Color #BC8A85 Color / Colour Code #BC8A85
This page shows the hex color code for color #bc8a85 (#BC8A85). The colour is a red tone with 29% saturation and 63% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #BC8A85 against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#BC8A85 paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 335, 5, and 35 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 5, 125, and 245 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #BC8A85
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 5 and saturation at 29%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 5 to 50 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 5 with its complement at 185 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 #BC8A85
Lightness variations at hue 5 and 29% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #BC8A85
Design Use Cases for #BC8A85
Muted Accent Color
With 29% saturation, #BC8A85 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 63% lightness, #BC8A85 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.
Urgency & Energy Signaling
#BC8A85 falls in the red spectrum (hue 5). Red triggers urgency and excitement, making it effective for sale badges, countdown timers, error messages, and "limited time" labels. In data visualization, use it to flag negative values or critical thresholds.
Gradient Pairing
Create a gradient from #BC8A85 (hue 5) to its complement at hue 185. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 35. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bc8a85, #85b7bc);
CSS Code for #BC8A85
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #BC8A85 based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #BC8A85 across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #BC8A85 (#BC8A85)
#BC8A85 is a red color (colour) with RGB channel values of 188 red, 138 green, and 133 blue. The red channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 5 degrees with 29% saturation and 63% lightness, placing it in the warm range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #BC8A85 is 152/255 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, 27% magenta, 29% yellow, and 26% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #BC8A85 against white is 2.95:1 and against black is 7.11:1. This does not meet AA requirements on white. Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 7.11:1, or use it exclusively for decorative purposes.
The complementary colour #85B7BC creates maximum visual tension when paired with #BC8A85. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #BC859C and #BCA585, 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 #BC8A85
- 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 #BC8A85?
- #BC8A85 is Color #BC8A85, a red color (colour) with RGB(188, 138, 133), HSL(5, 29%, 63%), and CMYK(0%, 27%, 29%, 26%). Its perceived brightness is 152/255.
- Is #BC8A85 accessible for text?
- Against white, #BC8A85 has a contrast ratio of 2.95:1 (fails AA for normal text). Against black, it has 7.11:1 (passes AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #BC8A85?
- The complementary colour is #85B7BC (hue 185). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #BC859C and #BCA585. The triadic palette adds #85BC8A and #8A85BC for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #BC8A85 in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #bc8a85; or rgb(188, 138, 133); or hsl(5, 29%, 63%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 5 29% 63%; 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.