Color #ABA178 Color / Colour Code #ABA178
This page shows the hex color code for color #aba178 (#ABA178). The colour is a yellow tone with 23% saturation and 57% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #ABA178 against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#ABA178 paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 18, 48, and 78 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 48, 168, and 288 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #ABA178
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 48 and saturation at 23%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 48 to 93 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 48 with its complement at 228 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 #ABA178
Lightness variations at hue 48 and 23% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #ABA178
Design Use Cases for #ABA178
Muted Accent Color
With 23% saturation, #ABA178 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.
Soft Accent & Highlight
With 57% lightness, #ABA178 has a softer, more approachable quality. It works well for hover states, subtle highlights, progress indicators, and secondary UI elements. This lightness range is particularly effective for tag backgrounds and status indicators.
Attention & Optimism
#ABA178 is in the yellow spectrum (hue 48). Yellow attracts attention faster than any other color. Use it for warning labels, featured content markers, star ratings, and tooltip backgrounds. Pair with dark text since yellow often fails contrast checks against white.
Gradient Pairing
Create a gradient from #ABA178 (hue 48) to its complement at hue 228. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 78. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #aba178, #7882ab);
CSS Code for #ABA178
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #ABA178 based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #ABA178 across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #ABA178 (#ABA178)
#ABA178 is a yellow color (colour) with RGB channel values of 171 red, 161 green, and 120 blue. The red channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 48 degrees with 23% saturation and 57% lightness, placing it in the warm range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #ABA178 is 159/255 using the ITU-R BT.601 luma formula (0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B). This is a medium-brightness color that can work with either dark or light text depending on font weight and size. For print production, the CMYK equivalent is 0% cyan, 6% magenta, 30% yellow, and 33% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #ABA178 against white is 2.59:1 and against black is 8.10:1. This does not meet AA requirements on white. Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 8.10:1, or use it exclusively for decorative purposes.
The complementary colour #7882AB creates maximum visual tension when paired with #ABA178. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #AB8778 and #9BAB78, 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 #ABA178
- 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 #ABA178?
- #ABA178 is Color #ABA178, a yellow color (colour) with RGB(171, 161, 120), HSL(48, 23%, 57%), and CMYK(0%, 6%, 30%, 33%). Its perceived brightness is 159/255.
- Is #ABA178 accessible for text?
- Against white, #ABA178 has a contrast ratio of 2.59:1 (fails AA for normal text). Against black, it has 8.10:1 (passes AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #ABA178?
- The complementary colour is #7882AB (hue 228). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #AB8778 and #9BAB78. The triadic palette adds #78ABA0 and #A078AB for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #ABA178 in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #aba178; or rgb(171, 161, 120); or hsl(48, 23%, 57%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 48 23% 57%; 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.