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yellow · warm

#c9cf4b

a balanced, vivid yellow · warm · closest name: Yellow Green

Token name suggestion: Atlas Brass

RGB
201, 207, 75
HSL
63°, 58%, 55%
CMYK
3, 0, 64, 19
Luminance
0.5755

#c9cf4b is a balanced vivid yellow, 63° on the wheel and 27/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (12.51:1). As text it scores 1.68:1 on white — use #767A21 instead. Nearest name is Yellow Green, nearest Tailwind family is lime.

hsl(63 58% 55%)rgb(201 207 75)Base step 500AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c9cf4b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c9cf4b
Hue
63°
yellow
Saturation
58%
vivid
Lightness
55%
balanced
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
76%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5755
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
27/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
12.51:1
Closest name
Yellow Green
ΔE2000 8.9
Chroma
65.2
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.825
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
lime
500 · ΔE 11.9
Web-safe
#CCCC33
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue63° of 360°
Saturation58%
Lightness55%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #c9cf4b.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool27% 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%
Green78%
Blue1%

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

Every format

HEX#c9cf4b
HEX (8-digit)#c9cf4bff
RGBrgb(201, 207, 75)
RGBArgba(201, 207, 75, 1)
HSLhsl(63, 58%, 55%)
HSV / HSBhsv(63, 64%, 81%)
HWBhwb(63 29% 19%)
CMYKcmyk(3%, 0%, 64%, 19%)
LABlab(80.5 -18.6 62.5)
LCHlch(80.5 65.2 106.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.825 0.152 111.8)
XYZ (D65)xyz(47.67, 57.55, 15.25)
Decimal13225803
Display P3color(display-p3 0.788 0.812 0.294)
Web-safe#CCCC33

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #c9cf4b;
background-color: #c9cf4b;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #c9cf4b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c9cf4b] bg-[#c9cf4b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c9cf4b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.788, green: 0.812, blue: 0.294)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.788, green: 0.812, blue: 0.294, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#C9CF4B</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFC9CF4B)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC9CF4B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(75, 207, 201)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(201, 207, 75)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(201, 207, 75)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 201, 207, 75)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7882f, 0.8118f, 0.2941f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{201,207,75}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #c9cf4b 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #c9cf4b 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#61651B, #EDEED3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #c9cf4b 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: #FAFBF4;
  --brand-100: #F6F7E9;
  --brand-200: #EDEFCD;
  --brand-300: #E4E7A6;
  --brand-400: #D7DC7A;
  --brand-500: #c9cf4b;
  --brand-600: #BBC134;
  --brand-700: #9CA12B;
  --brand-800: #7D8122;
  --brand-900: #5B5E1D;
  --brand-950: #393B12;
  --brand: #c9cf4b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAFAF4;
  --brand-border: #EBEDC0;
  --brand-hover: #BCC234;
  --brand-pressed: #A1A62C;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242414;
    --brand-ink: #EDEED3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FAFBF4',
        100: '#F6F7E9',
        200: '#EDEFCD',
        300: '#E4E7A6',
        400: '#D7DC7A',
        500: '#c9cf4b',
        600: '#BBC134',
        700: '#9CA12B',
        800: '#7D8122',
        900: '#5B5E1D',
        950: '#393B12',
        DEFAULT: '#c9cf4b',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FAFBF4,
  '100': #F6F7E9,
  '200': #EDEFCD,
  '300': #E4E7A6,
  '400': #D7DC7A,
  '500': #c9cf4b,
  '600': #BBC134,
  '700': #9CA12B,
  '800': #7D8122,
  '900': #5B5E1D,
  '950': #393B12,
);
$brand-base: #c9cf4b;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FAFBF4", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F6F7E9", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#EDEFCD", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#E4E7A6", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#D7DC7A", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#c9cf4b", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#BBC134", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#9CA12B", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#7D8122", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#5B5E1D", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#393B12", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #c9cf4b · 12.51:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
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: #c9cf4b as text scores 1.68:1 on white and 12.51:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #61651B at 3.70:1.

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
#767A21 · 4.59:1
AA on white−25% L
#767A21
The quick fox
#575A18 · 7.29:1
AAA on white−33% L
#575A18
The quick fox
#c9cf4b · 12.51:1
AA on blackalready passes
#c9cf4b
The quick fox
#c9cf4b · 12.51:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#c9cf4b

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #959A29 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
#c9cf4b on white: 1.68:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c9cf4b on black: 12.51:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #c9cf4b as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #c9cf4b.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.68:1AaAa
Slate 501.60:1AaAa
Slate 1001.53:1AaAa
Slate 2001.36:1AaAa
Slate 3001.13:1AaAa
Slate 4001.53:1AaAa
Slate 5002.83:1AaAa
Slate 6004.51:1AaAa
Slate 7006.17:1AaAa
Slate 8008.71:1AaAa
Slate 90010.64:1AaAa
Black12.51:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #DEC63A
deuteranopia · #DFC954
tritanopia · #D6C3B4

