Named color

Brass

Brass is an earth tone yellow color with HEX #B5A642. According to Colors Encyclopedia, it has RGB 181, 166, 66, HSL 52, 47%, 48%, warm temperature, and is useful for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging.

#B5A642 yellow warm earth-tone

HEX #B5A642

RGB rgb(181, 166, 66)

HSL hsl(52 47% 48%)

CMYK cmyk(0, 8, 64, 29)

Luminance 0.3749

Contrast Black 8.5:1White 2.47:1

CSS Utilities

--color-brass: #B5A642;
.bg-brass { background-color: #B5A642; }
.text-brass { color: #B5A642; }

Open CSS utility pageReusable variables, classes, examples, and implementation notes

Luminance0.3749

Black text8.5:1AA Pass

White text2.47:1AA Fail

hexCanonical HEX value

rgbRed, green, blue channels

hslHue, saturation, lightness

cmykApproximate print conversion

wcagAA and AAA contrast options

harmoniesMathematical harmony sets

variantsGenerated tone variants

nearestColorsKnowledge graph neighbors

Structured sections

Color systems

{
  "hex": "#B5A642",
  "rgb": [
    181,
    166,
    66
  ],
  "hsl": [
    52,
    47,
    48
  ],
  "cmyk": [
    0,
    8,
    64,
    29
  ],
  "luminance": 0.3749,
  "contrast": {
    "black": 8.5,
    "white": 2.47
  }
}

WCAG

{
  "AA": [
    "#000000",
    "#1A1A1A"
  ],
  "AAA": [
    "#000000",
    "#1A1A1A"
  ]
}

Harmonies

{
  "complementary": "#4150B4",
  "analogous": [
    "#B46B41",
    "#8AB441"
  ],
  "triadic": [
    "#41B4A5",
    "#A541B4"
  ],
  "tetradic": [
    "#41B46B",
    "#4150B4",
    "#B4418A"
  ],
  "splitComplementary": [
    "#418AB4",
    "#6B41B4"
  ],
  "monochromatic": [
    "#D1C680",
    "#B5A642",
    "#706729"
  ]
}

Variants

{
  "light": "#D1C680",
  "dark": "#706729",
  "saturated": "#CFB826",
  "desaturated": "#99915C",
  "pastel": "#D0CAA4",
  "neon": "#FFE11F"
}

Pairings

{
  "best": [
    "#000000",
    "#4150B4",
    "#B46B41",
    "#8AB441"
  ],
  "avoid": [
    "#99915C",
    "#D1C680"
  ],
  "neutral": [
    "#1A1A1A",
    "#F5F5F5",
    "#E8E8E4"
  ],
  "highContrast": [
    "#000000"
  ],
  "lowContrast": [
    "#D1C680",
    "#99915C"
  ]
}

Knowledge graph

{
  "nearestColors": [
    "brushed-brass",
    "old-gold",
    "antique-gold",
    "peru",
    "peridot"
  ],
  "generatedPalettes": [
    "brass"
  ],
  "generatedComparisons": [
    "brass-vs-brushed-brass",
    "brass-vs-old-gold"
  ],
  "relatedFamilies": [
    "/colors/by-family/yellow",
    "/colors/by-temperature/warm",
    "/colors/by-tone/earth-tone"
  ],
  "relatedTools": [
    "/harmonies/brass",
    "/wcag/brass",
    "/css/colors/brass",
    "/hex/b5a642"
  ],
  "semanticRelations": {
    "broader": [
      "/colors/by-family/yellow",
      "/colors/by-temperature/warm",
      "/colors/by-tone/earth-tone"
    ],
    "narrower": [
      "/palettes/brass"
    ],
    "related": [
      "/colors/brushed-brass",
      "/colors/old-gold",
      "/colors/antique-gold",
      "/colors/peru",
      "/colors/peridot",
      "/compare/brass-vs-brushed-brass",
      "/compare/brass-vs-old-gold",
      "/harmonies/brass",
      "/wcag/brass",
      "/css/colors/brass",
      "/hex/b5a642"
    ]
  }
}

