Vanilla #F3E5AB

Vanilla (#F3E5AB) is a very light, soft yellow with an OKLCH hue of 96°, lightness 0.92 and chroma 0.076. 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#F3E5AB
RGBrgb(243, 229, 171)
HSLhsl(48, 75%, 81%)
HSVhsv(48, 30%, 95%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 6%, 30%, 5%)
CIE Lablab(90.8 -3.8 30.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.919 0.076 96)

How Vanilla behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Vanilla shifts subtly: leans toward orange; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 1.9), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 1.26:1 and against black 16.61:1, 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 Vanilla

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.

#f3e5ab · #d7ca94 · #aea272 · #877d52 · #625933 · #403816

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.

#f3e5ab · #eacc9b · #deb58f · #ce9f87 · #bc8a80 · #a7787a

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.

#f3e5ab · #b4cbb6 · #b0a576 · #66936c · #73693f · #3d5340

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.

#f3e5ab · #c5c1b1 · #a69f81 · #847d64 · #525988 · #282415

Quiet Support

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

#f3e5ab · #c5c7ce · #8e8b81 · #525359 · #252218 · #010102

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.

#eff1fa · #c6c8d3 · #999ca8 · #202230 · #02030d · #f3e5ab

Complementary

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

#f3e5ab · #c3c6d6 · #8189b1 · #49507e · #1a1e41 · #080400

Split-complementary

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

#f3e5ab · #c3c6d6 · #6d8fae · #5e4875 · #00243f · #020005

Triadic

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

#f3e5ab · #b7cbd1 · #5f95a3 · #6e4364 · #35142e · #000305

Tetradic

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

#f3e5ab · #b7ccc9 · #5f9891 · #49507e · #3b121d · #010008

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#F4E8B5 · #F5EBBF · #F6EDC9 · #F7F0D2 · #F8F3DC

Shades

#C7BA86 · #9D9163 · #746A42 · #4E4623 · #2B2405

Muted

#F0E5B8 · #EDE5C4 · #E9E5D0

Using Vanilla

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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