Color Details and Palettes for #AAA55D

Details about the color Desert Locust

Closest web-safe match: #999966

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 #AAA55D
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About Color Hex #aaa55d

The color Desert Locust, with hexadecimal code #aaa55d, resides in the yellow color family, the most visible hue in the spectrum. Yellow radiates optimism, intellect, and cheerful energy—qualities that made it the imperial color of ancient China. Additionally, it evokes emotions such as Softness, Delicacy, Calmness, Relaxation and Friendliness. Yellow represents wealth, glory, and wisdom in various cultures, including being the color of royalty in ancient China. It is also associated with happiness and optimism in many Western cultures. With a moderate saturation of 31%, it has a softened, muted quality that lends sophistication and works well for backgrounds and secondary elements. With a mid-range lightness of 52%, it offers excellent versatility—readable as text on light backgrounds and visible as an element on dark ones. This color is ideal for designs that aim to express Softness, Delicacy, Calmness, Relaxation, or Friendliness. It can be effectively used in web design, branding, and marketing materials to attract attention and convey specific messages.

The RGB values for Desert Locust are (170, 165, 93), providing a combination of red: 170, green: 165, and blue: 93. In HSL format, it has a hue of 56.00°, saturation of 31.00%, and lightness of 52.00%.

The HSV representation includes a hue of 56.00°, saturation of 45.00%, and value of 67.00%. Its CMYK composition is cyan: 0.00%, magenta: 3.00%, yellow: 45.00%, and black: 33.00%.

The calculated luminance of #aaa55d is 0.362, offering a brightness level suitable for various design requirements.

This color is not part of the web-safe color palette. The closest web-safe color to this is the color HEX #999966. Its contrast ratio is 8.25:1 against black and 2.55:1 against white. It works well on dark backgrounds but may be less readable on lighter ones.

In terms of color temperature, #aaa55d reads as warm. When it comes to accessibility, testing against standard guidelines suggests that using black text meets typical WCAG contrast standards. Additionally, the ideal foreground color for improved legibility on #aaa55d is black.

Considering its saturation and lightness, #aaa55d appears more vivid and energetic, making it stand out in designs that aim to capture attention.

History, Usage, Psychology & Design Ideas for #AAA55D

Desert Locust (#AAA55D) belongs to the Yellow color family.

With moderate saturation and balanced lightness, this muted tone feels sophisticated and understated. Muted hues like this excel in editorial design, professional portfolios, and interior spaces that seek calm refinement.

Historical Background

Yellow ochre was one of the first pigments used in cave art, and later Egyptians produced orpiment—a toxic arsenic-based yellow—for tomb paintings. In imperial China, only the emperor could wear bright yellow, making it the most restricted color in the nation. Van Gogh famously obsessed over chrome yellow, using it lavishly in his Sunflowers series and Arles landscapes.

Design & Usage Tips

Yellow is the most visible color in daylight, which is why it dominates warning signs, taxi cabs, and highlighter pens. Use it for attention-grabbing headlines or promotional banners, but ensure sufficient contrast with text—dark gray or black on yellow maintains readability. Avoid large yellow backgrounds on screens, as they can cause eye fatigue.

Positioned on the warm side of the color wheel (hue 56°), it naturally draws the eye and creates a sense of closeness—making it effective for calls to action, food photography, and hospitality branding. At 31% saturation, the color has a muted, sophisticated quality that pairs well with bolder accents. It works as a background, a border, or a secondary element in layered compositions.

Psychological Impact

Yellow radiates optimism, intellect, and energy. It stimulates mental activity and generates a sense of cheerfulness, which makes it popular in children's products and educational materials. However, overly bright yellows can provoke anxiety, so context and tone matter.

With a mid-range lightness of 52%, this tone is highly versatile: dark enough to serve as body text on white, yet light enough to stand out on charcoal or navy backgrounds.

Creative Design Ideas

Pair canary yellow with charcoal for a modern, high-contrast editorial style. Use soft butter yellow as a background for recipe blogs or lifestyle content to evoke warmth. In branding, a yellow logomark on a white background signals innovation and forward-thinking (think Snapchat or National Geographic).

