Brown

#a90521

Hex, rgb, cmyk and Pantone values for brown, with shades, tints, matching colors and free print quality patterns.

Brown is a deep red that reads weighty. Deep reds like this carry heritage and premium packaging well. Cool greens and deep navies calm it down, while warm creams let it stay the loudest thing on the page.

Brown color values

Every conversion for #a90521, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#a90521
RGB169, 5, 33
HSL350, 94%, 34%
HSV350, 97%, 66%
CMYK0%, 97%, 80%, 34%
Lab35.31, 58.84, 33.75
XYZ16.69, 8.65, 2.23
Decimal11076897
Web safe#990033
Pantone187 C
Pantone187 CHex#a90521Rgb169 5 33Cmyk0 97 80 34Lab35 59 34Darker#3b020cDeep#640313Lighter#e31336

Shades of brown

Tints of brown

Colors that go with brown

Brown in print

A color this vivid sometimes sits just outside cmyk gamut, so expect a small dip in punch on paper. The cmyk build is 0, 97, 80, 34.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #a90521 on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C
0 97 80 34
Ink sits on the surface, so colors stay bright and close to screen.
Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U
4 93 78 40
The stock absorbs ink and gains dot, so it needs a heavier build and reads a touch softer.

This color is saturated enough to sit near the edge of cmyk gamut, so expect a small drop in punch on paper and proof it before a long run.

See how it converts in the rgb to cmyk converter, or read rgb vs cmyk for print and what the k in cmyk means.

Brown in css

Copy #a90521 straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #a90521; }
.text { color: #a90521; }
.border { border: 2px solid #a90521; }

How brown looks on light and dark

Brown and accessibility

Contrast ratios for #a90521 against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Textwhite text on this color
7.69:1
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Textblack text on this color
2.73:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail

Use white text on this color for readable body copy. To test #a90521 against any other color, not just black and white, run the pair through our contrast checker for a live WCAG reading.

Brown on a business card, sticker and pattern

A quick look at how #a90521 sits on real print products. Start any of these in the maker.

Your nameFounderhello@brand.comBusiness card
Sticker
Repeat pattern

Building a full palette around brown? Pull matching colors from any photo with the color palette generator, or check a design for print with the rgb to cmyk converter.

Turn brown into a seamless pattern

Four patterns built from #a90521 and its shades, free at print quality. Click any one to keep editing in the pattern maker.

Make posters, wallpaper and packaging art from brown, free and print ready.

Open in pattern maker

How we calculate these values

Every value on this page for #a90521 is computed, not guessed. The rgb, hsl, hsv, cie-lab and xyz values follow the standard conversions from the sRGB color space. Two cmyk builds are shown because coated and uncoated papers behave differently, uncoated soaks up ink and needs more of it to hit the same target. The Pantone figure is the nearest match in our reference set by perceptual distance and it is an approximation, not an exact spot color.