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#cbad06

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

RGB
203, 173, 6
HSL
51°, 94%, 41%
CMYK
0, 15, 97, 20
Luminance
0.4260

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cbad06 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cbad06
Hue
51°
yellow
Saturation
94%
electric
Lightness
41%
dark
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
68%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4260
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
17/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
9.52:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 7
Where it sits
Hue51° of 360°
Saturation94%
Lightness41%
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#cbad06
RGBrgb(203, 173, 6)
HSLhsl(51, 94%, 41%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 15%, 97%, 20%)
LABlab(71.3 -2.8 73.1)
LCHlch(71.3 73.2 92.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.752 0.154 96.4)
Decimal13348102
Display P3color(display-p3 0.796 0.678 0.024)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cbad06;
background-color: #cbad06;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cbad06] bg-[#cbad06]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cbad06;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.796, green: 0.678, blue: 0.024)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cbad06")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCBAD06)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(6, 173, 203)

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 #cbad06 · 9.52:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.21:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.52:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cbad06 as text scores 2.21:1 on white and 9.52:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cbad06 on white: 2.21:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cbad06 on black: 9.52:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C1A900
deuteranopia · #C8B31E
tritanopia · #DC9E93

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cbad06 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.

#FDFBF2
#FBF8E4
#FAF1C2
#FCEC92
#FAE25B
#F9D925
#EECB07
#cbad06
#9F8705
#726208
#473D05
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FDFBF2Darkest = 950 · #473D05
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFBF2;
  --brand-100: #FBF8E4;
  --brand-200: #FAF1C2;
  --brand-300: #FCEC92;
  --brand-400: #FAE25B;
  --brand-500: #F9D925;
  --brand-600: #EECB07;
  --brand-700: #cbad06;
  --brand-800: #9F8705;
  --brand-900: #726208;
  --brand-950: #473D05;
  --brand: #cbad06;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cbad06

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#9B8F4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0254CF
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7C6A04
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEFBE6
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 #cbad06

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#0624CB
Analogous left#CB4B06
Analogous right#86CB06
Split-complement 1#0686CB
Split-complement 2#4B06CB
Triadic 1#06CBAD
Triadic 2#AD06CB
Tetradic#06CB4B

RGB percentages

Red79.6%
Green67.8%
Blue2.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta14.8%
Yellow97.0%
Key (black)20.4%

Color previews

#cbad06 text on a black background

contrast 9.52:1

Card sample

#cbad06 text on a white background

contrast 2.21:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cbad06;
Background color
Panel with #cbad06 background
background-color: #cbad06;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cbad06;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(203, 173, 6, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(203, 173, 6, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cbad06;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cbad06, #66CB06);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cbad06

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.

#cbad06 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.

#cbad06, answered

What color is #cbad06?

#cbad06 is a dark electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 7). It sits at 51° on the hue wheel with 94% saturation and 41% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cbad06?

rgb(203, 173, 6) — 203 red, 173 green and 6 blue out of 255, or 79.6% / 67.8% / 2.4% by channel.

Is #cbad06 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4260 and perceived brightness is 68%, so black text on it reaches 9.52:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cbad06?

Black. It scores 9.52:1 against #cbad06, versus 2.21:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cbad06?

#0624CB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #0686CB and #4B06CB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cbad06?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE6C0 for borders, #9B8F4B for secondary text, #0254CF as an accent and #7C6A04 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CB4B06 and #86CB06 stays calm, while #0624CB is the loudest partner.

What is #cbad06 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 15%, 97%, 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 #cbad06 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 #CB8006; nudged cooler, #A2CD04.

Work with #cbad06 in the Color Lab