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#ac770d

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

RGB
172, 119, 13
HSL
40°, 86%, 36%
CMYK
0, 31, 92, 33
Luminance
0.2199

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ac770d is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ac770d
Hue
40°
yellow
Saturation
86%
electric
Lightness
36%
dark
Brightness
67%
HSV value
Perceived
51%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2199
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
8/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
5.40:1
Closest name
Dark Goldenrod
ΔE2000 5.5
Where it sits
Hue40° of 360°
Saturation86%
Lightness36%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool8% cool

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

Every format

HEX#ac770d
RGBrgb(172, 119, 13)
HSLhsl(40, 86%, 36%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 31%, 92%, 33%)
LABlab(54.0 12.8 57.9)
LCHlch(54.0 59.3 77.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.608 0.124 76.7)
Decimal11302669
Display P3color(display-p3 0.675 0.467 0.051)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ac770d;
background-color: #ac770d;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ac770d] bg-[#ac770d]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ac770d;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.675, green: 0.467, blue: 0.051)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ac770d")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFAC770D)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(13, 119, 172)

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 #ac770d · 5.40:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 3.89:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 5.40:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #ac770d as text scores 3.89:1 on white and 5.40:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ac770d on white: 3.89:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ac770d on black: 5.40:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #8B7900
deuteranopia · #978614
tritanopia · #BC6965

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ac770d is pinned to step 700; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FDF9F2
#FAF3E5
#F7E6C5
#F7D797
#F3C363
#EFAF2E
#E49D11
#ac770d
#98690C
#6E4D0D
#443008
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FDF9F2Darkest = 950 · #443008
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDF9F2;
  --brand-100: #FAF3E5;
  --brand-200: #F7E6C5;
  --brand-300: #F7D797;
  --brand-400: #F3C363;
  --brand-500: #EFAF2E;
  --brand-600: #E49D11;
  --brand-700: #ac770d;
  --brand-800: #98690C;
  --brand-900: #6E4D0D;
  --brand-950: #443008;
  --brand: #ac770d;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ac770d

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#FAF8F4
Tinted page background
Border#EDDEC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B804B
Captions on the surface
Accent#096AB0
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#775209
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDF6E7
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241F14
Dark-mode background
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

How to use #ac770d

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

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#0D42AC
Analogous left#AC280D
Analogous right#92AC0D
Split-complement 1#0D92AC
Split-complement 2#280DAC
Triadic 1#0DAC77
Triadic 2#770DAC
Tetradic#0DAC28

RGB percentages

Red67.5%
Green46.7%
Blue5.1%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta30.8%
Yellow92.4%
Key (black)32.5%

Color previews

#ac770d text on a black background

contrast 5.40:1

Card sample

#ac770d text on a white background

contrast 3.89:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ac770d;
Background color
Panel with #ac770d background
background-color: #ac770d;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ac770d;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(172, 119, 13, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(172, 119, 13, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ac770d;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ac770d, #77AC0D);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ac770d

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

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.

#ac770d 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.

#ac770d, answered

What color is #ac770d?

#ac770d is a dark electric yellow, closest to Dark Goldenrod (ΔE2000 5.5). It sits at 40° on the hue wheel with 86% saturation and 36% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ac770d?

rgb(172, 119, 13) — 172 red, 119 green and 13 blue out of 255, or 67.5% / 46.7% / 5.1% by channel.

Is #ac770d a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2199 and perceived brightness is 51%, so black text on it reaches 5.40:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ac770d?

Black. It scores 5.40:1 against #ac770d, versus 3.89:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ac770d?

#0D42AC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #0D92AC and #280DAC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ac770d?

For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #EDDEC0 for borders, #9B804B for secondary text, #096AB0 as an accent and #775209 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #AC280D and #92AC0D stays calm, while #0D42AC is the loudest partner.

What is #ac770d in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 31%, 92%, 33%). 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 #ac770d warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 8 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #AC600D; nudged cooler, #A9AE0B.

Work with #ac770d in the Color Lab