Closest web-safe match: #CC9933

Color Details and Palettes for #B98520

Details about the color Arrowwood#B98520

Conversions, palettes, contrast & design ideas for this color.

Amber family Warm WCAG ink: dark
HEX #B98520 RGB rgb(185, 133, 32) HSL hsl(40, 71%, 43%) CMYK cmyk(0%, 28%, 83%, 27%)

Color profile

About Color Hex #B98520

#B98520 is a warm color from the Amber family, closest in name to “Arrowwood”. In RGB it is rgb(185, 133, 32); in HSL, hsl(40, 71%, 43%).

The color Arrowwood, with hexadecimal code #b98520, sits in the orange color family, typically linked to enthusiasm, creativity, and warmth. Orange hues stimulate appetite and social interaction, which is why food brands and community platforms favor them. Additionally, it evokes emotions such as Creativity, Success, Encouragement, Stimulation and Vitality. Orange is associated with spirituality and courage in some cultures, such as in Hinduism and Buddhism. In Western cultures, it often represents autumn, harvest, and creativity. At 71% saturation, this color is clearly chromatic yet balanced—colorful enough to be distinctive without overwhelming adjacent content. With a mid-range lightness of 43%, 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 Creativity, Success, Encouragement, Stimulation, or Vitality. It can be effectively used in web design, branding, and marketing materials to attract attention and convey specific messages.

Key facts

RGB 185, 133, 32 red · green · blue HSL 40° 71% 43% hue · sat · light HSV 40° 83% 73% design-app pickers CMYK 0 28 83 27 print inks, % Luminance 0.272 0 dark → 1 light On black 6.44:1 ✓ AA contrast ratio On white 3.26:1 ✕ AA contrast ratio Web-safe #CC9933 closest web-safe Best text black ideal foreground Character Vivid warm · amber family

The story of this color

History, Usage, Psychology & Design Ideas for #B98520

Arrowwood (#B98520) belongs to the Amber color family.

This vivid mid-tone strikes the ideal balance between intensity and readability, making it a strong candidate for primary brand colors, interactive UI elements, and logo design where immediate recognition is essential.

Historical Background

Amber—the fossilized tree resin—has been prized since the Neolithic period, with Baltic amber trade routes spanning from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. The warm golden-yellow color named after this material became synonymous with preserved antiquity. In traffic engineering, amber signals 'caution'—a universal standard since the first traffic light was installed in London in 1868.

Design & Usage Tips

Amber tones bridge yellow and orange, lending warmth without the intensity of either extreme. They work beautifully in autumn-themed campaigns, artisanal food branding, and vintage-inspired designs. Pair amber with dark brown or forest green for an earthy, organic palette, or with ivory for a refined, warm-neutral scheme.

Positioned on the warm side of the color wheel (hue 40°), it naturally draws the eye and creates a sense of closeness—making it effective for calls to action, food photography, and hospitality branding. With 71% saturation, it occupies a comfortable middle ground: colorful enough to be distinctive, yet restrained enough for extended reading or large surface areas.

Psychological Impact

Amber evokes warmth, nostalgia, and comfort—like candlelight or afternoon sunlight. It feels inviting and reassuring, making it excellent for hospitality, craft beverage, and home-goods branding. Amber also carries a gentle sense of caution inherited from traffic signals.

With a mid-range lightness of 43%, 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

Use amber gradients as warm overlays on hero photography for a golden-hour effect. Combine amber typography on dark backgrounds for a premium whiskey or craft-beer aesthetic. In UI design, amber status indicators effectively communicate 'pending' or 'in-progress' states.

Every format

#B98520 Color Conversions

Every way to write Arrowwood — one-tap copy on every format; tap on any card to learn what it is and when to use it.

12 formats
HEX Web
#B98520

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(185, 133, 32)

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(40, 71%, 43%)

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(40, 83%, 73%)

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(40 13% 27%)

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%, 28%, 83%, 27%)

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(65.20% 0.126 78.49)

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

OKLab Modern
oklab(65.20% 0.025 0.123)

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: 59.15, a: 11.33, b: 57.46

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

LCH Perceptual
L: 59.15, C: 58.56, H: 78.84

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

XYZ CIE Science
X: 28.66, Y: 27.19, Z: 5.11

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
12158240

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

Channel breakdown

RGB Color Percentages for #B98520

How much red, green and blue light mixes into Arrowwood.

Red 185/255 52.9% Green 133/255 38.0% Blue 32/255 9.1%

Percentages show each channel's share of the total light (R + G + B) in Arrowwood.

Ink coverage

CMYK Ink Levels & Print Guide for #B98520

Ink needed to reproduce Arrowwood in four-color print. Heaviest ink: Yellow.

