Skip to content
orange · warm

#ffaf5f

a light, electric orange · warm · closest name: Sandy Brown

Token name suggestion: Meadow Marmalade

RGB
255, 175, 95
HSL
30°, 100%, 69%
CMYK
0, 31, 63, 0
Luminance
0.5275

#ffaf5f is a light electric orange, 30° on the wheel and 0/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (11.55:1). As text it scores 1.82:1 on white — use #B65B00 instead. Nearest name is Sandy Brown, nearest Tailwind family is amber.

hsl(30 100% 69%)rgb(255 175 95)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ffaf5f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ffaf5f
Hue
30°
orange
Saturation
100%
electric
Lightness
69%
light
Brightness
100%
HSV value
Perceived
77%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5275
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
0/100 cool
Color family
Orange
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
11.55:1
Closest name
Sandy Brown
ΔE2000 3.8
Chroma
56.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.816
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
amber
500 · ΔE 7.9
Web-safe
#FF9966
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue30° of 360°
Saturation100%
Lightness69%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #ffaf5f.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool0% 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
Red40%
Green58%
Blue2%

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

Every format

HEX#ffaf5f
HEX (8-digit)#ffaf5fff
RGBrgb(255, 175, 95)
RGBArgba(255, 175, 95, 1)
HSLhsl(30, 100%, 69%)
HSV / HSBhsv(30, 63%, 100%)
HWBhwb(30 37% 0%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 31%, 63%, 0%)
LABlab(77.7 21.6 52.0)
LCHlch(77.7 56.3 67.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.816 0.134 63.9)
XYZ (D65)xyz(58.64, 52.75, 17.92)
Decimal16756575
Display P3color(display-p3 1.000 0.686 0.373)
Web-safe#FF9966

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #ffaf5f;
background-color: #ffaf5f;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #ffaf5f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ffaf5f] bg-[#ffaf5f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ffaf5f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 1.000, green: 0.686, blue: 0.373)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 1.000, green: 0.686, blue: 0.373, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#FFAF5F</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFFFAF5F)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFFAF5F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(95, 175, 255)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(255, 175, 95)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(255, 175, 95)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 255, 175, 95)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(1.0000f, 0.6863f, 0.3725f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{255,175,95}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #ffaf5f 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #ffaf5f 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#804000, #EEE0D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #ffaf5f 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: #FEF7F1;
  --brand-100: #FCF0E3;
  --brand-200: #FCDEC0;
  --brand-300: #FFC78F;
  --brand-400: #ffaf5f;
  --brand-500: #FF8F1F;
  --brand-600: #F57A00;
  --brand-700: #CC6600;
  --brand-800: #A35200;
  --brand-900: #763D05;
  --brand-950: #492603;
  --brand: #ffaf5f;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF7F4;
  --brand-border: #EDD6C0;
  --brand-hover: #FF9D3B;
  --brand-pressed: #FF8B17;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241C14;
    --brand-ink: #EEE0D3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FEF7F1',
        100: '#FCF0E3',
        200: '#FCDEC0',
        300: '#FFC78F',
        400: '#ffaf5f',
        500: '#FF8F1F',
        600: '#F57A00',
        700: '#CC6600',
        800: '#A35200',
        900: '#763D05',
        950: '#492603',
        DEFAULT: '#ffaf5f',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FEF7F1,
  '100': #FCF0E3,
  '200': #FCDEC0,
  '300': #FFC78F,
  '400': #ffaf5f,
  '500': #FF8F1F,
  '600': #F57A00,
  '700': #CC6600,
  '800': #A35200,
  '900': #763D05,
  '950': #492603,
);
$brand-base: #ffaf5f;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FEF7F1", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#FCF0E3", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#FCDEC0", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#FFC78F", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#ffaf5f", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#FF8F1F", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#F57A00", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#CC6600", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#A35200", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#763D05", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#492603", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #ffaf5f · 11.55:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.82:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.55:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ffaf5f as text scores 1.82:1 on white and 11.55:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #804000 at 4.36:1.

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
#B65B00 · 4.68:1
AA on white−33% L
#B65B00
The quick fox
#884400 · 7.31:1
AAA on white−42% L
#884400
The quick fox
#ffaf5f · 11.55:1
AA on blackalready passes
#ffaf5f
The quick fox
#ffaf5f · 11.55:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#ffaf5f

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #E97400 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
#ffaf5f on white: 1.82:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ffaf5f on black: 11.55:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #ffaf5f as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #ffaf5f.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.82:1AaAa
Slate 501.74:1AaAa
Slate 1001.66:1AaAa
Slate 2001.47:1AaAa
Slate 3001.22:1AaAa
Slate 4001.41:1AaAa
Slate 5002.62:1AaAa
Slate 6004.17:1AaAa
Slate 7005.69:1AaAa
Slate 8008.05:1AaAa
Slate 9009.82:1AaAa
Black11.55:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #C8B557
deuteranopia · #DBC760
tritanopia · #FF9D9D

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. #ffaf5f is pinned to step 400; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FEF7F1
#FCF0E3
#FCDEC0
#FFC78F
#ffaf5f
#FF8F1F
#F57A00
#CC6600
#A35200
#763D05
#492603
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FEF7F1Darkest = 950 · #492603Text 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 0.034 63.9);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.054 63.9);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.080 63.9);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.105 63.9);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.123 63.9);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.134 63.9);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.134 63.9);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.126 63.9);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.113 63.9);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.094 63.9);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.074 63.9);
}

