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yellow · warm

#bbbd21

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

Token name suggestion: Shadow Straw

RGB
187, 189, 33
HSL
61°, 70%, 44%
CMYK
1, 0, 83, 26
Luminance
0.4707

#bbbd21 is a dark vivid yellow, 61° on the wheel and 26/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (10.41:1). As text it scores 2.02:1 on white — use #767715 instead. Nearest name is Dark Khaki, nearest Tailwind family is lime.

hsl(61 70% 44%)rgb(187 189 33)Base step 700AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bbbd21 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bbbd21
Hue
61°
yellow
Saturation
70%
vivid
Lightness
44%
dark
Brightness
74%
HSV value
Perceived
70%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4707
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
26/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
10.41:1
Closest name
Dark Khaki
ΔE2000 9.1
Chroma
72.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.772
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
lime
500 · ΔE 12.6
Web-safe
#CCCC33
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue61° of 360°
Saturation70%
Lightness44%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #bbbd21.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool26% 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
Red22%
Green77%
Blue0%

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

Every format

HEX#bbbd21
HEX (8-digit)#bbbd21ff
RGBrgb(187, 189, 33)
RGBArgba(187, 189, 33, 1)
HSLhsl(61, 70%, 44%)
HSV / HSBhsv(61, 83%, 74%)
HWBhwb(61 13% 26%)
CMYKcmyk(1%, 0%, 83%, 26%)
LABlab(74.2 -17.5 70.2)
LCHlch(74.2 72.3 104.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.772 0.161 110.4)
XYZ (D65)xyz(38.97, 47.07, 8.47)
Decimal12303649
Display P3color(display-p3 0.733 0.741 0.129)
Web-safe#CCCC33

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #bbbd21;
background-color: #bbbd21;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #bbbd21;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bbbd21] bg-[#bbbd21]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bbbd21;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.733, green: 0.741, blue: 0.129)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.733, green: 0.741, blue: 0.129, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#BBBD21</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFBBBD21)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBBBD21)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(33, 189, 187)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(187, 189, 33)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(187, 189, 33)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 187, 189, 33)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7333f, 0.7412f, 0.1294f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{187,189,33}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #bbbd21 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #bbbd21 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#6B6D13, #EEEED3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #bbbd21 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: #FBFCF3;
  --brand-100: #F8F8E7;
  --brand-200: #F2F2C9;
  --brand-300: #EDEE9F;
  --brand-400: #E4E670;
  --brand-500: #DCDE40;
  --brand-600: #CED024;
  --brand-700: #bbbd21;
  --brand-800: #898B18;
  --brand-900: #646516;
  --brand-950: #3E3F0E;
  --brand: #bbbd21;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAFAF4;
  --brand-border: #ECEDC0;
  --brand-hover: #9D9F1C;
  --brand-pressed: #7F8016;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242414;
    --brand-ink: #EEEED3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FBFCF3',
        100: '#F8F8E7',
        200: '#F2F2C9',
        300: '#EDEE9F',
        400: '#E4E670',
        500: '#DCDE40',
        600: '#CED024',
        700: '#bbbd21',
        800: '#898B18',
        900: '#646516',
        950: '#3E3F0E',
        DEFAULT: '#bbbd21',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FBFCF3,
  '100': #F8F8E7,
  '200': #F2F2C9,
  '300': #EDEE9F,
  '400': #E4E670,
  '500': #DCDE40,
  '600': #CED024,
  '700': #bbbd21,
  '800': #898B18,
  '900': #646516,
  '950': #3E3F0E,
);
$brand-base: #bbbd21;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FBFCF3", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F8F8E7", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#F2F2C9", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#EDEE9F", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#E4E670", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#DCDE40", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#CED024", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#bbbd21", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#898B18", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#646516", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#3E3F0E", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #bbbd21 · 10.41:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.02:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.41:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bbbd21 as text scores 2.02:1 on white and 10.41:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #6B6D13 at 2.72:1.

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
#767715 · 4.75:1
AA on white−16% L
#767715
The quick fox
#585910 · 7.36:1
AAA on white−23% L
#585910
The quick fox
#bbbd21 · 10.41:1
AA on blackalready passes
#bbbd21
The quick fox
#bbbd21 · 10.41:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#bbbd21

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #989A1B 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
#bbbd21 on white: 2.02:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bbbd21 on black: 10.41:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #bbbd21 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #bbbd21.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.02:1AaAa
Slate 501.93:1AaAa
Slate 1001.84:1AaAa
Slate 2001.64:1AaAa
Slate 3001.36:1AaAa
Slate 4001.27:1AaAa
Slate 5002.36:1AaAa
Slate 6003.76:1AaAa
Slate 7005.13:1AaAa
Slate 8007.25:1AaAa
Slate 9008.85:1AaAa
Black10.41:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #CDB400
deuteranopia · #CEB831
tritanopia · #C9B1A1

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. #bbbd21 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.

