Cream vs ivory
Both are yellowish whites, but cream carries a lot more yellow. Ivory (#FFFFF0) has just 15 points knocked off its blue channel; cream (#FFFFC2, from the colour-name list we use) has 61. On screen, ivory passes for white until you put it next to white; cream is visibly yellow on its own.
| Name | HEX | Blue channel | Impression |
|---|---|---|---|
| ivory (CSS) | #FFFFF0 | 240 | Barely warm white |
| cornsilk (CSS) | #FFF8DC | 220 | Soft, muted cream |
| lemonchiffon (CSS) | #FFFACD | 205 | Pale lemon |
| Cream | #FFFFC2 | 194 | Clear buttery yellow |
There is no cream keyword in CSS. For a page background, cornsilk is the most comfortable of these; full cream can tint everything on the page yellow. The ivory page covers the paler end.
What goes on cream
Cream is a canvas for deep colours. Burgundy, forest green and navy all look rich and traditional against it, and all are easily readable as text. Sage on cream is a soft, cottage-style combination best kept for shapes and illustration, since sage text on cream is too faint.
Questions
What is the RGB code for cream?
rgb(255, 255, 194); HSL hsl(60, 100%, 88%).
Is cream the same as beige?
No: beige is greyer and less yellow. See beige for a side-by-side.