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#c8ac13

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

RGB
200, 172, 19
HSL
51°, 83%, 43%
CMYK
0, 14, 91, 22
Luminance
0.4183

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c8ac13 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c8ac13
Hue
51°
yellow
Saturation
83%
electric
Lightness
43%
dark
Brightness
78%
HSV value
Perceived
67%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4183
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
17/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
9.37:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 7.3
Where it sits
Hue51° of 360°
Saturation83%
Lightness43%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool17% 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#c8ac13
RGBrgb(200, 172, 19)
HSLhsl(51, 83%, 43%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 14%, 91%, 22%)
LABlab(70.8 -3.4 70.8)
LCHlch(70.8 70.9 92.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.747 0.151 97.0)
Decimal13151251
Display P3color(display-p3 0.784 0.675 0.075)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #c8ac13;
background-color: #c8ac13;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c8ac13] bg-[#c8ac13]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c8ac13;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.784, green: 0.675, blue: 0.075)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#c8ac13")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC8AC13)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(19, 172, 200)

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 #c8ac13 · 9.37:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.24:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.37:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c8ac13 as text scores 2.24:1 on white and 9.37:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#c8ac13 on white: 2.24:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c8ac13 on black: 9.37:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BFA800
deuteranopia · #C6B123
tritanopia · #D99E93

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #c8ac13 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
#F6EEC6
#F5E799
#F0DB65
#EBCF32
#E0C015
#c8ac13
#95800E
#6C5D0F
#433A09
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FCFBF2Darkest = 950 · #433A09
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFBF2;
  --brand-100: #FAF7E6;
  --brand-200: #F6EEC6;
  --brand-300: #F5E799;
  --brand-400: #F0DB65;
  --brand-500: #EBCF32;
  --brand-600: #E0C015;
  --brand-700: #c8ac13;
  --brand-800: #95800E;
  --brand-900: #6C5D0F;
  --brand-950: #433A09;
  --brand: #c8ac13;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #c8ac13

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#FAF9F4
Tinted page background
Border#EDE6C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8E4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0F5BCC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#74640B
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 #c8ac13

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#132FC8
Analogous left#C85113
Analogous right#89C813
Split-complement 1#1389C8
Split-complement 2#5113C8
Triadic 1#13C8AC
Triadic 2#AC13C8
Tetradic#13C851

RGB percentages

Red78.4%
Green67.5%
Blue7.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta14.0%
Yellow90.5%
Key (black)21.6%

Color previews

#c8ac13 text on a black background

contrast 9.37:1

Card sample

#c8ac13 text on a white background

contrast 2.24:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c8ac13;
Background color
Panel with #c8ac13 background
background-color: #c8ac13;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c8ac13;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(200, 172, 19, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(200, 172, 19, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c8ac13;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c8ac13, #6BC813);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c8ac13

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.

#c8ac13 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.

#c8ac13, answered

What color is #c8ac13?

#c8ac13 is a dark electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 7.3). It sits at 51° on the hue wheel with 83% saturation and 43% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #c8ac13?

rgb(200, 172, 19) — 200 red, 172 green and 19 blue out of 255, or 78.4% / 67.5% / 7.5% by channel.

Is #c8ac13 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4183 and perceived brightness is 67%, so black text on it reaches 9.37:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c8ac13?

Black. It scores 9.37:1 against #c8ac13, versus 2.24:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #c8ac13?

#132FC8 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #1389C8 and #5113C8, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c8ac13?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE6C0 for borders, #9B8E4B for secondary text, #0F5BCC as an accent and #74640B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C85113 and #89C813 stays calm, while #132FC8 is the loudest partner.

What is #c8ac13 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 14%, 91%, 22%). 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 #c8ac13 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 17 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C88113; nudged cooler, #A3CA11.

Work with #c8ac13 in the Color Lab