0%, 19%, 14%)
LABlab(86.5 -6.9 20.7)
LCHlch(86.5 21.8 108.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.881 0.056 107.5)
Decimal14408625
Display P3color(display-p3 0.859 0.859 0.694)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #dbdbb1;
background-color: #dbdbb1;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dbdbb1] bg-[#dbdbb1]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dbdbb1;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.859, green: 0.859, blue: 0.694)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dbdbb1")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDBDBB1)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(177, 219, 219)

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 #dbdbb1 · 14.78:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.42:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.78:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dbdbb1 as text scores 1.42:1 on white and 14.78:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dbdbb1 on white: 1.42:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dbdbb1 on black: 14.78:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #E2D7AE
deuteranopia · #E3D9B3
tritanopia · #E1D5CF

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dbdbb1 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.

#FAFAF5
#F4F4EB
#E9E9D3
#dbdbb1
#CACA8C
#B8B866
#A7A74D
#8C8C40
#707034
#525228
#333319
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FAFAF5Darkest = 950 · #333319
:root {
  --brand-50: #FAFAF5;
  --brand-100: #F4F4EB;
  --brand-200: #E9E9D3;
  --brand-300: #dbdbb1;
  --brand-400: #CACA8C;
  --brand-500: #B8B866;
  --brand-600: #A7A74D;
  --brand-700: #8C8C40;
  --brand-800: #707034;
  --brand-900: #525228;
  --brand-950: #333319;
  --brand: #dbdbb1;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #dbdbb1

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#FAFAF5
Tinted page background
Border#E5E5C7
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B9B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#3D508F
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#575728
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F7F7EE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242414
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 #dbdbb1

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#B1B1DB
Analogous left#DBC6B1
Analogous right#C6DBB1
Split-complement 1#B1C6DB
Split-complement 2#C6B1DB
Triadic 1#B1DBDB
Triadic 2#DBB1DB
Tetradic#B1DBC6

RGB percentages

Red85.9%
Green85.9%
Blue69.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow19.2%
Key (black)14.1%

Color previews

#dbdbb1 text on a black background

contrast 14.78:1

Card sample

#dbdbb1 text on a white background

contrast 1.42:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dbdbb1;
Background color
Panel with #dbdbb1 background
background-color: #dbdbb1;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dbdbb1;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(219, 219, 177, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(219, 219, 177, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dbdbb1;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dbdbb1, #BFDBB1);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dbdbb1

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.

#dbdbb1 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.

#dbdbb1, answered

What color is #dbdbb1?

#dbdbb1 is a light soft yellow, closest to Pale Goldenrod (ΔE2000 5.7). It sits at 60° on the hue wheel with 37% saturation and 78% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dbdbb1?

rgb(219, 219, 177) — 219 red, 219 green and 177 blue out of 255, or 85.9% / 85.9% / 69.4% by channel.

Is #dbdbb1 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6890 and perceived brightness is 84%, so black text on it reaches 14.78:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dbdbb1?

Black. It scores 14.78:1 against #dbdbb1, versus 1.42:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #dbdbb1?

#B1B1DB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #B1C6DB and #C6B1DB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dbdbb1?

For interface work: #FAFAF5 as the surface, #E5E5C7 for borders, #9B9B4B for secondary text, #3D508F as an accent and #575728 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DBC6B1 and #C6DBB1 stays calm, while #B1B1DB is the loudest partner.

What is #dbdbb1 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 0%, 19%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dbdbb1 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 25 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DBCBB1; nudged cooler, #CCDCB0.

Work with #dbdbb1 in the Color Lab