#AAA55D Color Conversions

Every way to write Desert Locust — copy Desert Locust as RGB, HSL, HSV, HWB, CMYK, OKLCH, OKLab, CIELAB, LCH, XYZ or a decimal integer. One-tap copy on every format; tap on any card to learn what it is and when to use it.

12 formats
HEX Web
#AAA55D

Hexadecimal is the web’s universal color notation — two digits each for red, green and blue. Drop it straight into HTML, CSS or any design tool.

RGB Screen
rgb(170, 165, 93)

RGB is the additive Red-Green-Blue model every screen uses to emit light. The default choice for websites, apps and on-screen UI.

HSL Web
hsl(56, 31%, 52%)

HSL breaks a color into Hue, Saturation and Lightness — the most intuitive way to lighten, darken or mute a color in CSS.

HSV HSB Design
hsv(56, 45%, 67%)

HSV (also called HSB) maps Hue, Saturation and Value/Brightness. It is the model behind the color pickers in Photoshop, Figma and most design apps.

HWB CSS 4
hwb(56 36% 33%)

HWB blends a pure hue with Whiteness and Blackness — a painter-friendly model added in CSS Color 4 for quick tints and shades.

CMYK Print
cmyk(0%, 3%, 45%, 33%)

CMYK is the subtractive Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black ink model. Use these values when preparing artwork for a printer or commercial press.

OKLCH Modern
oklch(71.00% 0.094 105.05)

OKLCH is a modern, perceptually-uniform space (Lightness, Chroma, Hue). It powers smooth gradients and accessible palettes in today’s CSS.

OKLab Modern
oklab(71.00% -0.024 0.091)

OKLab is the Cartesian form of OKLCH — ideal for blending and interpolating colors without the muddy midpoints older spaces produce.

CIELAB L*a*b* Perceptual
L: 66.71, a: -8.63, b: 37.80

CIELAB is a device-independent, perceptually-uniform space. It is the standard for measuring color difference (ΔE) and matching across devices.

LCH Perceptual
L: 66.71, C: 38.77, H: 102.87

LCH is CIELAB in cylindrical form — Lightness, Chroma and Hue — letting you adjust vividness and hue while staying perceptually even.

XYZ CIE Science
X: 32.01, Y: 36.25, Z: 15.67

CIE XYZ is the 1931 master space that underpins every other model here — the scientific bridge used to convert between color systems.

Decimal int Code
11183453

The 24-bit integer value of the color — handy for databases, APIs, game engines and low-level graphics code.

RGB Color Percentages for #aaa55d

RGB Color Percentages for Desert Locust (HEX Code: #aaa55d) display the relative contribution of Red, Green, and Blue in forming the color. Understanding these percentages provides insight into the color's visual balance and primary components.

This color is primarily dominated by Red, making up 39.72% of the total composition. The complete breakdown of RGB contributions is:

Red:
39.72%
Green:
38.55%
Blue:
21.73%

This analysis highlights the influence of each primary color, offering a deeper understanding of the visual characteristics of Desert Locust.

CMYK Ink Levels & Print Guide for #aaa55d

CMYK Ink Levels for Desert Locust (HEX Code: #aaa55d) provide a breakdown of the percentages of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks needed for accurate print reproduction. The composition of Desert Locust prominently features Yellow, reflecting its dominant color characteristic. This information is invaluable for optimizing ink usage and achieving precise color results in printed materials.

The exact CMYK values are: Cyan: 0%, Magenta: 2.94%, Yellow: 45.29%, and Black: 33.33%.

Luminance & Contrast for #AAA55D

Relative luminance gauges how bright Desert Locust is, while the WCAG contrast ratios show how legible black or white text is on it — and which accessibility levels (AA / AAA) it passes.

Relative luminance 0.362
0 · dark1 · light
Aa
Black text 8.25:1
AA AAA Large
Aa
White text 2.55:1
AA AAA Large

Quick CSS Snippets for #AAA55D

Copy-and-paste CSS for Desert Locust — backgrounds, text, borders and a custom property. Each line is ready to drop into your stylesheet.