#FBFCF3
#F8F8E7
#F2F2C9
#EDEE9F
#E4E670
#DCDE40
#CED024
#bbbd21
#898B18
#646516
#3E3F0E
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FBFCF3Darkest = 950 · #3E3F0EText 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 0.040 110.4);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.065 110.4);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.097 110.4);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.126 110.4);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.148 110.4);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.161 110.4);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.161 110.4);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.152 110.4);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.135 110.4);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.113 110.4);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.089 110.4);
}

Colors that work with #bbbd21

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#ECEDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9A9B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1D44C1
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6B6D13
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FBFBE9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242414
Dark-mode background
Hover#9D9F1C
One step down in lightness
Pressed#7F8016
Two steps down
Disabled#BABA94
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D8DA18
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 #bbbd21

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 #6B6D13
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #989A1B

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.

This is a confident chroma: strong enough to lead a brand, restrained enough to live in an interface all day. 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
  • EnergyMedium-high
  • Weight57/100
  • 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#2321BD
Analogous left#BD7121
Analogous right#6DBD21
Split-complement 1#216DBD
Split-complement 2#7121BD
Triadic 1#21BBBD
Triadic 2#BD21BB
Tetradic#21BD71
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°61°

#bbbd21 sits at 61°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red73.3%
Green74.1%
Blue12.9%
R · 0–255
187
0xbb
G · 0–255
189
0xbd
B · 0–255
33
0x21

CMYK percentages

Cyan1.1%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow82.5%
Key (black)25.9%

Total ink coverage is 110%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#bbbd21 text on a black background

contrast 10.41:1

Card sample

#bbbd21 text on a white background

contrast 2.02:1

Card sample

#bbbd21 on grey

1.84:1

#bbbd21 on its own surface

1.92:1

#bbbd21 on its dark surface

7.79:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bbbd21;
Background color
Panel with #bbbd21 background
background-color: #bbbd21;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bbbd21;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(187, 189, 33, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(187, 189, 33, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bbbd21;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bbbd21, #53BD21);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bbbd21, #2CBD21);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #bbbd21;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #bbbd21;
caret-color: #bbbd21;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #bbbd21;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FBFBE9;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #bbbd21;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#bbbd21 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #bbbd21 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(187, 189, 33, 0.5)
rgb(187 189 33 / 50%)
#bbbd2180
hsl(61 70% 44% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #bbbd21 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#bbbd211a#F8F8E9
20%#bbbd2133#F1F2D3
40%#bbbd2166#E4E5A6
60%#bbbd2199#D6D77A
80%#bbbd21cc#C9CA4D

Gradients from #bbbd21

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, #DBDD3E, #bbbd21 45%, #6B6D13);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #bbbd21, #3CA31C);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bbbd21, #2321BD);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E0E258 0%, #bbbd21 45%, #6B6D13 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%, #DC7D35 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #6DD725 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #6B6D13 0%, transparent 65%), #bbbd21;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bbbd21

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.

#bbbd21 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

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

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 10.41:1.

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.

#bbbd21, answered

What color is #bbbd21?

#bbbd21 is a dark vivid yellow, closest to Dark Khaki (ΔE2000 9.1). It sits at 61° on the hue wheel with 70% saturation and 44% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #bbbd21?

rgb(187, 189, 33) — 187 red, 189 green and 33 blue out of 255, or 73.3% / 74.1% / 12.9% by channel.

What is #bbbd21 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(61, 70%, 44%) and hsv(61, 83%, 74%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #bbbd21 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4707 and perceived brightness is 70%, so black text on it reaches 10.41:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bbbd21?

Black. It scores 10.41:1 against #bbbd21, versus 2.02:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #bbbd21 accessible on a white background?

#bbbd21 on white scores 2.02:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #767715 to reach 4.5:1, or #585910 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #bbbd21?

#2321BD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #216DBD and #7121BD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bbbd21?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #ECEDC0 for borders, #9A9B4B for secondary text, #1D44C1 as an accent and #6B6D13 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BD7121 and #6DBD21 stays calm, while #2321BD is the loudest partner.

What is #bbbd21 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(1%, 0%, 83%, 26%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #bbbd21 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 26 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BD8821; nudged cooler, #82BF1F.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #bbbd21?

The lime family — its 500 step is #84cc16, ΔE2000 12.6 away. That is a visible difference, so define #bbbd21 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #bbbd21 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#bbbd21] or text-[#bbbd21], 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 #bbbd21 with 50% opacity?

rgba(187, 189, 33, 0.5), or #bbbd2180 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DDDE90; over black, #5E5F11.

Is #bbbd21 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCC33, ΔE2000 4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #bbbd21 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 #bbbd21?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #DBDD3E, #bbbd21 45%, #6B6D13). For more colour, a short hue run to #3CA31C keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #bbbd21 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #bbbd21 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.