#C8B890
#8E8E7A
#5C8EA8
#2E2A1E
Background
Primary Accent
Secondary
Body Text

South Street Seaport Color Palette

#C8B890 · #8E8E7A · #5C8EA8 · #2E2A1E

AAA
WCAG Grade
7.3:1
Contrast Ratio
900
Saves
2,380
AI Copies
AI Prompt

Use #C8B890 as the background. Use #8E8E7A as the primary accent. Use #5C8EA8 as secondary. Use #2E2A1E as body text/supporting color. Palette mood: South Street Seaport — maritime, historic, brick.

Hex Codes, RGB & CMYK Color Values

Technical breakdown for the South Street Seaport color scheme. Use these values for web design (HEX/RGB), print projects (CMYK), or specialized design software (HSL).

Swatch Design Role HEX RGB CMYK HSL
Background
Luminance: 48.6%
200, 184, 144 0%, 8%, 28%, 22% 43°, 34%, 67%
Primary Accent
Luminance: 26.5%
142, 142, 122 0%, 0%, 14%, 44% 60°, 8%, 52%
Secondary
Luminance: 24.4%
92, 142, 168 45%, 15%, 0%, 34% 201°, 30%, 51%
Body Text
Luminance: 2.3%
46, 42, 30 0%, 9%, 35%, 82% 45°, 21%, 15%

South Street Seaport Tints & Shades

Hover states, borders and elevation need lighter and darker steps of your base colors. Here are computed tints and shades for every color in the South Street Seaport palette — click any swatch to copy its hex.

#C8B890 gently saturated orange
#8E8E7A muted yellow
#5C8EA8 gently saturated cyan-blue
#2E2A1E muted orange

South Street Seaport Palette Contrast Matrix (WCAG 2.1)

Every color tested as text on every other color as background. Body copy needs 4.5:1 (AA), large text and UI components 3:1. AAA requires 7:1.

Text on Background Preview Ratio Grade Safe For
#2E2A1E on #C8B890
Aa Sample Text
7.31:1 AAA Body text, headings, UI
#C8B890 on #2E2A1E
Aa Sample Text
7.31:1 AAA Body text, headings, UI
#2E2A1E on #8E8E7A
Aa Sample Text
4.30:1 Fail Large headings, UI components
#8E8E7A on #2E2A1E
Aa Sample Text
4.30:1 Fail Large headings, UI components
#2E2A1E on #5C8EA8
Aa Sample Text
4.02:1 Fail Large headings, UI components
#5C8EA8 on #2E2A1E
Aa Sample Text
4.02:1 Fail Large headings, UI components
#5C8EA8 on #C8B890
Aa Sample Text
1.82:1 Fail Decorative use only
#C8B890 on #5C8EA8
Aa Sample Text
1.82:1 Fail Decorative use only
#8E8E7A on #C8B890
Aa Sample Text
1.70:1 Fail Decorative use only
#C8B890 on #8E8E7A
Aa Sample Text
1.70:1 Fail Decorative use only
#5C8EA8 on #8E8E7A
Aa Sample Text
1.07:1 Fail Decorative use only
#8E8E7A on #5C8EA8
Aa Sample Text
1.07:1 Fail Decorative use only

South Street Seaport Color Psychology & Meaning

The Seaport is the old sailing port at the foot of Manhattan with cobblestones and 19th-century brick warehouses, and this palette is weathered brick with harbour blue. It feels storied and salty, the color of a place that has seen centuries of ships.

Color Harmony: Split-Complementary Scheme

The South Street Seaport palette is built using a split-complementary relationship between its hues. This ensures that even with high-contrast accents, the overall scheme feels balanced and intentional.

Hue Wheel

A split-complementary palette is often preferred by professional designers because it balances visual interest with cohesion.

History & Design Context

South Street Seaport was New Yorks great sailing port from the 1820s, and its restored Schermerhorn Row warehouses now anchor a historic district preserved since the 1960s alongside the East River piers.

Best Design Use Cases

Use the warm brick for hero surfaces, the grey stone for supporting sections, harbour blue for accents, and the dark brown for text.

Industries This Palette Suits

Tourism, maritime, museums, food markets, retail.

Colors That Pair Well With South Street Seaport

Need a fifth color? These three companions are computed from the palette's own hue positions on the color wheel, so they extend the scheme without breaking its harmony.

blue

directly opposite #8E8E7A on the wheel — the strongest accent for CTAs and highlights when you need maximum energy

yellow-green

30° beside #8E8E7A — a calm secondary that extends the palette without adding tension

tinted neutral

a ink-black carrying the palette's own hue — perfect for surfaces and dividers

Using South Street Seaport Without Breaking Accessibility

  • Avoid #8E8E7A for small UI elements on #C8B890 — at 1.7:1 it misses the 3:1 WCAG threshold; darken it with a shade from the ramp below.
  • Set body text in #2E2A1E — 7.3:1 against #C8B890 passes WCAG AA (AAA) for long-form reading.
  • Let #5C8EA8 carry sidebars, cards and footers — at a mid lightness it separates zones without stealing focus from #8E8E7A.

How to Implement the South Street Seaport Color Scheme

To use this South Street Seaport color palette in your web project, you can copy the following CSS variables or Tailwind CSS configuration. These roles ensure your UI maintains accessibility and visual hierarchy.

Option 1: CSS Variables

:root { 
  /* {name} Palette - ihatecolors.com */{'
'}  --color-bg: {colors[0]};{'
'}  --color-primary: {colors[1]};{'
'}  --color-secondary: {colors[2]};{'
'}  --color-text: {colors[3]};{'
'} {'}'}

Web Design Tip

Use #C8B890 for the main background and #8E8E7A for primary buttons. This creates a high-contrast focal point.

Accessibility Note

The contrast ratio between #2E2A1E and #C8B890 is 7.31:1 (AAA). Ensure your body text remains legible.

South Street Seaport Palette — Frequently Asked Questions

What are the hex codes in the South Street Seaport color palette?

The South Street Seaport palette contains #C8B890, #8E8E7A, #5C8EA8, #2E2A1E. Click any swatch on this page to copy its value, or export all four at once as CSS variables, Tailwind config, SCSS or a Figma-ready list.

Is the South Street Seaport color palette accessible (WCAG)?

Yes for its strongest pairings: #2E2A1E on #C8B890 reaches 7.3:1 (AAA). For body text always keep a 4.5:1 ratio and for large UI elements 3:1 — the full contrast matrix above shows the exact score for every color-on-color combination in this palette.

What colors go well with the South Street Seaport palette?

Beyond its own four colors, #7B7B8E, #859178, #161513 extend it naturally: the complementary hue for high-energy accents, an analogous neighbor for calm transitions, and a tinted neutral for surfaces. All three are computed from this palette's hues on the color wheel.

What mood does the South Street Seaport palette create?

South Street Seaport reads as maritime, historic, brick. Muted yellow drives the personality, grounded by gently saturated orange — a combination that works best when the light base gets most of the canvas.

Can I use the South Street Seaport color palette commercially?

Yes. Individual color values can't be copyrighted, so the South Street Seaport palette is free for personal, client and commercial work — websites, branding, apps, print and social content, with no attribution required.

How do I add the South Street Seaport palette to Tailwind or CSS?

Use the export panel on this page: CSS variables, a Tailwind config block, SCSS variables, or a Figma copy list are generated from South Street Seaport's exact values, including the tint and shade ramps shown above.

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