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yellow · warm

#dcd8ab

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

Token name suggestion: Meadow Citron

RGB
220, 216, 171
HSL
55°, 41%, 77%
CMYK
0, 2, 22, 14
Luminance
0.6727

#dcd8ab is a light soft yellow, 55° on the wheel and 21/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (14.45:1). As text it scores 1.45:1 on white — use #7D7734 instead. Nearest name is Pale Goldenrod, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(55 41% 77%)rgb(220 216 171)Base step 300AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dcd8ab is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dcd8ab
Hue
55°
yellow
Saturation
41%
soft
Lightness
77%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
83%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6727
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
21/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
14.45:1
Closest name
Pale Goldenrod
ΔE2000 5.1
Chroma
23.5
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.874
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 20.5
Web-safe
#CCCC99
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue55° of 360°
Saturation41%
Lightness77%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #dcd8ab.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool21% 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
Red23%
Green73%
Blue4%

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

Every format

HEX#dcd8ab
HEX (8-digit)#dcd8abff
RGBrgb(220, 216, 171)
RGBArgba(220, 216, 171, 1)
HSLhsl(55, 41%, 77%)
HSV / HSBhsv(55, 22%, 86%)
HWBhwb(55 67% 14%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 2%, 22%, 14%)
LABlab(85.6 -5.8 22.7)
LCHlch(85.6 23.5 104.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.874 0.059 103.3)
XYZ (D65)xyz(61.42, 67.27, 48.27)
Decimal14473387
Display P3color(display-p3 0.863 0.847 0.671)
Web-safe#CCCC99

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #dcd8ab;
background-color: #dcd8ab;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #dcd8ab;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dcd8ab] bg-[#dcd8ab]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dcd8ab;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.863, green: 0.847, blue: 0.671)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.863, green: 0.847, blue: 0.671, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#DCD8AB</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFDCD8AB)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDCD8AB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(171, 216, 220)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(220, 216, 171)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(220, 216, 171)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 220, 216, 171)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8627f, 0.8471f, 0.6706f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{220,216,171}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #dcd8ab 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #dcd8ab 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#5A5625, #EDEBD4);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #dcd8ab 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: #FAF9F5;
  --brand-100: #F5F4EB;
  --brand-200: #EAE8D2;
  --brand-300: #dcd8ab;
  --brand-400: #CEC888;
  --brand-500: #BDB561;
  --brand-600: #ADA548;
  --brand-700: #90893C;
  --brand-800: #736E30;
  --brand-900: #545126;
  --brand-950: #353218;
  --brand: #dcd8ab;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAFAF4;
  --brand-border: #E7E4C5;
  --brand-hover: #D2CC92;
  --brand-pressed: #C7C179;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242314;
    --brand-ink: #EDEBD4;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FAF9F5',
        100: '#F5F4EB',
        200: '#EAE8D2',
        300: '#dcd8ab',
        400: '#CEC888',
        500: '#BDB561',
        600: '#ADA548',
        700: '#90893C',
        800: '#736E30',
        900: '#545126',
        950: '#353218',
        DEFAULT: '#dcd8ab',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FAF9F5,
  '100': #F5F4EB,
  '200': #EAE8D2,
  '300': #dcd8ab,
  '400': #CEC888,
  '500': #BDB561,
  '600': #ADA548,
  '700': #90893C,
  '800': #736E30,
  '900': #545126,
  '950': #353218,
);
$brand-base: #dcd8ab;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FAF9F5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F5F4EB", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#EAE8D2", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#dcd8ab", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#CEC888", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#BDB561", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#ADA548", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#90893C", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#736E30", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#545126", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#353218", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #dcd8ab · 14.45:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.45:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.45:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dcd8ab as text scores 1.45:1 on white and 14.45:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #5A5625 at 5.18:1.

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
#7D7734 · 4.60:1
AA on white−42% L
#7D7734
The quick fox
#5D5827 · 7.26:1
AAA on white−51% L
#5D5827
The quick fox
#dcd8ab · 14.45:1
AA on blackalready passes
#dcd8ab
The quick fox
#dcd8ab · 14.45:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#dcd8ab

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #9D9642 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
#dcd8ab on white: 1.45:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dcd8ab on black: 14.45:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #dcd8ab as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #dcd8ab.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.45:1AaAa
Slate 501.39:1AaAa
Slate 1001.33:1AaAa
Slate 2001.18:1AaAa
Slate 3001.02:1AaAa
Slate 4001.76:1AaAa
Slate 5003.28:1AaAa
Slate 6005.22:1AaAa
Slate 7007.13:1AaAa
Slate 80010.07:1AaAa
Slate 90012.29:1AaAa
Black14.45:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #E0D5A8
deuteranopia · #E2D7AD
tritanopia · #E4D2CC

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. #dcd8ab 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.

