Olive color guide
Yellow-leaning and deliberately muted, it carries a utilitarian, military association that reads grounded rather than natural.
- Best for
- Workwear, outdoor and heritage brands.
Accessibility
Ratios follow WCAG 2.1. AA needs 4.5:1 for body text, AAA needs 7:1; large text passes AA at 3:1.
Colors that go with olive
Combinations that hold up in a real layout rather than only on the colour wheel.
Olive color harmonies
Olive shades and tints
The same hue and saturation across ten lightness steps — the basis of a usable colour ramp in a design system.
Olive FAQ
What is the hex code for olive?
Olive is #808000. In other formats that is rgb(128, 128, 0), hsl(60, 100%, 25%), and approximately cmyk(0%, 0%, 100%, 50%) for print.
What colors go with olive?
Cream, Rust, Charcoal all pair well with olive. Workwear, outdoor and heritage brands.
Is olive accessible for text?
Not on white: olive reaches only 4.2:1 there, below the 4.5:1 WCAG AA threshold. Use it as a background with black text on top, or reserve it for large display type.
Should text on olive be black or white?
Use black text. It gives the higher contrast ratio of the two against #808000.