Olive
Olive is a moderately saturated yellow shade with RGB(114, 103, 44) and hex code #72672C, reading as medium-dark at a glance.
HEX
#72672C
RGB
114, 103, 44
HSL
51°, 44%, 31%
CMYK
0%, 10%, 61%, 55%
LAB
43, -4, 34
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Description
- •Olive (#72672C) is a warm-toned yellow color defined by RGB values of 114, 103, 44 and HSL values of 51 degrees hue, 44% saturation, and 31% lightness. At 31% lightness it appears medium-dark, and its moderately saturated character makes it suitable as a strong accent or brand color. It pairs naturally with its complementary shade #2C3772 for high-contrast schemes, or with the analogous tones #5A722C and #72442C for a more harmonious palette.
Psychology
As a yellow shade, Olive tends to carry the general associations of that hue family: optimism, caution, and energy. Yellow reflects the most visible light of any hue to the human eye, which is why it is used heavily for warning signs and attention-grabbing accents.
Hue family
yellow
Saturation level
moderately saturated
Lightness level
medium-dark
Temperature
warm
Because Olive is moderately saturated and medium-dark, it tends to feel calm and unobtrusive in a design context.
Meaning
Within the yellow family, colors like Olive are commonly associated with optimism, caution, and energy, though exact interpretation depends on cultural context and surrounding design elements.
Hue family
yellow
Common associations
optimism, caution, and energy
Temperature
warm
History
- 1Olive is a named point in a modern digital color palette rather than a documented historical pigment, but the yellow family it belongs to has a long design history. Yellow reflects the most visible light of any hue to the human eye, which is why it is used heavily for warning signs and attention-grabbing accents.
Color info
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Visual perception
- At HSL(51, 44%, 31%), Olive has a relative luminance of about 0.13 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
- Olive (#72672C) 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 Olive with white text for readability (contrast ratio approximately 5.7:1). 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
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 5.7:1
palette flexibility
combines with #2C3772 (complementary) and #2C7267/#672C72 (triadic) for varied schemes
brand consistency
reads as calm and neutral across most screens