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#bad40c

a dark, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Yellow Green

RGB
186, 212, 12
HSL
68°, 89%, 44%
CMYK
12, 0, 94, 17
Luminance
0.5755

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bad40c is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bad40c
Hue
68°
yellow
Saturation
89%
electric
Lightness
44%
dark
Brightness
83%
HSV value
Perceived
75%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5755
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
32/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
12.51:1
Closest name
Yellow Green
ΔE2000 6.7
Where it sits
Hue68° of 360°
Saturation89%
Lightness44%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool32% 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#bad40c
RGBrgb(186, 212, 12)
HSLhsl(68, 89%, 44%)
CMYKcmyk(12%, 0%, 94%, 17%)
LABlab(80.5 -29.5 78.8)
LCHlch(80.5 84.1 110.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.822 0.190 118.3)
Decimal12243980
Display P3color(display-p3 0.729 0.831 0.047)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #bad40c;
background-color: #bad40c;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bad40c] bg-[#bad40c]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bad40c;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.729, green: 0.831, blue: 0.047)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#bad40c")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBAD40C)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(12, 212, 186)

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 #bad40c · 12.51:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.68:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.51:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bad40c as text scores 1.68:1 on white and 12.51:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#bad40c on white: 1.68:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bad40c on black: 12.51:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #E3C700
deuteranopia · #E0C82D
tritanopia · #C6C8B4

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #bad40c 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.

#FBFDF2
#F8FBE5
#F1F8C4
#ECF995
#E2F660
#D9F32B
#CBE80D
#bad40c
#889A09
#626F0B
#3E4607
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FBFDF2Darkest = 950 · #3E4607
:root {
  --brand-50: #FBFDF2;
  --brand-100: #F8FBE5;
  --brand-200: #F1F8C4;
  --brand-300: #ECF995;
  --brand-400: #E2F660;
  --brand-500: #D9F32B;
  --brand-600: #CBE80D;
  --brand-700: #bad40c;
  --brand-800: #889A09;
  --brand-900: #626F0B;
  --brand-950: #3E4607;
  --brand: #bad40c;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #bad40c

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#E7EDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#909B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0821D8
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6A7907
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FBFEE7
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#222414
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 #bad40c

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

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#260CD4
Analogous left#D48A0C
Analogous right#56D40C
Split-complement 1#0C56D4
Split-complement 2#8A0CD4
Triadic 1#0CBAD4
Triadic 2#D40CBA
Tetradic#0CD48A

RGB percentages

Red72.9%
Green83.1%
Blue4.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan12.3%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow94.3%
Key (black)16.9%

Color previews

#bad40c text on a black background

contrast 12.51:1

Card sample

#bad40c text on a white background

contrast 1.68:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bad40c;
Background color
Panel with #bad40c background
background-color: #bad40c;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bad40c;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(186, 212, 12, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(186, 212, 12, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bad40c;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bad40c, #35D40C);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bad40c

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.

#bad40c 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.

#bad40c, answered

What color is #bad40c?

#bad40c is a dark electric yellow, closest to Yellow Green (ΔE2000 6.7). It sits at 68° on the hue wheel with 89% saturation and 44% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #bad40c?

rgb(186, 212, 12) — 186 red, 212 green and 12 blue out of 255, or 72.9% / 83.1% / 4.7% by channel.

Is #bad40c a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5755 and perceived brightness is 75%, so black text on it reaches 12.51:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bad40c?

Black. It scores 12.51:1 against #bad40c, versus 1.68:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #bad40c?

#260CD4 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #0C56D4 and #8A0CD4, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bad40c?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #E7EDC0 for borders, #909B4B for secondary text, #0821D8 as an accent and #6A7907 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #D48A0C and #56D40C stays calm, while #260CD4 is the loudest partner.

What is #bad40c in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(12%, 0%, 94%, 17%). 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 #bad40c warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 32 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #D4A50C; nudged cooler, #71D60A.

Work with #bad40c in the Color Lab