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Pulsating Tabacco

#cb8c16
Notes

Pulsating Tabacco (#CB8C16) is a true amber with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (39°, 80%, 44%) 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
#cb8c16
RGB
rgb(203, 140, 22)
HSL
hsl(39, 80%, 44%)
HWB
hwb(39 9% 20%)
OKLCH
oklch(68.6% 0.139 75.6)
HSV
hsv(39, 89%, 80%)
LAB
lab(62.94% 15.22 64.28)
LCH
lch(62.94% 66.05 76.68)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 31%, 89%, 20%)

Etymology

Pulsating
adjective

Latin pulsātio, beating — present-participle of pulsate, sharing root with pellere (to drive). As a color modifier, pulsating implies a saturated-and-beating-and-rhythmic quality, the bright color of rave-and-festival light-show synchronized-pulse rhythmic-emission. Sits at the bright-and-active end of the grid, parallel to throbbing and strobing in usage.

Tabacco
noun

The Italian word for tobacco — borrowed as a fashion color for the warm brown of cured tobacco leaves and the leather goods made in Tuscany. The color refers to a fresh-cured Italian tobacco leaf: a soft, slightly muted warm brown with the matte finish of dried plant material. Cooler than caramel, warmer than walnut.

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.

#cb8c16
Original
#a38f00
Protanopia
#b29e1d
Deuteranopia
#de7b78
Tritanopia
#919191
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
2.88:1
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
7.30:1

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