Skip to content
yellow · warm

#9b730f

a dark, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Dark Goldenrod

Token name suggestion: Slate Brass

RGB
155, 115, 15
HSL
43°, 82%, 33%
CMYK
0, 26, 90, 39
Luminance
0.1926

#9b730f is a dark electric yellow, 43° on the wheel and 11/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (4.85:1). As text it scores 4.33:1 on white — large text only. Nearest name is Dark Goldenrod, nearest Tailwind family is amber.

hsl(43 82% 33%)rgb(155 115 15)Base step 800AA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #9b730f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#9b730f
Hue
43°
yellow
Saturation
82%
electric
Lightness
33%
dark
Brightness
61%
HSV value
Perceived
48%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1926
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
11/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
4.85:1
Closest name
Dark Goldenrod
ΔE2000 8.2
Chroma
54.7
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.580
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
amber
500 · ΔE 20.4
Web-safe
#996600
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue43° of 360°
Saturation82%
Lightness33%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #9b730f.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool11% cool

Reads warm. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Luminance by channel
Red36%
Green64%
Blue0%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#9b730f
HEX (8-digit)#9b730fff
RGBrgb(155, 115, 15)
RGBArgba(155, 115, 15, 1)
HSLhsl(43, 82%, 33%)
HSV / HSBhsv(43, 90%, 61%)
HWBhwb(43 6% 39%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 26%, 90%, 39%)
LABlab(51.0 7.3 54.2)
LCHlch(51.0 54.7 82.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.580 0.115 83.2)
XYZ (D65)xyz(19.74, 19.27, 3.13)
Decimal10187535
Display P3color(display-p3 0.608 0.451 0.059)
Web-safe#996600

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #9b730f;
background-color: #9b730f;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #9b730f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#9b730f] bg-[#9b730f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #9b730f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.608, green: 0.451, blue: 0.059)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.608, green: 0.451, blue: 0.059, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#9B730F</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF9B730F)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF9B730F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(15, 115, 155)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(155, 115, 15)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(155, 115, 15)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 155, 115, 15)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6078f, 0.4510f, 0.0588f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{155,115,15}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #9b730f 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #9b730f 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#74560B, #EEE6D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #9b730f h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCF9F2;
  --brand-100: #FAF4E6;
  --brand-200: #F6E8C6;
  --brand-300: #F5DB99;
  --brand-400: #F0C966;
  --brand-500: #EBB732;
  --brand-600: #DFA616;
  --brand-700: #BA8A12;
  --brand-800: #9b730f;
  --brand-900: #6C510F;
  --brand-950: #433309;
  --brand: #9b730f;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF9F4;
  --brand-border: #EDE0C0;
  --brand-hover: #7A5B0C;
  --brand-pressed: #5A4309;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242014;
    --brand-ink: #EEE6D3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FCF9F2',
        100: '#FAF4E6',
        200: '#F6E8C6',
        300: '#F5DB99',
        400: '#F0C966',
        500: '#EBB732',
        600: '#DFA616',
        700: '#BA8A12',
        800: '#9b730f',
        900: '#6C510F',
        950: '#433309',
        DEFAULT: '#9b730f',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FCF9F2,
  '100': #FAF4E6,
  '200': #F6E8C6,
  '300': #F5DB99,
  '400': #F0C966,
  '500': #EBB732,
  '600': #DFA616,
  '700': #BA8A12,
  '800': #9b730f,
  '900': #6C510F,
  '950': #433309,
);
$brand-base: #9b730f;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FCF9F2", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#FAF4E6", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#F6E8C6", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#F5DB99", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#F0C966", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#EBB732", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#DFA616", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#BA8A12", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#9b730f", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#6C510F", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#433309", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

Best text color

Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.

Readable at a glance#000000 on #9b730f · 4.85:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 4.33:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 4.85:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #9b730f as text scores 4.33:1 on white and 4.85:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #74560B at 1.58:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#96700E · 4.54:1
AA on white−1% L
#96700E
The quick fox
#71540B · 7.06:1
AAA on white−9% L
#71540B
The quick fox
#9b730f · 4.85:1
AA on blackalready passes
#9b730f
The quick fox
#C08F13 · 7.18:1
AAA on black+8% L
#C08F13

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #9B730F is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#9b730f on white: 4.33:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#9b730f on black: 4.85:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #9b730f as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #9b730f.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White4.33:1AaAa
Slate 504.14:1AaAa
Slate 1003.95:1AaAa
Slate 2003.51:1AaAa
Slate 3002.91:1AaAa
Slate 4001.69:1AaAa
Slate 5001.10:1AaAa
Slate 6001.75:1AaAa
Slate 7002.39:1AaAa
Slate 8003.38:1AaAa
Slate 9004.13:1AaAa
Black4.85:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #847300
deuteranopia · #8D7E16
tritanopia · #A96762

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #9b730f is pinned to step 800; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FCF9F2
#FAF4E6
#F6E8C6
#F5DB99
#F0C966
#EBB732
#DFA616
#BA8A12
#9b730f
#6C510F
#433309
Base = 800Lightest = 50 · #FCF9F2Darkest = 950 · #433309Text step on white = 900
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.029 83.2);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.046 83.2);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.069 83.2);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.090 83.2);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.106 83.2);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.115 83.2);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.115 83.2);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.108 83.2);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.097 83.2);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.081 83.2);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.063 83.2);
}

Colors that work with #9b730f

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#000000
Black wins here
Surface#FAF9F4
Tinted page background
Border#EDE0C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B844B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0C5A9E
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#74560B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDF7E8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242014
Dark-mode background
Hover#7A5B0C
One step down in lightness
Pressed#5A4309
Two steps down
Disabled#A69874
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#B78507
Offset from the fill so it reads
Light mode
Everything in its place

Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.

