Desert #CCAD60
Desert is a medium-light, moderately saturated orange with hex code #CCAD60 and RGB rgb(204, 173, 96).
Aa
Black text reads best on this color (9.71:1).
About this color
#CCAD60 is a medium-light, moderately saturated orange. In OKLCH its lightness is 76%, its chroma 0.103 and its hue 88°. Its hue sits on the warm side of the wheel. It is the named color Desert. Black text reads best on it, at 9.71:1.
| Hue family | Oranges |
| Lightness | medium-light (76%) |
| Chroma | moderately saturated (0.103) |
| Temperature | warm |
| Nearest name | Desert |
| Black text | 9.71:1 |
| White text | 2.16:1 |
Colors that go with Desert
Matches found by rotating Desert around the OKLCH hue wheel, each labelled with the closest name in our list.
Complementary
The opposite hue (180°).
Analogous
Neighbouring hues, 30° either side.
Triadic
Three hues spaced 120° apart.
Color palettes with Desert
Curated color palettes that contain a color within ΔE 0.06 (OKLab) of Desert, closest first.
Similar named colors
The eight named colors closest to Desert, with their ΔE distance.
- Sand Brown #CBA560 ΔE 0.021
- Sandstone #C9AE74 ΔE 0.021
- Dark Khaki #BDB76B ΔE 0.031
- Fawn #CFAF7B ΔE 0.031
- Toupe #C7AC7D ΔE 0.035
- Camel #C69F59 ΔE 0.038
- Earth Yellow #DDA15E ΔE 0.038
- Very Light Brown #D3B683 ΔE 0.043
More about Desert
How to make Desert
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.
- 4 parts orange
- 4 parts white
- 1 part blue
Recipe result: #CFAF58, a difference of ΔE 0.012 from Desert. That is very close: most people will not see the difference.
Codes for Desert in every format
| HEX | #CCAD60 |
| RGB | rgb(204, 173, 96) |
| HSL | hsl(43, 51%, 59%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(75.9% 0.103 88) |
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 #CCAD60 | 2.16:1 | Fails | Lc -47.1 | Large or bold text, headings |
| Black text on #CCAD60 | 9.71:1 | AAA | Lc 61.5 | Content text, not long reading |
| #CCAD60 text on white | 2.16:1 | Fails | Lc 42.4 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
| #CCAD60 text on black | 9.71:1 | AAA | Lc -59.8 | Large or bold text, headings |
Shades and tints of Desert
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 300.
-
Step 50
50
#F9F5EB
oklch(97.1% 0.014 88.7)
-
Step 100
100
#F2E9D4
oklch(93.6% 0.029 87.5)
-
Step 200
200
#E9D8AF
oklch(88.6% 0.057 88.2)
-
Step 300
300 (this color)
#CCAD60
oklch(75.9% 0.103 88)
-
Step 400
400
#C69A00
oklch(70.7% 0.145 88.1)
-
Step 500
500
#AA8400
oklch(63.2% 0.129 88.2)
-
Step 600
600
#8F6E00
oklch(55.5% 0.114 87.7)
-
Step 700
700
#785C00
oklch(49% 0.1 87.9)
-
Step 800
800
#634B00
oklch(42.6% 0.087 87.5)
-
Step 900
900
#533E00
oklch(37.6% 0.077 86.9)
-
Step 950
950
#322400
oklch(27% 0.055 86.6)
Desert 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) | #BDAB59 | 0.026 |
| Deuteranopia (no green cones) | #C4B463 | 0.020 |
| Tritanopia (no blue cones) | #DBA29B | 0.093 |
| Achromatopsia (no color) | #B0B0B0 | 0.103 |
Use Desert 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.