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yellow · neutral

#dbdcd1

a light, muted yellow · neutral · closest name: Gainsboro

Token name suggestion: Linen Citron

RGB
219, 220, 209
HSL
66°, 14%, 84%
CMYK
1, 0, 5, 14
Luminance
0.7085

#dbdcd1 is a light muted yellow, 66° on the wheel and 42/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (15.17:1). As text it scores 1.38:1 on white — use #74775B instead. Nearest name is Gainsboro, nearest Tailwind family is teal.

hsl(66 14% 84%)rgb(219 220 209)Base step 200AAA inkNeutral

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dbdcd1 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dbdcd1
Hue
66°
yellow
Saturation
14%
muted
Lightness
84%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
86%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7085
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
42/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Muted
Best ink
Black
15.17:1
Closest name
Gainsboro
ΔE2000 5.5
Chroma
5.8
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.891
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
teal
500 · ΔE 26.8
Web-safe
#CCCCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue66° of 360°
Saturation14%
Lightness84%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #dbdcd1.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool42% cool

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

Luminance by channel
Red21%
Green72%
Blue6%

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

Every format

HEX#dbdcd1
HEX (8-digit)#dbdcd1ff
RGBrgb(219, 220, 209)
RGBArgba(219, 220, 209, 1)
HSLhsl(66, 14%, 84%)
HSV / HSBhsv(65, 5%, 86%)
HWBhwb(66 82% 14%)
CMYKcmyk(1%, 0%, 5%, 14%)
LABlab(87.4 -2.3 5.3)
LCHlch(87.4 5.8 113.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.891 0.015 110.9)
XYZ (D65)xyz(66.31, 70.85, 70.49)
Decimal14408913
Display P3color(display-p3 0.859 0.863 0.820)
Web-safe#CCCCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #dbdcd1;
background-color: #dbdcd1;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #dbdcd1;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dbdcd1] bg-[#dbdcd1]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dbdcd1;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.859, green: 0.863, blue: 0.820)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.859, green: 0.863, blue: 0.820, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#DBDCD1</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFDBDCD1)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDBDCD1)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(209, 220, 219)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(219, 220, 209)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(219, 220, 209)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 219, 220, 209)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8588f, 0.8627f, 0.8196f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{219,220,209}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #dbdcd1 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #dbdcd1 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#474837, #E4E5DC);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #dbdcd1 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: #F8F8F7;
  --brand-100: #F1F1EE;
  --brand-200: #dbdcd1;
  --brand-300: #CDCFBF;
  --brand-400: #B4B69F;
  --brand-500: #9B9E80;
  --brand-600: #888B6A;
  --brand-700: #717458;
  --brand-800: #5B5D47;
  --brand-900: #434536;
  --brand-950: #2A2B21;
  --brand: #dbdcd1;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F8F8F6;
  --brand-border: #DBDCD1;
  --brand-hover: #CBCDBD;
  --brand-pressed: #BBBDA8;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1F2018;
    --brand-ink: #E4E5DC;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F8F8F7',
        100: '#F1F1EE',
        200: '#dbdcd1',
        300: '#CDCFBF',
        400: '#B4B69F',
        500: '#9B9E80',
        600: '#888B6A',
        700: '#717458',
        800: '#5B5D47',
        900: '#434536',
        950: '#2A2B21',
        DEFAULT: '#dbdcd1',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F8F8F7,
  '100': #F1F1EE,
  '200': #dbdcd1,
  '300': #CDCFBF,
  '400': #B4B69F,
  '500': #9B9E80,
  '600': #888B6A,
  '700': #717458,
  '800': #5B5D47,
  '900': #434536,
  '950': #2A2B21,
);
$brand-base: #dbdcd1;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F8F8F7", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F1F1EE", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#dbdcd1", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#CDCFBF", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#B4B69F", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#9B9E80", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#888B6A", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#717458", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#5B5D47", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#434536", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#2A2B21", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #dbdcd1 · 15.17:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.38:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 15.17:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dbdcd1 as text scores 1.38:1 on white and 15.17:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #474837 at 6.74:1.

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
#74775B · 4.63:1
AA on white−43% L
#74775B
The quick fox
#585A45 · 7.09:1
AAA on white−53% L
#585A45
The quick fox
#dbdcd1 · 15.17:1
AA on blackalready passes
#dbdcd1
The quick fox
#dbdcd1 · 15.17:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#dbdcd1

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #929574 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
#dbdcd1 on white: 1.38:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dbdcd1 on black: 15.17:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #dbdcd1 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #dbdcd1.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.38:1AaAa
Slate 501.32:1AaAa
Slate 1001.26:1AaAa
Slate 2001.12:1AaAa
Slate 3001.07:1AaAa
Slate 4001.85:1AaAa
Slate 5003.44:1AaAa
Slate 6005.47:1AaAa
Slate 7007.48:1AaAa
Slate 80010.57:1AaAa
Slate 90012.90:1AaAa
Black15.17:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #DEDBD0
deuteranopia · #DEDBD1
tritanopia · #DDDBD9

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. #dbdcd1 is pinned to step 200; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F8F8F7
#F1F1EE
#dbdcd1
#CDCFBF
#B4B69F
#9B9E80
#888B6A
#717458
#5B5D47
#434536
#2A2B21
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #F8F8F7Darkest = 950 · #2A2B21Text step on white = 700
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 0.004 110.9);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.006 110.9);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.009 110.9);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.012 110.9);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.014 110.9);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.015 110.9);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.015 110.9);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.014 110.9);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.012 110.9);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.010 110.9);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.008 110.9);
}

Colors that work with #dbdcd1

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#F8F8F6
Tinted page background
Border#DBDCD1
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#7F8263
Captions on the surface
Accent#535B79
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#474837
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F4F4F1
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1F2018
Dark-mode background
Hover#CBCDBD
One step down in lightness
Pressed#BBBDA8
Two steps down
Disabled#F6F6F3
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#E7E8D9
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 #dbdcd1

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Borders, dividers and quiet backgrounds
  • Long-form reading 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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #474837
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #929574

Meaning and mood

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

optimisticalertcheap-and-cheerfulvisible

The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail.

