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Wholesome Sphene

#b8a14f
Notes

Wholesome Sphene (#B8A14F) is a true amber with a warm character. It leans warm, pulling light toward red, orange, and yellow. Naturally inviting, it suits editorial and hospitality contexts. Its HSL profile (47°, 43%, 52%) places it in the balanced band at a mid lightness. It works across type, buttons, and borders, saturated enough to feel deliberate but balanced enough to not fight the rest of the palette. For a confident two-color system, pair it with its complementary blue. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#b8a14f
RGB
rgb(184, 161, 79)
HSL
hsl(47, 43%, 52%)
HWB
hwb(47 31% 28%)
OKLCH
oklch(71.2% 0.106 93.9)
P3
color(display-p3 0.7066 0.6346 0.3578)
HSV
hsv(47, 57%, 72%)
LAB
lab(66.71% -1.82 45.13)
LCH
lch(66.71% 45.16 92.32)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 13%, 57%, 28%)

Etymology

Wholesome
adjective

An adjectival form of whole — used as a color modifier since the sixteenth century for hues that read as healthy and unadulterated. Wholesome cream, wholesome wheat: moderate saturation combined with the optical impression of a natural origin. Sits at the crisp-bucket alongside genuine.

Sphene
noun

A calcium-titanium silicate gem — also called titanite — known for its high dispersion (more than diamond) and its yellow-to-greenish-yellow body color. Mined principally in Madagascar, Brazil, and Pakistan. The color refers to a faceted Madagascar sphene: a saturated, slightly cool yellow-green with the gem's signature internal fire.

Closest matches

The nearest named color in three reference sources, ranked by perceptual distance (ΔE76 in CIELAB). ΔE < 1 is imperceptible to most viewers; ΔE > 10 is clearly different. When two sources point to the same hex they’re merged into one tile; click any to open that color’s page.

Variations

Click any swatch to explore

Harmonies

Accessibility

Color-vision simulation

How this color appears to viewers with the four major color-vision-deficiency types. Computed via the Machado (2009) physiologically-based model. If a tile matches the original, the color reads the same to that viewer.

#b8a14f
Original
#b09e47
Protanopia
#b6a552
Deuteranopia
#c5968e
Tritanopia
#a0a0a0
Achromatopsia
WCAG contrast

The color used as foreground text against pure white and pure black, with the contrast ratio and WCAG 2.1 grade. Aim for AA (4.5:1) for body text and AA Large (3:1) for 18 pt+ headlines; AAA (7:1) is the gold standard for long-form reading surfaces.

The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
Failon White
2.55:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAAon Black
8.25:1

Wide gamut

Display P3 representation

The CSS Color 4 wide-gamut form of this color. Both swatches render the same color on every display — the P3 form only diverges from sRGB when a designer pushes channels outside sRGB's reach.

sRGB hex
sRGB hex
##B8A14F
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.7066 0.6346 0.3578)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.106

Moderately saturated colors gain a small bump in P3 — the difference is usually visible side-by-side on wide-gamut hardware but won't change the character of the color.

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