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yellow · warm

#cba600

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

Token name suggestion: Dusk Honey

RGB
203, 166, 0
HSL
49°, 100%, 40%
CMYK
0, 18, 100, 20
Luminance
0.3997

#cba600 is a dark electric yellow, 49° on the wheel and 16/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (8.99:1). As text it scores 2.33:1 on white — use #8E7400 instead. Nearest name is Goldenrod, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(49 100% 40%)rgb(203 166 0)Base step 700AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cba600 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cba600
Hue
49°
yellow
Saturation
100%
electric
Lightness
40%
dark
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
66%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3997
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
16/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
8.99:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 5
Chroma
72.5
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.737
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 6.3
Web-safe
#CC9900
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue49° of 360°
Saturation100%
Lightness40%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cba600.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool16% 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
Red32%
Green68%
Blue0%

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

Every format

HEX#cba600
HEX (8-digit)#cba600ff
RGBrgb(203, 166, 0)
RGBArgba(203, 166, 0, 1)
HSLhsl(49, 100%, 40%)
HSV / HSBhsv(49, 100%, 80%)
HWBhwb(49 0% 20%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 18%, 100%, 20%)
LABlab(69.5 0.9 72.5)
LCHlch(69.5 72.5 89.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.737 0.151 92.7)
XYZ (D65)xyz(38.27, 39.97, 5.70)
Decimal13346304
Display P3color(display-p3 0.796 0.651 0.000)
Web-safe#CC9900

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cba600;
background-color: #cba600;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cba600;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cba600] bg-[#cba600]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cba600;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.796, green: 0.651, blue: 0.000)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.796, green: 0.651, blue: 0.000, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CBA600</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCBA600)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCBA600)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(0, 166, 203)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(203, 166, 0)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(203, 166, 0)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 203, 166, 0)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7961f, 0.6510f, 0.0000f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{203,166,0}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cba600 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cba600 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#806800, #EEE9D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cba600 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: #FEFBF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF8E3;
  --brand-200: #FCF1C0;
  --brand-300: #FFEB8F;
  --brand-400: #FFE057;
  --brand-500: #FFD61F;
  --brand-600: #F5C800;
  --brand-700: #cba600;
  --brand-800: #A38600;
  --brand-900: #766105;
  --brand-950: #493D03;
  --brand: #cba600;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF9F4;
  --brand-border: #EDE4C0;
  --brand-hover: #A78900;
  --brand-pressed: #846C00;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242114;
    --brand-ink: #EEE9D3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FEFBF1',
        100: '#FCF8E3',
        200: '#FCF1C0',
        300: '#FFEB8F',
        400: '#FFE057',
        500: '#FFD61F',
        600: '#F5C800',
        700: '#cba600',
        800: '#A38600',
        900: '#766105',
        950: '#493D03',
        DEFAULT: '#cba600',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FEFBF1,
  '100': #FCF8E3,
  '200': #FCF1C0,
  '300': #FFEB8F,
  '400': #FFE057,
  '500': #FFD61F,
  '600': #F5C800,
  '700': #cba600,
  '800': #A38600,
  '900': #766105,
  '950': #493D03,
);
$brand-base: #cba600;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FEFBF1", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#FCF8E3", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#FCF1C0", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#FFEB8F", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#FFE057", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#FFD61F", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#F5C800", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#cba600", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#A38600", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#766105", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#493D03", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cba600 · 8.99:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.33:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 8.99:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cba600 as text scores 2.33:1 on white and 8.99:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #806800 at 2.31:1.

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
#8E7400 · 4.52:1
AA on white−12% L
#8E7400
The quick fox
#6A5700 · 7.06:1
AAA on white−19% L
#6A5700
The quick fox
#cba600 · 8.99:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cba600
The quick fox
#cba600 · 8.99:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cba600

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #B19100 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
#cba600 on white: 2.33:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cba600 on black: 8.99:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cba600 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cba600.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.33:1AaAa
Slate 502.23:1AaAa
Slate 1002.13:1AaAa
Slate 2001.89:1AaAa
Slate 3001.57:1AaAa
Slate 4001.10:1AaAa
Slate 5002.04:1AaAa
Slate 6003.25:1AaAa
Slate 7004.43:1AaAa
Slate 8006.27:1AaAa
Slate 9007.65:1AaAa
Black8.99:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #BAA300
deuteranopia · #C3AE18
tritanopia · #DD978D

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. #cba600 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.