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. #c9cf4b is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FAFBF4
#F6F7E9
#EDEFCD
#E4E7A6
#D7DC7A
#c9cf4b
#BBC134
#9CA12B
#7D8122
#5B5E1D
#393B12
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FAFBF4Darkest = 950 · #393B12Text 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 0.038 111.8);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.061 111.8);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.091 111.8);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.119 111.8);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.140 111.8);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.152 111.8);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.152 111.8);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.143 111.8);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.128 111.8);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.107 111.8);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.084 111.8);
}

Colors that work with #c9cf4b

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#EBEDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#979B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#4663D4
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#61651B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F9FAEB
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242414
Dark-mode background
Hover#BCC234
One step down in lightness
Pressed#A1A62C
Two steps down
Disabled#D1D2B8
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D7DE51
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 #c9cf4b

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
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
  • Chart series and data categories
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • 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 #61651B
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #959A29

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 mid lightness keeps it versatile in both themes.

Worth knowing

Almost never passes contrast against white. Treat it as a surface or a marker, not as text.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium-high
  • Weight45/100
  • 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#514BCF
Analogous left#CF934B
Analogous right#87CF4B
Split-complement 1#4B87CF
Split-complement 2#934BCF
Triadic 1#4BC9CF
Triadic 2#CF4BC9
Tetradic#4BCF93
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°63°

#c9cf4b sits at 63°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red78.8%
Green81.2%
Blue29.4%
R · 0–255
201
0xc9
G · 0–255
207
0xcf
B · 0–255
75
0x4b

CMYK percentages

Cyan2.9%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow63.8%
Key (black)18.8%

Total ink coverage is 86%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#c9cf4b text on a black background

contrast 12.51:1

Card sample

#c9cf4b text on a white background

contrast 1.68:1

Card sample

#c9cf4b on grey

1.53:1

#c9cf4b on its own surface

1.60:1

#c9cf4b on its dark surface

9.35:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c9cf4b;
Background color
Panel with #c9cf4b background
background-color: #c9cf4b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c9cf4b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(201, 207, 75, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(201, 207, 75, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c9cf4b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c9cf4b, #71CF4B);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c9cf4b, #50CF4B);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #c9cf4b;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #c9cf4b;
caret-color: #c9cf4b;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #c9cf4b;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F9FAEB;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #c9cf4b;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#c9cf4b 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #c9cf4b 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(201, 207, 75, 0.5)
rgb(201 207 75 / 50%)
#c9cf4b80
hsl(63 58% 55% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #c9cf4b 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#c9cf4b1a#FAFAED
20%#c9cf4b33#F4F5DB
40%#c9cf4b66#E9ECB7
60%#c9cf4b99#DFE293
80%#c9cf4bcc#D4D96F

Gradients from #c9cf4b

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, #D8DC7B, #c9cf4b 45%, #61651B);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #c9cf4b, #53C735);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c9cf4b, #514BCF);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #DFE293 0%, #c9cf4b 45%, #61651B 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%, #DAA373 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #8ED563 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #61651B 0%, transparent 65%), #c9cf4b;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c9cf4b

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.

#c9cf4b 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 12.51:1.

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.

#c9cf4b, answered

What color is #c9cf4b?

#c9cf4b is a balanced vivid yellow, closest to Yellow Green (ΔE2000 8.9). It sits at 63° on the hue wheel with 58% saturation and 55% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #c9cf4b?

rgb(201, 207, 75) — 201 red, 207 green and 75 blue out of 255, or 78.8% / 81.2% / 29.4% by channel.

What is #c9cf4b in HSL and HSV?

hsl(63, 58%, 55%) and hsv(63, 64%, 81%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #c9cf4b a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5755 and perceived brightness is 76%, so black text on it reaches 12.51:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c9cf4b?

Black. It scores 12.51:1 against #c9cf4b, versus 1.68:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #c9cf4b accessible on a white background?

#c9cf4b on white scores 1.68:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #767A21 to reach 4.5:1, or #575A18 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #c9cf4b?

#514BCF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #4B87CF and #934BCF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c9cf4b?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EBEDC0 for borders, #979B4B for secondary text, #4663D4 as an accent and #61651B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CF934B and #87CF4B stays calm, while #514BCF is the loudest partner.

What is #c9cf4b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(3%, 0%, 64%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #c9cf4b warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 27 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CFA54B; nudged cooler, #99D149.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #c9cf4b?

The lime family — its 500 step is #84cc16, ΔE2000 11.9 away. That is a visible difference, so define #c9cf4b as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #c9cf4b in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#c9cf4b] or text-[#c9cf4b], 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 #c9cf4b with 50% opacity?

rgba(201, 207, 75, 0.5), or #c9cf4b80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E4E7A5; over black, #656826.

Is #c9cf4b a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCC33, ΔE2000 2.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #c9cf4b 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 #c9cf4b?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D8DC7B, #c9cf4b 45%, #61651B). For more colour, a short hue run to #53C735 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #c9cf4b in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #c9cf4b at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.