#A17A21 Color

#A17A21 is rgb(161, 122, 33) in RGB, hsl(42, 66%, 38%) in HSL, and about cmyk(0%, 24%, 80%, 37%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Bister Brown(bistre Brown) (#967117), very hard to tell apart at ΔE 3.73. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#A17A21

HEX#A17A21

RGBrgb(161, 122, 33)

HSLhsl(42, 66%, 38%)

HSVhsv(42, 80%, 63%)

CMYKcmyk(0%, 24%, 80%, 37%)

OKLCHoklch(60.3% 0.112 83.3)

LABlab(54.00% 9.50 51.13)

LCHlch(54.00% 52.00 79.47)

What #A17A21 Is Called

Most hex codes have no name: there are 16.7 million of them and a few thousand registered names. These are the named colors nearest to #A17A21, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Bister Brown(bistre Brown)#967117ΔE 3.73 Golden Brown#996515ΔE 9.99 Metallic Sunburst#9C7C38ΔE 10.34 Dark Goldenrod#B8860BΔE 13.33 Philippine Gold#B17304ΔE 13.51 Aztec Gold#C39953ΔE 14.89

Browse the full index of named colors A-Z or every yellow in the library.

#A17A21 Channel Values

How #A17A21 breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

Model	Channels	Notes
RGB	R 161 · G 122 · B 33	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 42° · S 66% · L 38%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 42° · S 80% · V 63%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 0% · M 24% · Y 80% · K 37%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	3.95:1 vs white · 5.32:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #A17A21 background. AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; AAA requires 7:1. Contrast is one check, not a full accessibility review.

Fails AAWhite text3.95:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

TextBlack text5.32:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #A17A21 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #A17A21

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #A17A21; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base

Complementary

Analogous

Analogous

Triadic

Triadic

Split comp.

Split comp.

Tints & Shades of #A17A21

Lighter tints and darker shades built by moving the lightness channel while holding hue and saturation, which is what you want for hover states, backgrounds, and text variants.

Tints

Shades

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #A17A21.

How #A17A21 Looks with Color Vision Deficiency

Simulated with the Viénot, Brettel & Mollon LMS projection model. Anomalous types are rendered as partial versions of the matching dichromacy, which is an approximation rather than a per-person clinical model.

Typical#A17A21

Protanopia#828220

Protanomaly#8F7F20

Deuteranopia#88881B

Deuteranomaly#93831D

Tritanopia#A67373

Tritanomaly#A4765D

Achromatopsia#808080

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #A17A21 in Code

Copy-ready declarations for the places this color usually ends up.

CSS custom property--color-a17a21: #A17A21;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #A17A21;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-a17a21': '#A17A21' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.631, green: 0.478, blue: 0.129)

Android XML<color name="color_a17a21">#A17A21</color>

SVG fillfill="#A17A21"

More Yellow Colors

#A17A21 sits in the yellow family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

181807 fffff5 1b1404 fffff0 1f1f00 ffffeb 242400 ffffe5 2a2913 ffffe0 2b2003 ffffd6 573a00 856514 b0a94f cc9900 e0e000 edeae0 f2f1e3 f8f3c9 fcfce8 ffcc00 fff000 ffff0f

#A17A21 Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #A17A21?

#A17A21 is a dark yellow — rgb(161, 122, 33) in RGB and hsl(42, 66%, 38%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Bister Brown(bistre Brown) (#967117), which is very hard to tell apart at a CIE76 distance of 3.73.

What is the RGB value of #A17A21?

#A17A21 is rgb(161, 122, 33) — red 161, green 122, and blue 33 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #A17A21?

#A17A21 converts to approximately cmyk(0%, 24%, 80%, 37%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #A17A21 be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #A17A21 scores 3.95:1 against white and 5.32:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #A17A21 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #A17A21 is not one of the CSS color keywords, so it has to be written as a hex, rgb() or hsl() value. The closest keyword is darkgoldenrod (#B8860B) at a CIE76 distance of 13.33, which is visibly different.

Open #A17A21 in a Tool

Hex to RGB Hex to HSL Hex to CMYK Hex to OKLCH Hex to Pantone Build a palette Make a gradient

Keep exploring: every yellow in the color library, the guide to shades of yellow, or the full color library.