With almost no chroma left, the family association is barely present; treat it as a neutral that happens to lean this way. The lightness keeps it airy and approachable.

Worth knowing

Almost never passes contrast against white. Treat it as a surface or a marker, not as text.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyLow
  • Weight16/100
  • TemperatureNeutral
  • ApproachabilityBalanced

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#D2D1DC
Analogous left#DCD7D1
Analogous right#D5DCD1
Split-complement 1#D1D5DC
Split-complement 2#D7D1DC
Triadic 1#D1DBDC
Triadic 2#DCD1DB
Tetradic#D1DCD7
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°66°

#dbdcd1 sits at 66°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red85.9%
Green86.3%
Blue82.0%
R · 0–255
219
0xdb
G · 0–255
220
0xdc
B · 0–255
209
0xd1

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.5%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow5.0%
Key (black)13.7%

Total ink coverage is 19%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#dbdcd1 text on a black background

contrast 15.17:1

Card sample

#dbdcd1 text on a white background

contrast 1.38:1

Card sample

#dbdcd1 on grey

1.26:1

#dbdcd1 on its own surface

1.30:1

#dbdcd1 on its dark surface

11.87:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dbdcd1;
Background color
Panel with #dbdcd1 background
background-color: #dbdcd1;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dbdcd1;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(219, 220, 209, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(219, 220, 209, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dbdcd1;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dbdcd1, #D4DCD1);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dbdcd1, #D1DCD1);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #dbdcd1;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #dbdcd1;
caret-color: #dbdcd1;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #dbdcd1;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F4F4F1;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #dbdcd1;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#dbdcd1 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #dbdcd1 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, 220, 209, 0.5)
rgb(219 220 209 / 50%)
#dbdcd180
hsl(66 14% 84% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #dbdcd1 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#dbdcd11a#FBFCFA
20%#dbdcd133#F8F8F6
40%#dbdcd166#F1F1ED
60%#dbdcd199#E9EAE3
80%#dbdcd1cc#E2E3DA

Gradients from #dbdcd1

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, #F6F6F3, #dbdcd1 45%, #474837);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #dbdcd1, #C2CFC0);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dbdcd1, #D2D1DC);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F8F8F6 0%, #dbdcd1 45%, #474837 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F8F8F6, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #F2F0EE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #E5E9E2 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #474837 0%, transparent 65%), #dbdcd1;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dbdcd1

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.

#dbdcd1 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
BackgroundsBordersBody textDividers
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 15.17:1.

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.

#dbdcd1, answered

What color is #dbdcd1?

#dbdcd1 is a light muted yellow, closest to Gainsboro (ΔE2000 5.5). It sits at 66° on the hue wheel with 14% saturation and 84% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #dbdcd1?

rgb(219, 220, 209) — 219 red, 220 green and 209 blue out of 255, or 85.9% / 86.3% / 82% by channel.

What is #dbdcd1 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(66, 14%, 84%) and hsv(65, 5%, 86%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #dbdcd1 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7085 and perceived brightness is 86%, so black text on it reaches 15.17:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dbdcd1?

Black. It scores 15.17:1 against #dbdcd1, versus 1.38:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #dbdcd1 accessible on a white background?

#dbdcd1 on white scores 1.38:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #74775B to reach 4.5:1, or #585A45 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #dbdcd1?

#D2D1DC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #D1D5DC and #D7D1DC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dbdcd1?

For interface work: #F8F8F6 as the surface, #DBDCD1 for borders, #7F8263 for secondary text, #535B79 as an accent and #474837 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DCD7D1 and #D5DCD1 stays calm, while #D2D1DC is the loudest partner.

What is #dbdcd1 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(1%, 0%, 5%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dbdcd1 warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 42 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DCD9D1; nudged cooler, #D7DDD0.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #dbdcd1?

The teal family — its 500 step is #14b8a6, ΔE2000 26.8 away. That is a visible difference, so define #dbdcd1 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #dbdcd1 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#dbdcd1] or text-[#dbdcd1], 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 #dbdcd1 with 50% opacity?

rgba(219, 220, 209, 0.5), or #dbdcd180 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #EDEEE8; over black, #6E6E69.

Is #dbdcd1 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCCC, ΔE2000 6.5 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #dbdcd1 mean?

As a yellow, it reads optimistic, alert, cheap-and-cheerful. The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail. At this low chroma the association is faint; it behaves more like a neutral.

What gradient works with #dbdcd1?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #F6F6F3, #dbdcd1 45%, #474837). For more colour, a short hue run to #C2CFC0 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #dbdcd1 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #dbdcd1 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.