What color is #8B5E57?

#8B5E57 is a grayish red, closest to the named color Root Beer. It belongs to the brown family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #8B5E57?

The RGB value is 139, 94, 87: 139 red, 94 green and 87 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #8B5E57?

The complementary color is #57848B, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #8B5E57?

White text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 3.84:1 and white text 5.47:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#8B5E57 color

#8B5E57 rgb(139, 94, 87)

Shades of brown

The hex color #8B5E57 is a grayish red.

In the RGB color model it is made of 54.5% red, 36.9% green and 34.1% blue (139, 94, 87).

Its hue angle is 8°, with 23% saturation and 44% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 0% cyan, 32% magenta, 37% yellow and 45% black.

The closest named color is Root Beer (#81544A), a difference of 4 ΔE, a small difference.

White text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 5.47:1).

#8B5E57 color codes

HEX	`#8B5E57`
RGB	`rgb(139, 94, 87)`
RGB percent	`rgb(54.5%, 36.9%, 34.1%)`
HSL	`hsl(8, 23%, 44%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(8, 37%, 55%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(0%, 32%, 37%, 45%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(44.5, 17.44, 11.46)`
CIE LCH	`lch(44.5, 20.87, 33.32)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(16.371, 14.184, 10.89)`
Decimal	`9133655`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #8B5E57, based on their position on the color wheel.

Complementary

The color opposite on the color wheel (180°). Strongest contrast.

Analogous

Neighbors 30° either side. Calm, natural combinations.

Split complementary

The two colors next to the complement (150° and 210°).

Triadic

Three colors evenly spaced, 120° apart.

Tetradic (square)

Four colors 90° apart.

Shades, tints and tones

Shades (darker, mixed with black)

Tints (lighter, mixed with white)

Tones (mixed with gray)

Contrast and accessibility

Text on #8B5E57	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	3.84:1	Fail	Fail	Pass
Sample text	5.47:1	Pass	Fail	Pass

#8B5E57 as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	5.47:1	Pass	Fail	Pass
Sample text	3.84:1	Fail	Fail	Pass

WCAG 2 asks for 4.5:1 for normal text (AA), 7:1 for AAA, and 3:1 for large text. Check other pairs.

Color blindness simulation

How #8B5E57 looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #8b5e57; }
.text { color: #8b5e57; }
.border { border: 2px solid #8b5e57; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(139 94 87 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #8b5e57, #8b7857); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Closest common color name: Chestnut.

Questions

What color is #8B5E57?: #8B5E57 is a grayish red, closest to the named color Root Beer. It belongs to the brown family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #8B5E57?: The RGB value is 139, 94, 87: 139 red, 94 green and 87 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #8B5E57?: The complementary color is #57848B, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #8B5E57?: White text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 3.84:1 and white text 5.47:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.