Primary actionSecondaryBadge
Dark mode
Same hue, inverted

Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.

Primary actionSecondaryAccent

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #9b730f

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Headings from 24px up on white
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Headers, footers and dark-mode surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Black text placed on it
  • Thin strokes and 1px borders — they disappear on light UI
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
24px / 18.66px bold
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #74560B
Safe as a 1px border on white
Yes

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

optimisticalertcheap-and-cheerfulvisible

The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. The low lightness adds weight and formality.

Worth knowing

Almost never passes contrast against white. Treat it as a surface or a marker, not as text.

Reads as
  • FormalityHigh
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight67/100
  • TemperatureWarm
  • ApproachabilityHigh

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

Similar colors

One move away from this hex in each direction. Every swatch is its own page.

Color relationships

The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.

Complementary#0F379B
Analogous left#9B2D0F
Analogous right#7D9B0F
Split-complement 1#0F7D9B
Split-complement 2#2D0F9B
Triadic 1#0F9B73
Triadic 2#730F9B
Tetradic#0F9B2D
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°43°

#9b730f sits at 43°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red60.8%
Green45.1%
Blue5.9%
R · 0–255
155
0x9b
G · 0–255
115
0x73
B · 0–255
15
0x0f

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta25.8%
Yellow90.3%
Key (black)39.2%

Total ink coverage is 155%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#9b730f text on a black background

contrast 4.85:1

Card sample

#9b730f text on a white background

contrast 4.33:1

Card sample

#9b730f on grey

3.95:1

#9b730f on its own surface

4.11:1

#9b730f on its dark surface

3.76:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #9b730f;
Background color
Panel with #9b730f background
background-color: #9b730f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #9b730f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(155, 115, 15, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(155, 115, 15, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #9b730f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #9b730f, #659B0F);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #9b730f, #429B0F);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #9b730f;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #9b730f;
caret-color: #9b730f;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #9b730f;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FDF7E8;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #9b730f;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#9b730f 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #9b730f over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(155, 115, 15, 0.5)
rgb(155 115 15 / 50%)
#9b730f80
hsl(43 82% 33% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #9b730f 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#9b730f1a#F5F1E7
20%#9b730f33#EBE3CF
40%#9b730f66#D7C79F
60%#9b730f99#C3AB6F
80%#9b730fcc#AF8F3F

Gradients from #9b730f

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #D39C14, #9b730f 45%, #74560B);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #9b730f, #4A7F0C);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #9b730f, #0F379B);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E9AF1C 0%, #9b730f 45%, #74560B 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF9F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #C92B13 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #86B712 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #74560B 0%, transparent 65%), #9b730f;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #9b730f

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

Color harmonies

Nearest named colors

Ranked with CIEDE2000 across all 139 CSS keywords. Under ΔE 2 the eye stops telling them apart; over ΔE 10 they are plainly different colors.

#9b730f in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
RetailLeisureEnergyWarning systems
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 4.85:1.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#9b730f, answered

What color is #9b730f?

#9b730f is a dark electric yellow, closest to Dark Goldenrod (ΔE2000 8.2). It sits at 43° on the hue wheel with 82% saturation and 33% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #9b730f?

rgb(155, 115, 15) — 155 red, 115 green and 15 blue out of 255, or 60.8% / 45.1% / 5.9% by channel.

What is #9b730f in HSL and HSV?

hsl(43, 82%, 33%) and hsv(43, 90%, 61%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #9b730f a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.1926 and perceived brightness is 48%, so black text on it reaches 4.85:1.

Should I use black or white text on #9b730f?

Black. It scores 4.85:1 against #9b730f, versus 4.33:1 for white — AA at any size.

Is #9b730f accessible on a white background?

#9b730f on white scores 4.33:1, which only clears AA for large text — 18.66px bold or 24px regular and up. Darken it to #96700E to reach 4.5:1, or #71540B for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #9b730f?

#0F379B sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #0F7D9B and #2D0F9B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #9b730f?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE0C0 for borders, #9B844B for secondary text, #0C5A9E as an accent and #74560B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #9B2D0F and #7D9B0F stays calm, while #0F379B is the loudest partner.

What is #9b730f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 26%, 90%, 39%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — a color this saturated sits outside most CMYK gamuts and will print duller than it looks here.

Is #9b730f warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 11 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #9B5A0F; nudged cooler, #919D0D.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #9b730f?

The amber family — its 500 step is #f59e0b, ΔE2000 20.4 away. That is a visible difference, so define #9b730f as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #9b730f in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#9b730f] or text-[#9b730f], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #9b730f with 50% opacity?

rgba(155, 115, 15, 0.5), or #9b730f80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #CDB987; over black, #4E3A08.

Is #9b730f a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #996600, ΔE2000 5.5 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #9b730f mean?

As a yellow, it reads optimistic, alert, cheap-and-cheerful. The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #9b730f?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D39C14, #9b730f 45%, #74560B). For more colour, a short hue run to #4A7F0C keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #9b730f in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #9b730f at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.