A guide to the color brown.

Learn how to use the color brown in your next design projects with this handy guide.

Brown is a color that isn’t usually celebrated. In fact, it will often be associated with things that are boring, uninteresting, and downright dull. But brown is found all around us, especially in nature, and can be used in design to literally “ground” us with its warm, earthy tone.

What does the color “brown” mean?

Brown is created using a mixture of either black, red, and yellow or red and green. The color is found frequently in nature, from the color of soil to the bark of trees. Its color meaning is often associated with feelings of healing and strength.

The brown hex code is #964B00 and its RGB values are R:150, G:75, B:0.

Brown color variations and pairings.

Brown comes in many different shade variations, from light tans to deep chocolates and beyond. As in nature, you can pair brown with virtually any color. It can be used especially effectively with primary colors as a way to add an earthy dynamic to offset an otherwise bright palette.

If you’re looking for a different color that’s related to brown to pair with it, try these hues:

Brown often contains different mixtures of each of these shades, so they pair well together when used in different brown aesthetics.

For additional graphic design resources, check out the Adobe Design Discover hub and learn more tricks to elevate your design projects. Make everything from logos and icons to illustrations and poster art with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign.

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