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yellow · warm

#b2ac17

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

Token name suggestion: Slate Citron

RGB
178, 172, 23
HSL
58°, 77%, 39%
CMYK
0, 3, 87, 30
Luminance
0.3903

#b2ac17 is a dark electric yellow, 58° on the wheel and 23/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (8.81:1). As text it scores 2.38:1 on white — use #7C7810 instead. Nearest name is Dark Khaki, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(58 77% 39%)rgb(178 172 23)Base step 700AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b2ac17 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b2ac17
Hue
58°
yellow
Saturation
77%
electric
Lightness
39%
dark
Brightness
70%
HSV value
Perceived
64%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3903
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
23/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
8.81:1
Closest name
Dark Khaki
ΔE2000 9
Chroma
68.9
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.726
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 13.7
Web-safe
#999900
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue58° of 360°
Saturation77%
Lightness39%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b2ac17.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool23% 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
Red24%
Green76%
Blue0%

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

Every format

HEX#b2ac17
HEX (8-digit)#b2ac17ff
RGBrgb(178, 172, 23)
RGBArgba(178, 172, 23, 1)
HSLhsl(58, 77%, 39%)
HSV / HSBhsv(58, 87%, 70%)
HWBhwb(58 9% 30%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 3%, 87%, 30%)
LABlab(68.8 -13.0 67.6)
LCHlch(68.8 68.9 100.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.726 0.151 107.0)
XYZ (D65)xyz(33.27, 39.03, 6.59)
Decimal11709463
Display P3color(display-p3 0.698 0.675 0.090)
Web-safe#999900

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b2ac17;
background-color: #b2ac17;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b2ac17;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b2ac17] bg-[#b2ac17]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b2ac17;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.698, green: 0.675, blue: 0.090)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.698, green: 0.675, blue: 0.090, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B2AC17</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB2AC17)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB2AC17)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(23, 172, 178)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(178, 172, 23)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(178, 172, 23)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 178, 172, 23)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6980f, 0.6745f, 0.0902f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{178,172,23}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b2ac17 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b2ac17 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#716D0F, #EEEDD3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b2ac17 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: #FCFCF3;
  --brand-100: #F9F8E6;
  --brand-200: #F4F3C7;
  --brand-300: #F2EF9C;
  --brand-400: #ECE76A;
  --brand-500: #E5DF38;
  --brand-600: #D9D21C;
  --brand-700: #b2ac17;
  --brand-800: #918C13;
  --brand-900: #696512;
  --brand-950: #413F0B;
  --brand: #b2ac17;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAFAF4;
  --brand-border: #EDEBC0;
  --brand-hover: #928D13;
  --brand-pressed: #736F0F;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242414;
    --brand-ink: #EEEDD3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FCFCF3',
        100: '#F9F8E6',
        200: '#F4F3C7',
        300: '#F2EF9C',
        400: '#ECE76A',
        500: '#E5DF38',
        600: '#D9D21C',
        700: '#b2ac17',
        800: '#918C13',
        900: '#696512',
        950: '#413F0B',
        DEFAULT: '#b2ac17',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FCFCF3,
  '100': #F9F8E6,
  '200': #F4F3C7,
  '300': #F2EF9C,
  '400': #ECE76A,
  '500': #E5DF38,
  '600': #D9D21C,
  '700': #b2ac17,
  '800': #918C13,
  '900': #696512,
  '950': #413F0B,
);
$brand-base: #b2ac17;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FCFCF3", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F9F8E6", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#F4F3C7", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#F2EF9C", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#ECE76A", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#E5DF38", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#D9D21C", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#b2ac17", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#918C13", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#696512", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#413F0B", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #b2ac17 · 8.81:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.38:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 8.81:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b2ac17 as text scores 2.38:1 on white and 8.81:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #716D0F at 2.26:1.

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
#7C7810 · 4.61:1
AA on white−12% L
#7C7810
The quick fox
#5C590C · 7.27:1
AAA on white−19% L
#5C590C
The quick fox
#b2ac17 · 8.81:1
AA on blackalready passes
#b2ac17
The quick fox
#b2ac17 · 8.81:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#b2ac17

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #9B9614 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
#b2ac17 on white: 2.38:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b2ac17 on black: 8.81:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b2ac17 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b2ac17.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.38:1AaAa
Slate 502.28:1AaAa
Slate 1002.18:1AaAa
Slate 2001.93:1AaAa
Slate 3001.61:1AaAa
Slate 4001.08:1AaAa
Slate 5002.00:1AaAa
Slate 6003.18:1AaAa
Slate 7004.34:1AaAa
Slate 8006.13:1AaAa
Slate 9007.49:1AaAa
Black8.81:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #BCA500
deuteranopia · #BEAA28
tritanopia · #C0A093

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. #b2ac17 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.