Colors that work with #ffaf5f

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#FAF7F4
Tinted page background
Border#EDD6C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B734B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0099CC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#804000
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFF2E5
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241C14
Dark-mode background
Hover#FF9D3B
One step down in lightness
Pressed#FF8B17
Two steps down
Disabled#ECE7E2
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#FFB973
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 #ffaf5f

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • White text placed on it
  • 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 #804000
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #E97400

Meaning and mood

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

friendlyenergeticaffordablesocial

Orange is red with the aggression taken out — approachable, active, and strongly associated with buying and doing.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. The lightness keeps it airy and approachable.

Worth knowing

Hard to make feel premium, and it collides with the "caution" band in status systems.

Reads as
  • FormalityLow
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight31/100
  • 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#5FAFFF
Analogous left#FF5F5F
Analogous right#FFFF5F
Split-complement 1#5FFFFF
Split-complement 2#5F5FFF
Triadic 1#5FFFAF
Triadic 2#AF5FFF
Tetradic#5FFF5F
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°30°

#ffaf5f sits at 30°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red100.0%
Green68.6%
Blue37.3%
R · 0–255
255
0xff
G · 0–255
175
0xaf
B · 0–255
95
0x5f

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta31.4%
Yellow62.7%
Key (black)0.0%

Total ink coverage is 94%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#ffaf5f text on a black background

contrast 11.55:1

Card sample

#ffaf5f text on a white background

contrast 1.82:1

Card sample

#ffaf5f on grey

1.66:1

#ffaf5f on its own surface

1.70:1

#ffaf5f on its dark surface

9.23:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ffaf5f;
Background color
Panel with #ffaf5f background
background-color: #ffaf5f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ffaf5f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(255, 175, 95, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(255, 175, 95, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ffaf5f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ffaf5f, #E4FF5F);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ffaf5f, #BCFF5F);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #ffaf5f;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #ffaf5f;
caret-color: #ffaf5f;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #ffaf5f;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FFF2E5;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #ffaf5f;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#ffaf5f 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #ffaf5f 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(255, 175, 95, 0.5)
rgb(255 175 95 / 50%)
#ffaf5f80
hsl(30 100% 69% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #ffaf5f 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#ffaf5f1a#FFF7EF
20%#ffaf5f33#FFEFDF
40%#ffaf5f66#FFDFBF
60%#ffaf5f99#FFCF9F
80%#ffaf5fcc#FFBF7F

Gradients from #ffaf5f

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, #FFCE9C, #ffaf5f 45%, #804000);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #ffaf5f, #CFFF40);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ffaf5f, #5FAFFF);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #FFDDBB 0%, #ffaf5f 45%, #804000 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF7F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #FF929B 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #F4FF7D 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #804000 0%, transparent 65%), #ffaf5f;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ffaf5f

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.

#ffaf5f in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
E-commerceFood deliveryLogisticsCreator tools
Common UI roles
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

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 11.55:1.

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.

#ffaf5f, answered

What color is #ffaf5f?

#ffaf5f is a light electric orange, closest to Sandy Brown (ΔE2000 3.8). It sits at 30° on the hue wheel with 100% saturation and 69% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ffaf5f?

rgb(255, 175, 95) — 255 red, 175 green and 95 blue out of 255, or 100% / 68.6% / 37.3% by channel.

What is #ffaf5f in HSL and HSV?

hsl(30, 100%, 69%) and hsv(30, 63%, 100%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #ffaf5f a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5275 and perceived brightness is 77%, so black text on it reaches 11.55:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ffaf5f?

Black. It scores 11.55:1 against #ffaf5f, versus 1.82:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #ffaf5f accessible on a white background?

#ffaf5f on white scores 1.82:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #B65B00 to reach 4.5:1, or #884400 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #ffaf5f?

#5FAFFF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #5FFFFF and #5F5FFF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ffaf5f?

For interface work: #FAF7F4 as the surface, #EDD6C0 for borders, #9B734B for secondary text, #0099CC as an accent and #804000 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FF5F5F and #FFFF5F stays calm, while #5FAFFF is the loudest partner.

What is #ffaf5f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 31%, 63%, 0%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — a color this saturated sits outside most CMYK gamuts and will print duller than it looks here.

Is #ffaf5f warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 0 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FFB678; nudged cooler, #FF745F.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #ffaf5f?

The amber family — its 500 step is #f59e0b, ΔE2000 7.9 away. That is a visible difference, so define #ffaf5f as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #ffaf5f in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#ffaf5f] or text-[#ffaf5f], 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 #ffaf5f with 50% opacity?

rgba(255, 175, 95, 0.5), or #ffaf5f80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #FFD7AF; over black, #805830.

Is #ffaf5f a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #FF9966, ΔE2000 10.5 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #ffaf5f mean?

As a orange, it reads friendly, energetic, affordable. Orange is red with the aggression taken out — approachable, active, and strongly associated with buying and doing. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #ffaf5f?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #FFCE9C, #ffaf5f 45%, #804000). For more colour, a short hue run to #CFFF40 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #ffaf5f in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #ffaf5f at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.