0% CYAN 28% MAGENTA 83% YELLOW 27% KEY

Print tip: treat these values as a starting point — final output depends on printer profile, paper stock and calibration.

Accessibility · WCAG

Luminance & Contrast for #B98520

How bright Arrowwood is, and how far black and white text clear each WCAG bar.

Relative luminance 0.272
0 · dark1 · light

Contrast ratio · 1:1 → 21:1 (log scale)

Aa Black text 6.44:1 ✓ AA ✕ AAA ✓ Large
Aa White text 3.26:1 ✕ AA ✕ AAA ✓ Large

Developer shortcuts

Quick CSS Snippets for #B98520

Copy-and-paste CSS for Arrowwood — per-line copy, or grab the whole block.

arrowwood.css
background-color: #B98520;
color: #B98520;
border: 2px solid #B98520;
background-color: rgb(185, 133, 32);
background-color: hsl(40, 71%, 43%);
--color: #B98520;

Shades · light to dark

#B98520 Monochrome Palette

Lighter and darker steps of Arrowwood — the color's full brightness range in one strip.

#F8F3E9
#EEE1C7
#E3CEA6
#D9BC84
#CEAA63
#C49741
#B98520
#9D711B
#825D16
#664912
#4A350D
#2E2108
#130D03

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Harmony · 180° apart

#B98520 Complementary Palette

Two colors opposite on the wheel — maximum contrast for attention-grabbing accents.

#B98520
#2054BC

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Harmony · adjacent hues

#B98520 Analogic Palette

Neighboring hues on the wheel — harmonious, calm combinations that feel unified.

#B98520
#A2BC20
#BC3A20
#54BC20
#BC2054
#20BC3A
#BC20A2

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Harmony · 120° apart

#B98520 Triadic Palette

Three colors evenly spaced on the wheel — vibrant and energetic, yet balanced.

#B98520
#20BC88
#8820BC

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Harmony · 90° apart

#B98520 Quad Palette

Four colors evenly spaced on the wheel (tetradic) — rich schemes with multiple accents.

#B98520
#20BC3A
#2054BC
#BC20A2

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Accessibility

Color Blindness Simulation for #B98520

How Arrowwood reads across five kinds of color vision — a ✓ Friendly verdict means the color difference stays distinguishable for that vision type.

#B98520
#A6A93E
#A2A238
#B64C50
#898989
Normal vision full color Deuteranopia green weakness ✕ Not friendly Protanopia red weakness ✓ Friendly Tritanopia blue-yellow weakness ✕ Not friendly Achromatopsia total color blindness ✕ Not friendly

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex.

Harmony overview

Color Harmonies for #B98520

The lead color from each harmony scheme, side by side — a shortcut to the full palettes above.

#2054BC
#A2BC20
#20BC88
#20BC3A
Complementary opposite hue Analogous adjacent hue Triadic 120° apart Tetradic (Quad) 90° apart

Perceptually nearby

#B98520 Nearby Colors

A step away in brightness, richness or shade — each still feels like the same color.

Espresso Crema#CC9933
Falafel#AA7711
Brass Buttons#DDAA44
Embarrassed Frog#996600
Dark Goldenrod#BB8800
Gothic Gold#BB8833
Rich Gold#AA8822
Polished Bronze#CC7722

From the color-name library

Colors Similar to #B98520

The closest named colors to #B98520 — same mood, each with its own character.

Arrowwood#B3861E
Gothic Gold#BB852F
Treasures#BA8B36
Victorian Crown#C38B36
Pizza#BF8D3C
Weissbier#B3833B
Honey#AE8934
Peanut Butter#BE893F
End of Summer#CC8F15
Chicken Masala#CC8822
Nugget#BC9229
Chai Tea#A97B2D

Looking for more Orange shades? Browse Orange colors →

Inspiration

Explore Vibrant Images Featuring Arrowwood (#b98520)

Curated Unsplash photos that carry the mood of Arrowwood — hover any tile to download it or view the original.

Good to know

Frequently Asked Questions about #B98520

#B98520 is a warm color from the Amber family. Its closest matched name is “Arrowwood”, matched perceptually with the CIEDE2000 color-difference formula. In RGB it is rgb(185, 133, 32); in HSL, hsl(40, 71%, 43%).
In RGB, #B98520 is rgb(185, 133, 32); in HSL it is hsl(40, 71%, 43%); and in CMYK — the model used for print — it is cmyk(0%, 28%, 83%, 27%).
#B98520 has a contrast ratio of 6.44:1 against black and 3.26:1 against white. For readability, black body text meets the WCAG AA threshold of 4.5:1 on it, while white does not.
The direct complement of #B98520 is #2054BC (opposite on the color wheel). For ready-made combinations, this page includes monochrome, analogous, triadic and tetradic palettes built from #B98520 in the palette sections above.