#85541B is a mid-toned, warm yellow. On the Color Lab it reads organic and grounded, with a faded, vintage edge. It carries a legible label as a UI accent and reproduces cleanly in print.
Not just a swatch — here's how #85541B works with other colors. Named schemes with #85541B in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.
This palette keeps Brown as the dominant warm neutral, balanced by muted terracotta and olive earth tones and grounded by a deep espresso anchor.
Brown anchors this café scheme as the warm mid-tone, lifted by latte cream and a muted sage accent and grounded by espresso brown and a warm charcoal.
Brown plays the worn-leather lead, deepened by saddle brown and an oxblood anchor, softened by aged cream and cooled by a muted forest green.
Brown sits between cream and a deep berry here, softened by a blush accent and grounded by charcoal.
Brown is the single accent in this high-contrast editorial system — set on near-white paper against near-black ink, with a warm grey and a desaturated tint of Brown carrying the quiet middle.
How #85541B actually behaves in design work — read from its OKLCH lightness, chroma and hue, not just its raw numbers. Ten signals to help you decide where this color earns its place.
Not a swatch to memorise — a color to build with. Here is #85541B at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.
:root {
--color-base: #85541B;
--color-base-rgb: 133 84 27;
--color-base-oklch: oklch(49.1% 0.096 65.6);
--color-50: #FDF8F2;
--color-100: #F9ECDC;
--color-200: #F1D8BB;
--color-300: #E2BA8D;
--color-400: #D09D62;
--color-500: #B57E40;
--color-600: #8A6438;
--color-700: #62492D;
--color-800: #403221;
--color-900: #281F16;
--color-on-base: #FFFFFF;
}
// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
brown: {
50: '#FDF8F2',
100: '#F9ECDC',
200: '#F1D8BB',
300: '#E2BA8D',
400: '#D09D62',
500: '#B57E40',
600: '#8A6438',
700: '#62492D',
800: '#403221',
900: '#281F16',
},
}
$base: #85541B; $base-ink: #FFFFFF; $base-50: #FDF8F2; $base-100: #F9ECDC; $base-200: #F1D8BB; $base-300: #E2BA8D; $base-400: #D09D62; $base-500: #B57E40; $base-600: #8A6438; $base-700: #62492D; $base-800: #403221; $base-900: #281F16; $base-hover: #694216; $base-subtle: #E5CCB0;
{
"color": {
"base": {
"value": "#85541B",
"type": "color"
},
"onBase": {
"value": "#FFFFFF",
"type": "color"
},
"scale": {
"50": {
"value": "#FDF8F2",
"type": "color"
},
"100": {
"value": "#F9ECDC",
"type": "color"
},
"200": {
"value": "#F1D8BB",
"type": "color"
},
"300": {
"value": "#E2BA8D",
"type": "color"
},
"400": {
"value": "#D09D62",
"type": "color"
},
"500": {
"value": "#B57E40",
"type": "color"
},
"600": {
"value": "#8A6438",
"type": "color"
},
"700": {
"value": "#62492D",
"type": "color"
},
"800": {
"value": "#403221",
"type": "color"
},
"900": {
"value": "#281F16",
"type": "color"
}
}
}
}