Ancient Olive
Ancient Olive is a moderately saturated orange shade with RGB(106, 85, 54) and hex code #6A5536, reading as medium-dark at a glance.
HEX
#6A5536
RGB
106, 85, 54
HSL
36°, 33%, 31%
CMYK
0%, 20%, 49%, 58%
LAB
38, 4, 21
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Description
- •Ancient Olive (#6A5536) is a warm-toned orange color defined by RGB values of 106, 85, 54 and HSL values of 36 degrees hue, 33% saturation, and 31% lightness. At 31% lightness it appears medium-dark, and its moderately saturated character makes it well suited for backgrounds, text, or supporting UI elements. It pairs naturally with its complementary shade #364B6A for high-contrast schemes, or with the analogous tones #656A36 and #6A3B36 for a more harmonious palette.
Psychology
As a orange shade, Ancient Olive tends to carry the general associations of that hue family: creativity, enthusiasm, and approachability. Orange sits between red and yellow on the wheel and is often associated with warmth, enthusiasm, and affordability in branding.
Hue family
orange
Saturation level
moderately saturated
Lightness level
medium-dark
Temperature
warm
Because Ancient Olive is moderately saturated and medium-dark, it tends to feel calm and unobtrusive in a design context.
Meaning
Within the orange family, colors like Ancient Olive are commonly associated with creativity, enthusiasm, and approachability, though exact interpretation depends on cultural context and surrounding design elements.
Hue family
orange
Common associations
creativity, enthusiasm, and approachability
Temperature
warm
History
- 1Ancient Olive is a named point in a modern digital color palette rather than a documented historical pigment, but the orange family it belongs to has a long design history. Orange sits between red and yellow on the wheel and is often associated with warmth, enthusiasm, and affordability in branding.
Color info
Quick actions
Visual perception
- At HSL(36, 33%, 31%), Ancient Olive has a relative luminance of about 0.10 on a 0-1 scale, which generally poses low risk for common color vision deficiencies, though pairing with sufficient lightness contrast is still recommended.
Technology specific
- Ancient Olive (#6A5536) renders consistently on standard sRGB displays; on wider-gamut or uncalibrated screens, expect minor shifts in perceived saturation. For print reproduction, convert from RGB to CMYK and proof physically, since muted colors like this can shift noticeably between screen and print.
Guidance
Use Ancient Olive with white text for readability (contrast ratio approximately 7.1:1). It is versatile enough to use for larger surfaces such as backgrounds or cards.
Examples
web design
page backgrounds
branding
neutral brand background
UI design
card and panel backgrounds
body text or subtle fill
Purpose
Ancient Olive works well for backgrounds, body text, or supporting UI surfaces where subtlety matters, given its moderately saturated and medium-dark profile.
Benefits
visual contrast
pairs with white text for a WCAG contrast ratio of about 7.1:1
palette flexibility
combines with #364B6A (complementary) and #366A55/#55366A (triadic) for varied schemes
brand consistency
reads as calm and neutral across most screens