Full JSON dataset

{
  "slug": "brass",
  "name": "Brass",
  "hex": "#B5A642",
  "uses": [
    "metallic palettes",
    "product finishes",
    "premium packaging"
  ],
  "psychology": {
    "associations": [
      "finish",
      "durability",
      "value"
    ],
    "contexts": [
      "hardware",
      "automotive",
      "jewelry",
      "industrial design"
    ],
    "avoidIn": [
      "flat pastel systems"
    ]
  },
  "aliases": [],
  "sourceType": "curated",
  "confidence": "medium",
  "reviewStatus": "manual",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/assets/colors.json",
  "origin": {
    "type": "common",
    "notes": "Curated common color reference used in design, material, cultural, and editorial color systems."
  },
  "family": "yellow",
  "temperature": "warm",
  "tone": [
    "earth-tone"
  ],
  "editorialNotes": "Curated internal color record with computed technical properties.",
  "tags": [
    "yellow",
    "warm",
    "earth-tone",
    "metallic-palettes",
    "product-finishes",
    "premium-packaging",
    "finish",
    "durability",
    "value"
  ],
  "popularity": 84,
  "rgb": [
    181,
    166,
    66
  ],
  "hsl": [
    52,
    47,
    48
  ],
  "cmyk": [
    0,
    8,
    64,
    29
  ],
  "luminance": 0.3749,
  "contrast": {
    "black": 8.5,
    "white": 2.47
  },
  "harmonies": {
    "complementary": "#4150B4",
    "analogous": [
      "#B46B41",
      "#8AB441"
    ],
    "triadic": [
      "#41B4A5",
      "#A541B4"
    ],
    "tetradic": [
      "#41B46B",
      "#4150B4",
      "#B4418A"
    ],
    "splitComplementary": [
      "#418AB4",
      "#6B41B4"
    ],
    "monochromatic": [
      "#D1C680",
      "#B5A642",
      "#706729"
    ]
  },
  "variants": {
    "light": "#D1C680",
    "dark": "#706729",
    "saturated": "#CFB826",
    "desaturated": "#99915C",
    "pastel": "#D0CAA4",
    "neon": "#FFE11F"
  },
  "wcag": {
    "AA": [
      "#000000",
      "#1A1A1A"
    ],
    "AAA": [
      "#000000",
      "#1A1A1A"
    ]
  },
  "css": {
    "variable": "--color-brass: #B5A642;",
    "utility": ".bg-brass { background-color: #B5A642; }",
    "textUtility": ".text-brass { color: #B5A642; }"
  },
  "nearestColors": [
    "brushed-brass",
    "old-gold",
    "antique-gold",
    "peru",
    "peridot"
  ],
  "generatedPalettes": [
    "brass"
  ],
  "generatedComparisons": [
    "brass-vs-brushed-brass",
    "brass-vs-old-gold"
  ],
  "relatedFamilies": [
    "/colors/by-family/yellow",
    "/colors/by-temperature/warm",
    "/colors/by-tone/earth-tone"
  ],
  "relatedTools": [
    "/harmonies/brass",
    "/wcag/brass",
    "/css/colors/brass",
    "/hex/b5a642"
  ],
  "semanticRelations": {
    "broader": [
      "/colors/by-family/yellow",
      "/colors/by-temperature/warm",
      "/colors/by-tone/earth-tone"
    ],
    "narrower": [
      "/palettes/brass"
    ],
    "related": [
      "/colors/brushed-brass",
      "/colors/old-gold",
      "/colors/antique-gold",
      "/colors/peru",
      "/colors/peridot",
      "/compare/brass-vs-brushed-brass",
      "/compare/brass-vs-old-gold",
      "/harmonies/brass",
      "/wcag/brass",
      "/css/colors/brass",
      "/hex/b5a642"
    ]
  },
  "pairings": {
    "best": [
      "#000000",
      "#4150B4",
      "#B46B41",
      "#8AB441"
    ],
    "avoid": [
      "#99915C",
      "#D1C680"
    ],
    "neutral": [
      "#1A1A1A",
      "#F5F5F5",
      "#E8E8E4"
    ],
    "highContrast": [
      "#000000"
    ],
    "lowContrast": [
      "#D1C680",
      "#99915C"
    ]
  }
}

Color meaning and use

About Brass Color

Brass sits in the yellow family with warm temperature and earth tone visual character. Brass is a commonly used color name in design references, palettes, and editorial color systems.

Its common associations include finish, durability, and value, which makes it relevant for hardware and automotive. In design work, Brass is most useful for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, especially when paired with black text for stronger contrast.

WCAG Accessibility

Contrast checks for Brass against black and white text.

Black text8.5:1AA Pass

White text2.47:1AA Fail

AA text options#000000, #1A1A1A

AAA text options#000000, #1A1A1A

Open WCAG pageDetailed contrast notes, warnings, alternatives, and UI examples

Similar Colors

Brushed Brass#B5A642

Old Gold#CFB53B

Antique Gold#B08D57

Peru#CD853F

Peridot#B4C424

Color Harmonies

#4150B4#4150B4

#B46B41#B46B41

#8AB441#8AB441

#41B4A5#41B4A5

#A541B4#A541B4

Open full Brass harmony pageComplementary, analogous, triadic, tetradic, split, and monochromatic sets

Variants

#D1C680#D1C680

#706729#706729

#CFB826#CFB826

#99915C#99915C

#D0CAA4#D0CAA4

#FFE11F#FFE11F

Pairings

Black#000000

#4150B4#4150B4

#B46B41#B46B41

#8AB441#8AB441

Matte Black#1A1A1A

White Smoke#F5F5F5

Brass

CSS Utilities

Machine-Readable Color Data (JSON)

About Brass Color

Related Color Guides

WCAG Accessibility

Similar Colors

Color Harmonies

Variants

Pairings