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#cca621

a balanced, vivid yellow · warm · closest name: Goldenrod

RGB
204, 166, 33
HSL
47°, 72%, 47%
CMYK
0, 19, 84, 20
Luminance
0.4022

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cca621 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cca621
Hue
47°
yellow
Saturation
72%
vivid
Lightness
47%
balanced
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
66%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4022
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
14/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
9.04:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 4.2
Where it sits
Hue47° of 360°
Saturation72%
Lightness47%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool14% 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#cca621
RGBrgb(204, 166, 33)
HSLhsl(47, 72%, 47%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 19%, 84%, 20%)
LABlab(69.6 1.9 66.9)
LCHlch(69.6 67.0 88.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.739 0.143 91.1)
Decimal13411873
Display P3color(display-p3 0.800 0.651 0.129)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cca621;
background-color: #cca621;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cca621] bg-[#cca621]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cca621;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.800, green: 0.651, blue: 0.129)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cca621")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCCA621)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(33, 166, 204)

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 #cca621 · 9.04:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.32:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.04:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cca621 as text scores 2.32:1 on white and 9.04:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cca621 on white: 2.32:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cca621 on black: 9.04:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BAA400
deuteranopia · #C3AF2B
tritanopia · #DD978E

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cca621 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.

#FCFAF3
#F8F4E7
#F3EAC9
#EFDD9E
#E8CD6E
#E0BC3E
#cca621
#B08F1C
#8D7217
#665415
#40340D
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FCFAF3Darkest = 950 · #40340D
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFAF3;
  --brand-100: #F8F4E7;
  --brand-200: #F3EAC9;
  --brand-300: #EFDD9E;
  --brand-400: #E8CD6E;
  --brand-500: #E0BC3E;
  --brand-600: #cca621;
  --brand-700: #B08F1C;
  --brand-800: #8D7217;
  --brand-900: #665415;
  --brand-950: #40340D;
  --brand: #cca621;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cca621

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#EDE3C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B894B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1C71D1
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6E5912
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FBF7E9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242114
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 #cca621

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#2147CC
Analogous left#CC5121
Analogous right#9DCC21
Split-complement 1#219DCC
Split-complement 2#5121CC
Triadic 1#21CCA6
Triadic 2#A621CC
Tetradic#21CC51

RGB percentages

Red80.0%
Green65.1%
Blue12.9%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta18.6%
Yellow83.8%
Key (black)20.0%

Color previews

#cca621 text on a black background

contrast 9.04:1

Card sample

#cca621 text on a white background

contrast 2.32:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cca621;
Background color
Panel with #cca621 background
background-color: #cca621;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cca621;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(204, 166, 33, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(204, 166, 33, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cca621;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cca621, #80CC21);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cca621

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.

#cca621 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.

#cca621, answered

What color is #cca621?

#cca621 is a balanced vivid yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 4.2). It sits at 47° on the hue wheel with 72% saturation and 47% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cca621?

rgb(204, 166, 33) — 204 red, 166 green and 33 blue out of 255, or 80% / 65.1% / 12.9% by channel.

Is #cca621 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4022 and perceived brightness is 66%, so black text on it reaches 9.04:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cca621?

Black. It scores 9.04:1 against #cca621, versus 2.32:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cca621?

#2147CC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #219DCC and #5121CC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cca621?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE3C0 for borders, #9B894B for secondary text, #1C71D1 as an accent and #6E5912 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CC5121 and #9DCC21 stays calm, while #2147CC is the loudest partner.

What is #cca621 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 19%, 84%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cca621 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 14 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CC8321; nudged cooler, #B5CF1F.

Work with #cca621 in the Color Lab