RAL and NCS values are nearest equivalents, not official designations.
In Western contexts, sepia often represents nostalgia and the passage of time, symbolizing memories preserved in photographs. However, in some cultures, it can also connote stability and reliability, contrasting with the fleeting nature of modern life.
The term 'sepia' originates from the Greek word 'sēpia', referring to the cuttlefish whose ink was used as a pigment as early as the 17th century. Notably, sepia-toned photographs became popular in the 1800s, with artists like Gustave Le Gray pioneering its use in photography.
Ranked by CIE76 ΔE — the perceptual distance from Sepia. Lower ΔE means a closer match (below ~2 is barely distinguishable).
All 35 Browns →Nine steps of Sepia by lightness — from #3A220A (darkest) to #B59D85 (lightest). Click any to copy.
Sitting opposite Sepia at 210° on the color wheel, these give the highest-contrast pairings.
Curated 5-color combinations featuring Sepia.
A 50–900 tonal scale with Sepia 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: #704214; color-mix(in srgb, #704214 70%, white) 30°, 82%, 44% 0, 41, 82, 56 7356948 #663300 How Sepia appears to viewers with the three main types of color blindness (~1 in 12 men, 1 in 200 women). Simulated approximations.