Dark Orange #FF8C00

Dark Orange is a medium-light, vivid orange with hex code #FF8C00 and RGB rgb(255, 140, 0).

Black text reads best on this color (9.00:1).

About this color

#FF8C00 is a medium-light, vivid orange. In OKLCH its lightness is 75%, its chroma 0.179 and its hue 58°. Its hue sits on the warm side of the wheel. It is the named color Dark Orange. Black text reads best on it, at 9.00:1.

Hue family	Oranges
Lightness	medium-light (75%)
Chroma	vivid (0.179)
Temperature	warm
Nearest name	Dark Orange
Black text	9.00:1
White text	2.33:1

Colors that go with Dark Orange

Matches found by rotating Dark Orange around the OKLCH hue wheel, each labelled with the closest name in our list.

Complementary

The opposite hue (180°).

Deep Sky Blue #3EBAFF

Open the complementary palette in the generator

Analogous

Neighbouring hues, 30° either side.

Open the analogous palette in the generator

Triadic

Three hues spaced 120° apart.

Open the triadic palette in the generator

Color palettes with Dark Orange

Curated color palettes that contain a color within ΔE 0.06 (OKLab) of Dark Orange, closest first.

Similar named colors

The eight named colors closest to Dark Orange, with their ΔE distance.

More about Dark Orange

How to make Dark Orange

A starting recipe from common paint colors, found with a spectral paint model (the color mixer’s paint mode). Real pigments vary, so mix a small test batch and adjust.

2 parts yellow
1 part red

Recipe result: #FD8D2F, a difference of ΔE 0.014 from Dark Orange. That is very close: most people will not see the difference.

What colors make orange? | Color mixing chart

Codes for Dark Orange in every format

HEX	#FF8C00
RGB	rgb(255, 140, 0)
HSL	hsl(33, 100%, 50%)
OKLCH	oklch(75.1% 0.179 58.3)

Contrast

WCAG 2 contrast ratios are the conformance target: AA needs 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text, AAA needs 7:1. APCA Lc values are supplementary guidance from the WCAG 3 drafts.

Pair	WCAG 2	Result	APCA	APCA guidance
White text on #FF8C00	2.33:1	Fails	Lc -50.3	Large or bold text, headings
Black text on #FF8C00	9.00:1	AAA	Lc 58.6	Large or bold text, headings
#FF8C00 text on white	2.33:1	Fails	Lc 45.4	Large or bold text, headings
#FF8C00 text on black	9.00:1	AAA	Lc -56.7	Large or bold text, headings

Shades and tints of Dark Orange

A 50–950 scale built in OKLCH: the hue is held, lightness follows a Tailwind v4-like curve, and every step is kept inside the sRGB gamut. This color sits at step 400.

Step 50
50

#FEF3EC

oklch(97.1% 0.015 54.9)
Step 100
100

#FBE5D5

oklch(93.5% 0.032 58.4)
Step 200
200

#F9D0B1

oklch(88.5% 0.062 58.9)
Step 300
300

#F7AE76

oklch(80.9% 0.112 57.8)
Step 400
400 (this color)

#FF8C00

oklch(75.1% 0.179 58.3)
Step 500
500

#CB6E00

oklch(63.2% 0.151 58.2)
Step 600
600

#AB5C00

oklch(55.6% 0.133 58.3)
Step 700
700

#904D00

oklch(49.1% 0.117 58.7)
Step 800
800

#773E00

oklch(42.7% 0.102 58.2)
Step 900
900

#643300

oklch(37.7% 0.09 58)
Step 950
950

#3D1D00

oklch(27% 0.064 58.4)

Export this scale for Tailwind in the Tailwind colors tool

Dark Orange with color blindness

Simulated with the Machado et al. (2009) model. ΔE is how far the color moves: below about 0.02 you would not notice a change.

Vision	Seen as	Shift (ΔE)
Protanopia (no red cones)	#AF9900	0.136
Deuteranopia (no green cones)	#CAB400	0.124
Tritanopia (no blue cones)	#FF7177	0.119
Achromatopsia (no color)	#AAAAAA	0.180

Use Dark Orange in your product

Turn it into light and dark UI roles checked for contrast, then export to Tailwind v4, shadcn/ui, CSS or design tokens.

Build a color system from this color Generate a palette