Background background-color: #AAA55D;
Text color: #AAA55D;
Border border: 2px solid #AAA55D;
RGB background-color: rgb(170, 165, 93);
HSL background-color: hsl(56, 31%, 52%);
Variable --color: #AAA55D;

#aaa55d Monochrome Palette

The Monochrome Palette consists of shades created by adjusting the brightness. These include lighter, original, and darker shades of the color. This layout helps to visualize the color's range and its potential use in design.

#f7f6ef
#eae9d7
#dddbbe
#d0cea6
#c4c08e
#b7b375
#aaa55d Original
#918c4f
#777341
#5e5b33
#444225
#2b2917
#111109

#aaa55d Complementary Palette

The Complementary Palette is made up of two colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel. These colors create high contrast and vibrant designs, making them perfect for attention-grabbing elements and dynamic visuals.

#aaa55d Original
#5f64ab

#aaa55d Analogic Palette

The Analogic Palette consists of colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. These colors typically create harmonious and subtle designs, often used to evoke calmness and unity in your visual projects.

#aaa55d Original
#8aab5f
#ab805f
#64ab5f
#ab5f64
#5fab80
#ab5f8a

#aaa55d Triadic Palette

The Triadic Palette is made up of three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. This combination provides a vibrant and balanced color scheme, often used for dynamic and energetic designs while maintaining harmony.

#aaa55d Original
#5faba5
#a55fab

#aaa55d Quad Palette

The Quad Palette, also known as tetradic, consists of four colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. This combination offers a diverse and bold color scheme, ideal for creating rich, complex designs with multiple accents while still maintaining balance.

#aaa55d Original
#5fab80
#5f64ab
#ab5f8a

Color Blindness Simulation for #aaa55d

Colors are perceived differently by individuals with various forms of color blindness. Use the dropdown below to see how this color may look through the eyes of someone with color vision deficiency. Explore how Desert Locust (#aaa55d) might appear to people with different visual experiences, and gain deeper insights into color accessibility for your designs!

Each color box displays a "Friendly" or "Not Friendly" tag in the bottom-right corner. A "Friendly" tag indicates that the color difference is distinguishable to individuals with the specific type of color blindness. Conversely, a "Not Friendly" tag means that the color difference might not be distinguishable, potentially causing accessibility issues in your design.

Normal Vision

Deuteranopia (Green Weakness)

Friendly

Protanopia (Red Weakness)

Friendly

Tritanopia (Blue-Yellow Weakness)

Not Friendly

Achromatopsia (Total Color Blindness)

Not Friendly

Color Harmonies for #aaa55d

Color harmonies refer to the visually pleasing combinations of colors that are derived from specific relationships on the color wheel. These harmonious schemes, such as complementary, triadic, and analogous colors, create a balanced and engaging visual experience in design.

Complementary

Analogous

Triadic

Tetradic (Quad)

#AAA55D Nearby Colors

A handful of colors just a step away from #AAA55D — each one nudges the brightness, richness, or shade a little while still feeling like the same color. Use the buttons on any swatch to copy its hex or open its full color page.

#bbbb66 Savannah Grass
#999955 Garden of Earthly Delights
#cccc77 Fool’s Gold
#888844 Overgrown Citadel
#aaaa55 Palm
#aaaa66 Palm
#99aa66 Gallant Green
#bb9955 Packing Paper

Colors Similar to #aaa55d

These colors are close neighbours of #AAA55D in the RGB color space. Each subtle variation can produce a noticeably different mood in your design while remaining harmonious with the original Yellow tone.

#aba55d Desert Locust
#aaa65d Desert Locust
#aaa55e Desert Locust
#a9a55d Desert Locust
#aaa45d Desert Locust
#aaa55c Desert Locust
#bba55d Canadian Maple
#aab65d Palm
#aaa56e Cardamom
#99a55d Gallant Green
#aa945d Veranda Gold
#aaa54c Desert Locust

Looking for more Yellow shades? Browse Yellow colors →

Explore Vibrant Images Featuring Desert Locust (#aaa55d)

Discover a vibrant gallery of images that not only showcase the captivating hue of Desert Locust, but also embody its unique mood and personality. Each carefully curated photo is selected to highlight the richness and diversity of this color, offering inspiration for design, art, and creative projects.