Bare Necessity
Bare Necessity is a richly saturated orange shade with RGB(239, 201, 183) and hex code #EFC9B7, reading as light at a glance.
HEX
#EFC9B7
RGB
239, 201, 183
HSL
19°, 64%, 83%
CMYK
0%, 16%, 23%, 6%
LAB
84, 11, 14
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Description
- •Bare Necessity (#EFC9B7) is a warm-toned orange color defined by RGB values of 239, 201, 183 and HSL values of 19 degrees hue, 64% saturation, and 83% lightness. At 83% lightness it appears light, and its richly saturated character makes it suitable as a strong accent or brand color. It pairs naturally with its complementary shade #B7DDEF for high-contrast schemes, or with the analogous tones #EFE5B7 and #EFB7C1 for a more harmonious palette.
Psychology
As a orange shade, Bare Necessity 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
richly saturated
Lightness level
light
Temperature
warm
Because Bare Necessity is richly saturated and light, it tends to feel calm and unobtrusive in a design context.
Meaning
Within the orange family, colors like Bare Necessity 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
- 1Bare Necessity 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
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Visual perception
- At HSL(19, 64%, 83%), Bare Necessity has a relative luminance of about 0.64 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
- Bare Necessity (#EFC9B7) 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 highly saturated colors like this can shift noticeably between screen and print.
Guidance
Use Bare Necessity with black text for readability (contrast ratio approximately 13.7:1). Reserve it for smaller accent areas rather than large backgrounds since high saturation can overwhelm at scale.
Examples
web design
call-to-action buttons
branding
logo accent color
UI design
alert or highlight states
spot color for emphasis
Purpose
Bare Necessity works well for accent elements, buttons, and calls-to-action that need to stand out, given its richly saturated and light profile.
Benefits
visual contrast
pairs with black text for a WCAG contrast ratio of about 13.7:1
palette flexibility
combines with #B7DDEF (complementary) and #B7EFC9/#C9B7EF (triadic) for varied schemes
brand consistency
reads as bold and energetic across most screens