Brass #B5A642

Brass (#B5A642) is a light, soft yellow with an OKLCH hue of 101°, lightness 0.72 and chroma 0.121. It sits on the warm side of the color wheel. In practice it behaves as a mid-weight working color for secondary surfaces and editorial blocks.

Color values

HEX#B5A642
RGBrgb(181, 166, 66)
HSLhsl(52, 47%, 48%)
HSVhsv(52, 64%, 71%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 8%, 64%, 29%)
CIE Lablab(67.6 -6.7 52.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.719 0.121 101)

How Brass behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Brass shifts subtly: leans toward orange; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 1.4), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 2.47:1 and against black 8.5:1, so black text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text. Avoid white text on this color entirely.

Palettes built from Brass

Tonal

One color explored: close hues with real lightness and chroma structure, so the palette is the anchor through value rather than a set of colors.

#fff4ac · #d9cc76 · #b5a642 · #8c7e1e · #655a00 · #403800

Analogous

The anchor's neighbours on the wheel — everything shares an undertone, so the chord carries color without anything having to be muted to get along.

#b2d898 · #b2c06e · #b5a642 · #b18c36 · #a87334 · #995e37

Shifted

The mid-gap pairing — sage and mustard, terracotta and olive. A foil rotated 40–65° toward warm or cool: too far to be kin, too near to argue, carried by temperature and a deliberate value offset.

#a7d0b1 · #b5a642 · #948736 · #1e7c45 · #584d00 · #123c21

Contrast

One deliberately opposed voice — a single restrained counterpoint across the wheel, or temperature against temperature where the anchor is too muted to carry a loud opposite.

#f3edbe · #ccc8ad · #b5a642 · #8b8455 · #5656a3 · #2d290f

Quiet Support

The anchor as the only color in the room. True neutrals or complement-warmed near-neutrals let it stay dominant.

#eff1fd · #b5a642 · #8c8979 · #51525a · #242211 · #010103

Bright Accent

This color as a ground rather than a subject — its own restraint held across a narrow value band, carrying one saturated voice from the opposite temperature.

#eff1fd · #c6c8d5 · #999baa · #1f2032 · #02020f · #b5a642

Complementary

The opposite hue on the perceptual wheel, tempered to field strength — warm/cool tension without vibration.

#c6d8b6 · #b5a642 · #78996a · #1d70b3 · #29335a · #051316

Split-complementary

The complement's two neighbours instead of the complement itself — strong contrast with a lower clash risk.

#eff1ff · #b5a642 · #5a8dc1 · #673b83 · #002244 · #030009

Triadic

Three hues spaced evenly around the wheel; the anchor leads and the other two are held at supporting strength.

#dff7ff · #b5a642 · #3696b2 · #7c3266 · #3f0330 · #00050a

Tetradic

Two complementary pairs offset by 90° — the richest chord, kept usable by a strict lightness hierarchy.

#d7faf7 · #b5a642 · #2c9b96 · #484793 · #460015 · #01000e

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#C0B35F · #CBC17A · #D7CE93 · #E2DBAC · #EEE9C4

Shades

#95882B · #776B11 · #594F00 · #3C3500 · #221D00

Muted

#B1A65D · #ADA673 · #AAA586

Using Brass

Its moderate chroma lets it work in mid-size areas — upholstery, secondary UI surfaces, editorial blocks — without overwhelming neighbors. In palettes it pairs most predictably with its tonal ramp and analogous neighbors; reserve the complementary hue for small, deliberate contrast.

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