Skip to content

#c1ab13

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

RGB
193, 171, 19
HSL
52°, 82%, 42%
CMYK
0, 11, 90, 24
Luminance
0.4051

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c1ab13 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c1ab13
Hue
52°
yellow
Saturation
82%
electric
Lightness
42%
dark
Brightness
76%
HSV value
Perceived
66%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4051
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
19/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
9.10:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 8.9
Where it sits
Hue52° of 360°
Saturation82%
Lightness42%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool19% 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#c1ab13
RGBrgb(193, 171, 19)
HSLhsl(52, 82%, 42%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 11%, 90%, 24%)
LABlab(69.8 -6.0 69.8)
LCHlch(69.8 70.1 94.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.738 0.150 99.7)
Decimal12692243
Display P3color(display-p3 0.757 0.671 0.075)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #c1ab13;
background-color: #c1ab13;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c1ab13] bg-[#c1ab13]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c1ab13;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.757, green: 0.671, blue: 0.075)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#c1ab13")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC1AB13)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(19, 171, 193)

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 #c1ab13 · 9.10:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.31:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.10:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c1ab13 as text scores 2.31:1 on white and 9.10:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#c1ab13 on white: 2.31:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c1ab13 on black: 9.10:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BDA600
deuteranopia · #C3AE24
tritanopia · #D19D92

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #c1ab13 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.

#FCFBF2
#FAF7E6
#F6F0C6
#F5E999
#F0DE66
#EBD433
#DFC516
#c1ab13
#95840F
#6B600F
#433C09
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FCFBF2Darkest = 950 · #433C09
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFBF2;
  --brand-100: #FAF7E6;
  --brand-200: #F6F0C6;
  --brand-300: #F5E999;
  --brand-400: #F0DE66;
  --brand-500: #EBD433;
  --brand-600: #DFC516;
  --brand-700: #c1ab13;
  --brand-800: #95840F;
  --brand-900: #6B600F;
  --brand-950: #433C09;
  --brand: #c1ab13;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #c1ab13

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#EDE7C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B914B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0F54C5
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#74670B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDFAE8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242214
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 #c1ab13

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#1329C1
Analogous left#C15413
Analogous right#80C113
Split-complement 1#1380C1
Split-complement 2#5413C1
Triadic 1#13C1AB
Triadic 2#AB13C1
Tetradic#13C154

RGB percentages

Red75.7%
Green67.1%
Blue7.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta11.4%
Yellow90.2%
Key (black)24.3%

Color previews

#c1ab13 text on a black background

contrast 9.10:1

Card sample

#c1ab13 text on a white background

contrast 2.31:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c1ab13;
Background color
Panel with #c1ab13 background
background-color: #c1ab13;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c1ab13;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(193, 171, 19, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(193, 171, 19, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c1ab13;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c1ab13, #63C113);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c1ab13

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.

#c1ab13 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.

#c1ab13, answered

What color is #c1ab13?

#c1ab13 is a dark electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 8.9). It sits at 52° on the hue wheel with 82% saturation and 42% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #c1ab13?

rgb(193, 171, 19) — 193 red, 171 green and 19 blue out of 255, or 75.7% / 67.1% / 7.5% by channel.

Is #c1ab13 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4051 and perceived brightness is 66%, so black text on it reaches 9.10:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c1ab13?

Black. It scores 9.10:1 against #c1ab13, versus 2.31:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #c1ab13?

#1329C1 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #1380C1 and #5413C1, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c1ab13?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDE7C0 for borders, #9B914B for secondary text, #0F54C5 as an accent and #74670B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C15413 and #80C113 stays calm, while #1329C1 is the loudest partner.

What is #c1ab13 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 11%, 90%, 24%). 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 #c1ab13 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 19 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C17E13; nudged cooler, #98C311.

Work with #c1ab13 in the Color Lab