colors
Back to gallery

Spartan Naples

#bc4809
Notes

Spartan Naples (#BC4809) is a true orange 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 (21°, 91%, 39%) places it in the highly saturated band at a mid lightness. Best used in small doses, like logos, CTAs, focus rings, or highlight text, where its saturation becomes a feature rather than noise. For a confident two-color system, pair it with its complementary azure. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#bc4809
RGB
rgb(188, 72, 9)
HSL
hsl(21, 91%, 39%)
HWB
hwb(21 4% 26%)
OKLCH
oklch(55.2% 0.162 42.1)
HSV
hsv(21, 95%, 74%)
LAB
lab(46.11% 44.36 54.28)
LCH
lch(46.11% 70.10 50.74)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 62%, 95%, 26%)

Etymology

Spartan
adjective

Greek Spartiátēs, of Sparta — adjectival suffix referring to the Lacedaemonian warrior city. As a color modifier, spartan implies a saturated-and-disciplined-and-formal quality, the deep-rich color of Spartan-hoplite military-class crimson-and-bronze armor-and-cloak. Sits at the bold-and-formal end of the grid, parallel to austere and stern in tone.

Naples
noun

Naples yellow (lead-tin yellow) — a lead-tin oxide pigment used in European oil painting from the medieval period through the nineteenth century. The color refers to Naples-yellow pigment in a Vermeer painting: a saturated, slightly red yellow-orange with the matte finish of lead-and-tin-based pigment. Cooler than turmeric.

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.

#bc4809
Original
#6a5d00
Protanopia
#867700
Deuteranopia
#cf283e
Tritanopia
#5c5c5c
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).
AAon White
5.16:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AA Largeon Black
4.07:1

Related Colors

Canvas