#FCFCF3
#F9F8E6
#F4F3C7
#F2EF9C
#ECE76A
#E5DF38
#D9D21C
#b2ac17
#918C13
#696512
#413F0B
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FCFCF3Darkest = 950 · #413F0BText 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 0.038 107.0);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.060 107.0);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.091 107.0);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.118 107.0);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.139 107.0);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.151 107.0);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.151 107.0);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.142 107.0);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.127 107.0);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.106 107.0);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.083 107.0);
}

Colors that work with #b2ac17

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#FAFAF4
Tinted page background
Border#EDEBC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B984B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1342B6
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#716D0F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCFBE8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242414
Dark-mode background
Hover#928D13
One step down in lightness
Pressed#736F0F
Two steps down
Disabled#B2B187
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#CFC80E
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 #b2ac17

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

Works well for
  • 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
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • 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
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #716D0F
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #9B9614

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
  • Weight61/100
  • 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#171DB2
Analogous left#B25F17
Analogous right#6AB217
Split-complement 1#176AB2
Split-complement 2#5F17B2
Triadic 1#17B2AC
Triadic 2#AC17B2
Tetradic#17B25F
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°58°

#b2ac17 sits at 58°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red69.8%
Green67.5%
Blue9.0%
R · 0–255
178
0xb2
G · 0–255
172
0xac
B · 0–255
23
0x17

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta3.4%
Yellow87.1%
Key (black)30.2%

Total ink coverage is 121%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b2ac17 text on a black background

contrast 8.81:1

Card sample

#b2ac17 text on a white background

contrast 2.38:1

Card sample

#b2ac17 on grey

2.18:1

#b2ac17 on its own surface

2.28:1

#b2ac17 on its dark surface

6.58:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b2ac17;
Background color
Panel with #b2ac17 background
background-color: #b2ac17;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b2ac17;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(178, 172, 23, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(178, 172, 23, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b2ac17;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b2ac17, #51B217);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b2ac17, #2AB217);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b2ac17;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b2ac17;
caret-color: #b2ac17;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b2ac17;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FCFBE8;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b2ac17;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b2ac17 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b2ac17 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(178, 172, 23, 0.5)
rgb(178 172 23 / 50%)
#b2ac1780
hsl(58 77% 39% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b2ac17 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b2ac171a#F7F7E8
20%#b2ac1733#F0EED1
40%#b2ac1766#E0DEA2
60%#b2ac1799#D1CD74
80%#b2ac17cc#C1BD45

Gradients from #b2ac17

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, #E3DB24, #b2ac17 45%, #716D0F);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b2ac17, #399714);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b2ac17, #171DB2);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E6E03F 0%, #b2ac17 45%, #716D0F 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAFAF4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #DF661D 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #6CCD1B 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #716D0F 0%, transparent 65%), #b2ac17;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b2ac17

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.

#b2ac17 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 8.81:1.

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.

#b2ac17, answered

What color is #b2ac17?

#b2ac17 is a dark electric yellow, closest to Dark Khaki (ΔE2000 9). It sits at 58° on the hue wheel with 77% saturation and 39% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #b2ac17?

rgb(178, 172, 23) — 178 red, 172 green and 23 blue out of 255, or 69.8% / 67.5% / 9% by channel.

What is #b2ac17 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(58, 77%, 39%) and hsv(58, 87%, 70%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b2ac17 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3903 and perceived brightness is 64%, so black text on it reaches 8.81:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b2ac17?

Black. It scores 8.81:1 against #b2ac17, versus 2.38:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #b2ac17 accessible on a white background?

#b2ac17 on white scores 2.38:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #7C7810 to reach 4.5:1, or #5C590C for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #b2ac17?

#171DB2 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #176AB2 and #5F17B2, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b2ac17?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDEBC0 for borders, #9B984B for secondary text, #1342B6 as an accent and #716D0F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #B25F17 and #6AB217 stays calm, while #171DB2 is the loudest partner.

What is #b2ac17 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 3%, 87%, 30%). 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 #b2ac17 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 23 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B27A17; nudged cooler, #80B415.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b2ac17?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 13.7 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b2ac17 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b2ac17 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b2ac17] or text-[#b2ac17], 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 #b2ac17 with 50% opacity?

rgba(178, 172, 23, 0.5), or #b2ac1780 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #D9D68B; over black, #59560C.

Is #b2ac17 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #999900, ΔE2000 6.3 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #b2ac17 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 #b2ac17?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E3DB24, #b2ac17 45%, #716D0F). For more colour, a short hue run to #399714 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b2ac17 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b2ac17 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.