Colors Encyclopedia

HEX atlas value

#BDAE42

#BDAE42 is a warm yellow HEX color close to Brass. According to Colors Encyclopedia, it converts to RGB 189, 174, 66, HSL 53, 48%, 50%, has luminance 0.4148, and belongs to the earth tone group.

yellowwarmearth-tone
#BDAE42 Sample readable text
HEX #BDAE42
RGB rgb(189, 174, 66)
HSL hsl(53 48% 50%)
CMYK cmyk(0, 8, 65, 26)
Luminance 0.4148
Contrast Black 9.3:1White 2.26:1

CSS

--color-bdae42: #BDAE42;
.background-bdae42 { background-color: #BDAE42; }
.text-bdae42 { color: #BDAE42; }

Machine-readable data

Machine-Readable HEX Data (JSON)

Structured HEX color data for conversion, WCAG checks, CSS generation, automation, and AI ingestion.

AI-Ready Dataset v1.0.0
Luminance0.4148
Black text9.3:1AA Pass
White text2.26:1AA 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
Download JSON Open API
Structured sections
Color systems
{"hex":"#BDAE42","rgb":[189,174,66],"hsl":[53,48,50],"cmyk":[0,8,65,26],"luminance":0.4148,"contrast":{"black":9.3,"white":2.26}}
WCAG
{"AA":["#000000","#1A1A1A"],"AAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A"]}
Safe pairings
[{"name":"Black text","hex":"#000000","contrast":9.3,"wcagAA":true,"wcagAAA":true},{"name":"White text","hex":"#FFFFFF","contrast":2.26,"wcagAA":false,"wcagAAA":false}]
Accessible alternatives
[{"name":"#D5CB86","hex":"#D5CB86","family":"yellow","bestTextColor":"#000000","contrastBlack":12.72,"contrastWhite":1.65,"wcagAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A","#36454F"],"wcagAAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A"]},{"name":"#D9C426","hex":"#D9C426","family":"yellow","bestTextColor":"#000000","contrastBlack":11.87,"contrastWhite":1.77,"wcagAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A","#36454F"],"wcagAAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A"]},{"name":"Peridot","hex":"#B4C424","family":"yellow","bestTextColor":"#000000","contrastBlack":10.86,"contrastWhite":1.93,"wcagAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A","#36454F"],"wcagAAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A"]},{"name":"Old Gold","hex":"#CFB53B","family":"yellow","bestTextColor":"#000000","contrastBlack":10.33,"contrastWhite":2.03,"wcagAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A","#36454F"],"wcagAAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A"]},{"name":"#8EBD42","hex":"#8EBD42","family":"green","bestTextColor":"#000000","contrastBlack":9.51,"contrastWhite":2.21,"wcagAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A"],"wcagAAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A"]}]
AI context
{"semanticGroups":["warm yellow","earth tone","earth tone yellow","Brass adjacent"],"useCases":["color conversion","WCAG contrast checks","CSS color tokens","natural palettes","highlight and warning systems"],"contrastSafeWith":["#000000","#1A1A1A"],"relatedEndpoints":["https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/hex/bdae42.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/hex.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/brass.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/brushed-brass.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/old-gold.json"]}
Harmonies
{"complementary":"#4251BD","analogous":["#BD7142","#8EBD42"],"triadic":["#42BDAE","#AE42BD"],"tetradic":["#42BD71","#4251BD","#BD428E"],"splitComplementary":["#428EBD","#7142BD"],"monochromatic":["#D5CB86","#BDAE42","#79702A"]}
Variants
{"light":"#D5CB86","dark":"#79702A","saturated":"#D9C426","desaturated":"#A1995E","pastel":"#D4CFAA","neon":"#FFE629"}
Nearest named colors
[{"slug":"brass","name":"Brass","hex":"#B5A642","distance":11.313708498984761},{"slug":"brushed-brass","name":"Brushed Brass","hex":"#B5A642","distance":11.313708498984761},{"slug":"old-gold","name":"Old Gold","hex":"#CFB53B","distance":20.54263858417414},{"slug":"peridot","name":"Peridot","hex":"#B4C424","distance":38.27531841800928},{"slug":"antique-gold","name":"Antique Gold","hex":"#B08D57","distance":41.2189276910499}]
Dataset manifest Version 1.0.0 Build hash published in manifest Canonical page

HEX meaning and use

About #BDAE42

#BDAE42 is classified as a warm yellow value with earth tone visual character. #BDAE42 is visually closest to Brass, a named yellow color with HEX #B5A642.

The RGB channels are 189, 174, and 66, with red carrying the strongest channel weight. In HSL, the hue is 53deg with 48% saturation and 50% lightness, so this page treats it as a moderate-saturation, mid-lightness atlas color rather than a generic swatch.

According to Colors Encyclopedia, this HEX value works best for color conversion, WCAG contrast checks, CSS color tokens, and natural palettes. Its luminance is 0.4148, black text provides the stronger contrast for readable interface or documentation use, and Its nearest named-color distance is 11.31, which helps separate this atlas value from adjacent named color records.

WCAG Accessibility

Black text9.3:1AA Pass
White text2.26:1AA Fail

AA text options: #000000, #1A1A1A.

AAA text options: #000000, #1A1A1A.

Accessibility-Safe Pairings and Alternatives

Use these pairings when #BDAE42 needs readable text, badges, interface states, or nearby accessible alternatives.

Black text#0000009.3:1 · AAA
White text#FFFFFF2.26:1 · Fail

Accessible Alternatives

#D5CB86#000000 text · best 12.72:1#D5CB86
#D9C426#000000 text · best 11.87:1#D9C426
Peridot#000000 text · best 10.86:1#B4C424
Old Gold#000000 text · best 10.33:1#CFB53B
#8EBD42#000000 text · best 9.51:1#8EBD42

Generated Palette

#BDAE42#BDAE42
#4251BD#4251BD
#BD7142#BD7142
#8EBD42#8EBD42
#D5CB86#D5CB86
#79702A#79702A

Color Harmonies

#4251BD#4251BD
#BD7142#BD7142
#8EBD42#8EBD42
#42BDAE#42BDAE
#AE42BD#AE42BD

Variants

#D5CB86#D5CB86
#79702A#79702A
#D9C426#D9C426
#A1995E#A1995E
#D4CFAA#D4CFAA
#FFE629#FFE629

Nearest Named Colors

Brass#B5A642
Brushed Brass#B5A642
Old Gold#CFB53B
Peridot#B4C424
Antique Gold#B08D57

Related HEX Guides

Brass colorOpen the nearest named color reference for #B5A642.Brushed Brass colorOpen the nearest named color reference for #B5A642.Old Gold colorOpen the nearest named color reference for #CFB53B.Yellow color familyBrowse named yellow colors related to this HEX value.Warm colorsExplore colors with similar temperature behavior.Earth Tone colorsFind colors in the earth tone group.Color palettesBrowse palette systems related to generated color combinations.Compare colorsCompare named colors near this HEX value.Accessible colorsBrowse WCAG-friendly named colors and safe text options.#BDAE42 APIOpen the machine-readable JSON record for this HEX value.