RAL and NCS values are nearest equivalents, not official designations.
In many Western cultures, brown symbolizes stability and reliability, often associated with the earth and comfort. However, in some Eastern traditions, it can represent mourning and loss, showcasing the diverse interpretations of this color across different cultures.
The term 'brown' comes from the Old English 'brūn', which is akin to the German 'braun'. The use of brown pigments can be traced back to prehistoric times, with natural earth pigments like umber being utilized as far back as 40,000 years ago in cave paintings.
Ranked by CIE76 ΔE — the perceptual distance from Brown. Lower ΔE means a closer match (below ~2 is barely distinguishable).
All 35 Browns →Nine steps of Brown by lightness — from #561616 (darkest) to #D09090 (lightest). Click any to copy.
Sitting opposite Brown at 180° on the color wheel, these give the highest-contrast pairings.
Curated 5-color combinations featuring Brown.
A 50–900 tonal scale with Brown anchored at 500 — ready to drop into a design system. Click any step to copy.
Works well as text on light backgrounds; fails on dark.
Thresholds: AA needs 4.5:1 (normal text) / 3:1 (large); AAA needs 7:1 / 4.5:1. Large = 18pt+ or 14pt+ bold.
Copy-ready values for CSS, screen and print, plus the extra conversions designers reach for.
color: brown; color-mix(in srgb, brown 70%, white) 0°, 75%, 65% 0, 75, 75, 35 10824234 #993333 How Brown appears to viewers with the three main types of color blindness (~1 in 12 men, 1 in 200 women). Simulated approximations.