#FAF9F5
#F5F4EB
#EAE8D2
#dcd8ab
#CEC888
#BDB561
#ADA548
#90893C
#736E30
#545126
#353218
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FAF9F5Darkest = 950 · #353218Text step on white = 800
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 0.015 103.3);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.024 103.3);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.036 103.3);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.046 103.3);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.055 103.3);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.059 103.3);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.059 103.3);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.056 103.3);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.050 103.3);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.042 103.3);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.033 103.3);
}

Colors that work with #dcd8ab

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#FAFAF4
Tinted page background
Border#E7E4C5
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B944B
Captions on the surface
Accent#395793
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#5A5625
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F8F7ED
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242314
Dark-mode background
Hover#D2CC92
One step down in lightness
Pressed#C7C179
Two steps down
Disabled#F7F7F3
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#E7E3B5
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 #dcd8ab

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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #5A5625
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #9D9642

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.

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

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

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#ABAFDC
Analogous left#DCC0AB
Analogous right#C8DCAB
Split-complement 1#ABC8DC
Split-complement 2#C0ABDC
Triadic 1#ABDCD8
Triadic 2#D8ABDC
Tetradic#ABDCC0
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°55°

#dcd8ab sits at 55°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red86.3%
Green84.7%
Blue67.1%
R · 0–255
220
0xdc
G · 0–255
216
0xd8
B · 0–255
171
0xab

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta1.8%
Yellow22.3%
Key (black)13.7%

Total ink coverage is 38%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#dcd8ab text on a black background

contrast 14.45:1

Card sample

#dcd8ab text on a white background

contrast 1.45:1

Card sample

#dcd8ab on grey

1.33:1

#dcd8ab on its own surface

1.39:1

#dcd8ab on its dark surface

10.90:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dcd8ab;
Background color
Panel with #dcd8ab background
background-color: #dcd8ab;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dcd8ab;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(220, 216, 171, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(220, 216, 171, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dcd8ab;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dcd8ab, #BFDCAB);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dcd8ab, #B3DCAB);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #dcd8ab;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #dcd8ab;
caret-color: #dcd8ab;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #dcd8ab;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F8F7ED;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #dcd8ab;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#dcd8ab 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #dcd8ab 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(220, 216, 171, 0.5)
rgb(220 216 171 / 50%)
#dcd8ab80
hsl(55 41% 77% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #dcd8ab 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#dcd8ab1a#FCFBF7
20%#dcd8ab33#F8F7EE
40%#dcd8ab66#F1EFDD
60%#dcd8ab99#EAE8CD
80%#dcd8abcc#E3E0BC

Gradients from #dcd8ab

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, #EEECD6, #dcd8ab 45%, #5A5625);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #dcd8ab, #AAD396);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dcd8ab, #ABAFDC);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F7F6EC 0%, #dcd8ab 45%, #5A5625 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAFAF4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #EBD8CF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D3E5C1 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #5A5625 0%, transparent 65%), #dcd8ab;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dcd8ab

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.

#dcd8ab 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.

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 14.45:1.

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.

#dcd8ab, answered

What color is #dcd8ab?

#dcd8ab is a light soft yellow, closest to Pale Goldenrod (ΔE2000 5.1). It sits at 55° on the hue wheel with 41% saturation and 77% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dcd8ab?

rgb(220, 216, 171) — 220 red, 216 green and 171 blue out of 255, or 86.3% / 84.7% / 67.1% by channel.

What is #dcd8ab in HSL and HSV?

hsl(55, 41%, 77%) and hsv(55, 22%, 86%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #dcd8ab a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6727 and perceived brightness is 83%, so black text on it reaches 14.45:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dcd8ab?

Black. It scores 14.45:1 against #dcd8ab, versus 1.45:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #dcd8ab accessible on a white background?

#dcd8ab on white scores 1.45:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #7D7734 to reach 4.5:1, or #5D5827 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #dcd8ab?

#ABAFDC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #ABC8DC and #C0ABDC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dcd8ab?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #E7E4C5 for borders, #9B944B for secondary text, #395793 as an accent and #5A5625 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DCC0AB and #C8DCAB stays calm, while #ABAFDC is the loudest partner.

What is #dcd8ab in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 2%, 22%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dcd8ab warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 21 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DCC6AB; nudged cooler, #CFDDAA.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #dcd8ab?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 20.5 away. That is a visible difference, so define #dcd8ab as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #dcd8ab in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#dcd8ab] or text-[#dcd8ab], 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 #dcd8ab with 50% opacity?

rgba(220, 216, 171, 0.5), or #dcd8ab80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #EEECD5; over black, #6E6C56.

Is #dcd8ab a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCC99, ΔE2000 3.8 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #dcd8ab 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 moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #dcd8ab?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #EEECD6, #dcd8ab 45%, #5A5625). For more colour, a short hue run to #AAD396 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #dcd8ab in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #dcd8ab at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.