#FEFBF1
#FCF8E3
#FCF1C0
#FFEB8F
#FFE057
#FFD61F
#F5C800
#cba600
#A38600
#766105
#493D03
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FEFBF1Darkest = 950 · #493D03Text 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 92.7);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.060 92.7);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.091 92.7);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.118 92.7);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.139 92.7);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.151 92.7);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.151 92.7);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.142 92.7);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.127 92.7);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.106 92.7);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.083 92.7);
}

Colors that work with #cba600

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#EDE4C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8C4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0058CB
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#806800
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFFAE5
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242114
Dark-mode background
Hover#A78900
One step down in lightness
Pressed#846C00
Two steps down
Disabled#B3AB88
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#DFB700
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 #cba600

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 #806800
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #B19100

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.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. 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
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight60/100
  • 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#0025CB
Analogous left#CB4100
Analogous right#8ACB00
Split-complement 1#008ACB
Split-complement 2#4100CB
Triadic 1#00CBA6
Triadic 2#A600CB
Tetradic#00CB41
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°49°

#cba600 sits at 49°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red79.6%
Green65.1%
Blue0.0%
R · 0–255
203
0xcb
G · 0–255
166
0xa6
B · 0–255
0
0x00

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta18.2%
Yellow100.0%
Key (black)20.4%

Total ink coverage is 139%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#cba600 text on a black background

contrast 8.99:1

Card sample

#cba600 text on a white background

contrast 2.33:1

Card sample

#cba600 on grey

2.13:1

#cba600 on its own surface

2.22:1

#cba600 on its dark surface

6.90:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cba600;
Background color
Panel with #cba600 background
background-color: #cba600;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cba600;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(203, 166, 0, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(203, 166, 0, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cba600;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cba600, #69CB00);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cba600, #36CB00);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cba600;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cba600;
caret-color: #cba600;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cba600;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FFFAE5;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cba600;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cba600 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cba600 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(203, 166, 0, 0.5)
rgb(203 166 0 / 50%)
#cba60080
hsl(49 100% 40% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cba600 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cba6001a#FAF6E6
20%#cba60033#F5EDCC
40%#cba60066#EADB99
60%#cba60099#E0CA66
80%#cba600cc#D5B833

Gradients from #cba600

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, #FFD209, #cba600 45%, #806800);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cba600, #4AAC00);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cba600, #0025CB);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #FFD828 0%, #cba600 45%, #806800 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF9F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #FE3C00 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #8CEA00 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #806800 0%, transparent 65%), #cba600;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cba600

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.

#cba600 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.

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 8.99:1.

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.

#cba600, answered

What color is #cba600?

#cba600 is a dark electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 5). It sits at 49° on the hue wheel with 100% saturation and 40% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cba600?

rgb(203, 166, 0) — 203 red, 166 green and 0 blue out of 255, or 79.6% / 65.1% / 0% by channel.

What is #cba600 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(49, 100%, 40%) and hsv(49, 100%, 80%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cba600 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3997 and perceived brightness is 66%, so black text on it reaches 8.99:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cba600?

Black. It scores 8.99:1 against #cba600, versus 2.33:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cba600 accessible on a white background?

#cba600 on white scores 2.33:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #8E7400 to reach 4.5:1, or #6A5700 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cba600?

#0025CB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #008ACB and #4100CB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cba600?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE4C0 for borders, #9B8C4B for secondary text, #0058CB as an accent and #806800 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CB4100 and #8ACB00 stays calm, while #0025CB is the loudest partner.

What is #cba600 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 18%, 100%, 20%). 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 #cba600 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 16 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CB7B00; nudged cooler, #A5CB00.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cba600?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 6.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cba600 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cba600 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cba600] or text-[#cba600], 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 #cba600 with 50% opacity?

rgba(203, 166, 0, 0.5), or #cba60080 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E5D380; over black, #665300.

Is #cba600 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC9900, ΔE2000 5.3 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cba600 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 #cba600?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #FFD209, #cba600 45%, #806800). For more colour, a short hue run to #4AAC00 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cba600 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cba600 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.