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#c9da0e

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

RGB
201, 218, 14
HSL
65°, 88%, 46%
CMYK
8, 0, 94, 15
Luminance
0.6259

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c9da0e is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c9da0e
Hue
65°
yellow
Saturation
88%
electric
Lightness
46%
balanced
Brightness
85%
HSV value
Perceived
78%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6259
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
29/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
13.52:1
Closest name
Yellow Green
ΔE2000 9.2
Where it sits
Hue65° of 360°
Saturation88%
Lightness46%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool29% 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#c9da0e
RGBrgb(201, 218, 14)
HSLhsl(65, 88%, 46%)
CMYKcmyk(8%, 0%, 94%, 15%)
LABlab(83.2 -26.1 81.1)
LCHlch(83.2 85.2 107.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.847 0.191 115.3)
Decimal13228558
Display P3color(display-p3 0.788 0.855 0.055)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #c9da0e;
background-color: #c9da0e;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c9da0e] bg-[#c9da0e]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c9da0e;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.788, green: 0.855, blue: 0.055)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#c9da0e")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC9DA0E)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(14, 218, 201)

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 #c9da0e · 13.52:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.55:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.52:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c9da0e as text scores 1.55:1 on white and 13.52:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#c9da0e on white: 1.55:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c9da0e on black: 13.52:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #EACE00
deuteranopia · #E9D12E
tritanopia · #D7CDBA

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #c9da0e is pinned to step 600; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FCFDF2
#F9FAE5
#F3F8C4
#F0F896
#E8F561
#E1F12C
#c9da0e
#B1C00C
#8D990A
#666F0C
#404507
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FCFDF2Darkest = 950 · #404507
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFDF2;
  --brand-100: #F9FAE5;
  --brand-200: #F3F8C4;
  --brand-300: #F0F896;
  --brand-400: #E8F561;
  --brand-500: #E1F12C;
  --brand-600: #c9da0e;
  --brand-700: #B1C00C;
  --brand-800: #8D990A;
  --brand-900: #666F0C;
  --brand-950: #404507;
  --brand: #c9da0e;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #c9da0e

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#E9EDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#949B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#092DDF
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6E7808
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCFDE7
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#232414
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 #c9da0e

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
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

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#1F0EDA
Analogous left#DA850E
Analogous right#63DA0E
Split-complement 1#0E63DA
Split-complement 2#850EDA
Triadic 1#0EC9DA
Triadic 2#DA0EC9
Tetradic#0EDA85

RGB percentages

Red78.8%
Green85.5%
Blue5.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan7.8%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow93.6%
Key (black)14.5%

Color previews

#c9da0e text on a black background

contrast 13.52:1

Card sample

#c9da0e text on a white background

contrast 1.55:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c9da0e;
Background color
Panel with #c9da0e background
background-color: #c9da0e;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c9da0e;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(201, 218, 14, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(201, 218, 14, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c9da0e;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c9da0e, #41DA0E);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c9da0e

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.

#c9da0e 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.

#c9da0e, answered

What color is #c9da0e?

#c9da0e is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Yellow Green (ΔE2000 9.2). It sits at 65° on the hue wheel with 88% saturation and 46% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #c9da0e?

rgb(201, 218, 14) — 201 red, 218 green and 14 blue out of 255, or 78.8% / 85.5% / 5.5% by channel.

Is #c9da0e a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6259 and perceived brightness is 78%, so black text on it reaches 13.52:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c9da0e?

Black. It scores 13.52:1 against #c9da0e, versus 1.55:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #c9da0e?

#1F0EDA sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #0E63DA and #850EDA, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c9da0e?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #E9EDC0 for borders, #949B4B for secondary text, #092DDF as an accent and #6E7808 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DA850E and #63DA0E stays calm, while #1F0EDA is the loudest partner.

What is #c9da0e in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(8%, 0%, 94%, 15%). 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 #c9da0e warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 29 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DAA10E; nudged cooler, #7EDC0C.

Work with #c9da0e in the Color Lab