#B56E21 Color

#B56E21 is rgb(181, 110, 33) in RGB, hsl(31, 69%, 42%) in HSL, and about cmyk(0%, 39%, 82%, 29%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Liver (Dogs) (#B86D29), very hard to tell apart at ΔE 3.53. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#B56E21

HEX#B56E21

RGBrgb(181, 110, 33)

HSLhsl(31, 69%, 42%)

HSVhsv(31, 82%, 71%)

CMYKcmyk(0%, 39%, 82%, 29%)

OKLCHoklch(60.3% 0.125 62.5)

LABlab(53.55% 24.78 51.91)

LCHlch(53.55% 57.52 64.48)

What #B56E21 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 #B56E21, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Liver (Dogs)#B86D29ΔE 3.53 Neon Brown#C3732AΔE 4.74 Light Brown#B5651DΔE 5.06 Copper#B87333ΔE 6.31 Bronze#CD7F32ΔE 7.51 Ocher (Ochre)#CC7722ΔE 9.09

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

#B56E21 Channel Values

How #B56E21 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 181 · G 110 · B 33	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 31° · S 69% · L 42%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 31° · S 82% · V 71%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 0% · M 39% · Y 82% · K 29%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	4.03:1 vs white · 5.22:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #B56E21 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 text4.03:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

TextBlack text5.22:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #B56E21 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #B56E21

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #B56E21; 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 #B56E21

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 #B56E21.

How #B56E21 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#B56E21

Protanopia#7E7E1F

Protanomaly#977820

Deuteranopia#8B8B13

Deuteranomaly#9D801A

Tritanopia#B86868

Tritanomaly#B76A54

Achromatopsia#7F7F7F

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #B56E21 in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-b56e21: #B56E21;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #B56E21;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-b56e21': '#B56E21' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.710, green: 0.431, blue: 0.129)

Android XML<color name="color_b56e21">#B56E21</color>

SVG fillfill="#B56E21"

More Brown Colors

#B56E21 sits in the brown family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

100c08 e17100 1b0d04 e15501 1c1917 e05e00 1f0800 e04000 1f1400 db8f00 241205 db7900 34240e 461901 503607 5c3f19 693507 7a2100 825221 8b6f47 993300 a8732e bd3000 cc3300

#B56E21 Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #B56E21?

#B56E21 is a mid-tone brown — rgb(181, 110, 33) in RGB and hsl(31, 69%, 42%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Liver (Dogs) (#B86D29), which is very hard to tell apart at a CIE76 distance of 3.53.

What is the RGB value of #B56E21?

#B56E21 is rgb(181, 110, 33) — red 181, green 110, and blue 33 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #B56E21?

#B56E21 converts to approximately cmyk(0%, 39%, 82%, 29%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #B56E21 be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #B56E21 scores 4.03:1 against white and 5.22:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #B56E21 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #B56E21 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 peru (#CD853F) at a CIE76 distance of 9.42, which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side.

Open #B56E21 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 brown in the color library, the guide to shades of brown, or the full color library.