Color #554E43 Color / Colour Code #554E43
This page shows the hex color code for color #554e43 (#554E43). The colour is a orange tone with 12% saturation and 30% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #554E43 against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#554E43 paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 7, 37, and 67 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 37, 157, and 277 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #554E43
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 37 and saturation at 12%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 37 to 82 degrees create a warm, unified palette. This analogous scheme works for marketing materials, seasonal campaigns, and any design that needs visual warmth without clashing colors.
Combines the base color at hue 37 with its complement at 217 and two adjacent cool tones. This split-complementary approach provides strong visual contrast while remaining more balanced than a pure complementary scheme.
Five evenly spaced hues at 40% saturation and 80% lightness. Pastels are gentle on the eyes and work well for dashboards, onboarding screens, category tags, and any interface where multiple distinct colors are needed without visual aggression.
Shades & Tints of #554E43
Lightness variations at hue 37 and 12% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #554E43
Design Use Cases for #554E43
Muted Accent Color
With 12% saturation, #554E43 has a subtle, sophisticated quality. This level of desaturation works well for secondary buttons, inactive states, subtle borders, and backgrounds that need a hint of color without being distracting. Muted colors communicate restraint and professionalism.
Primary Interface Color
At 30% lightness, #554E43 is in the mid-range, making it ideal for interactive elements like buttons, links, and selected states. This lightness level ensures good contrast against both light and dark adjacent elements in most layouts.
Warmth & Enthusiasm
#554E43 sits in the orange range (hue 37). Orange combines the energy of red with the warmth of yellow. It works naturally for progress indicators, pricing highlights, "new" badges, and friendly call-to-action buttons. Food and fitness brands frequently use this hue range.
Gradient Pairing
Create a gradient from #554E43 (hue 37) to its complement at hue 217. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 67. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #554e43, #434a56);
CSS Code for #554E43
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #554E43 based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #554E43 across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #554E43 (#554E43)
#554E43 is a orange color (colour) with RGB channel values of 85 red, 78 green, and 67 blue. The red channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 37 degrees with 12% saturation and 30% lightness, placing it in the warm range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #554E43 is 79/255 using the ITU-R BT.601 luma formula (0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B). This appears dark to the human eye, so pair it with light text for adequate readability. For print production, the CMYK equivalent is 0% cyan, 8% magenta, 21% yellow, and 67% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #554E43 against white is 8.21:1 and against black is 2.56:1. This exceeds the AAA requirement (7:1) for normal text on white, making it excellent for body text and small UI labels on light backgrounds.
The complementary colour #434A56 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #554E43. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #564543 and #545643, which sit 30 degrees on either side of the hue wheel. To build a complete design system, start with the monochromatic scale above for consistent shade variations, then add one complementary or triadic accent for interactive elements.
How to Explore Color #554E43
- Enter your color value in HEX format.
- The tool converts it to RGB, HSL, CMYK format in real time.
- Copy the converted value to your clipboard.
What is HEX to RGB, HSL, CMYK color conversion
Converting from HEX to RGB, HSL, CMYK translates a color value between two different color models. Different color models are used in web design (HEX, RGB), print (CMYK), and color theory (HSL, HSV).
Related Tools & Colors
Frequently Asked Questions
- What color / colour is #554E43?
- #554E43 is Color #554E43, a orange color (colour) with RGB(85, 78, 67), HSL(37, 12%, 30%), and CMYK(0%, 8%, 21%, 67%). Its perceived brightness is 79/255.
- Is #554E43 accessible for text?
- Against white, #554E43 has a contrast ratio of 8.21:1 (passes AA for normal text). Against black, it has 2.56:1 (fails AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #554E43?
- The complementary colour is #434A56 (hue 217). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #564543 and #545643. The triadic palette adds #43564F and #4F4356 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #554E43 in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #554e43; or rgb(85, 78, 67); or hsl(37, 12%, 30%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 37 12% 30%; then use it as hsl(var(--color-primary)).
- Is this color / colour explorer free?
- Yes, completely free with no signup required. All colour calculations run in your browser. You can explore any valid hex color code, not just the pre-generated palette.