Color #C6BCAE Color / Colour Code #C6BCAE
This page shows the hex color code for color #c6bcae (#C6BCAE). The colour is a orange tone with 17% saturation and 73% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #C6BCAE against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#C6BCAE paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 5, 35, and 65 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 35, 155, and 275 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #C6BCAE
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 35 and saturation at 17%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 35 to 80 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 35 with its complement at 215 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 #C6BCAE
Lightness variations at hue 35 and 17% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #C6BCAE
Design Use Cases for #C6BCAE
Muted Accent Color
With 17% saturation, #C6BCAE 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.
Light Background Tint
#C6BCAE at 73% lightness creates a gentle tinted background. Use it for section backgrounds, alert banners, or card surfaces that need to stand out from a white page without strong contrast. It adds color personality while keeping the design light and open.
Warmth & Enthusiasm
#C6BCAE sits in the orange range (hue 35). 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 #C6BCAE (hue 35) to its complement at hue 215. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 65. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c6bcae, #aeb8c6);
CSS Code for #C6BCAE
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #C6BCAE based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #C6BCAE across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #C6BCAE (#C6BCAE)
#C6BCAE is a orange color (colour) with RGB channel values of 198 red, 188 green, and 174 blue. The red channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 35 degrees with 17% saturation and 73% lightness, placing it in the warm range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #C6BCAE is 189/255 using the ITU-R BT.601 luma formula (0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B). This means it appears bright to the human eye and is best paired with dark text for readability. For print production, the CMYK equivalent is 0% cyan, 5% magenta, 12% yellow, and 22% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #C6BCAE against white is 1.87:1 and against black is 11.21:1. This does not meet AA requirements on white. Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 11.21:1, or use it exclusively for decorative purposes.
The complementary colour #AEB8C6 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #C6BCAE. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #C6B0AE and #C4C6AE, 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 #C6BCAE
- 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 #C6BCAE?
- #C6BCAE is Color #C6BCAE, a orange color (colour) with RGB(198, 188, 174), HSL(35, 17%, 73%), and CMYK(0%, 5%, 12%, 22%). Its perceived brightness is 189/255.
- Is #C6BCAE accessible for text?
- Against white, #C6BCAE has a contrast ratio of 1.87:1 (fails AA for normal text). Against black, it has 11.21:1 (passes AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #C6BCAE?
- The complementary colour is #AEB8C6 (hue 215). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #C6B0AE and #C4C6AE. The triadic palette adds #AEC6BC and #BCAEC6 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #C6BCAE in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #c6bcae; or rgb(198, 188, 174); or hsl(35, 17%, 73%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 35 17% 73%; 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.