Skip to content

#ccad4f

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

RGB
204, 173, 79
HSL
45°, 55%, 56%
CMYK
0, 15, 61, 20
Luminance
0.4329

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ccad4f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ccad4f
Hue
45°
yellow
Saturation
55%
vivid
Lightness
56%
balanced
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
69%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4329
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
13/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
9.66:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 6.6
Where it sits
Hue45° of 360°
Saturation55%
Lightness56%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool13% 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#ccad4f
RGBrgb(204, 173, 79)
HSLhsl(45, 55%, 56%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 15%, 61%, 20%)
LABlab(71.8 0.3 51.4)
LCHlch(71.8 51.4 89.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.757 0.118 91.1)
Decimal13413711
Display P3color(display-p3 0.800 0.678 0.310)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ccad4f;
background-color: #ccad4f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ccad4f] bg-[#ccad4f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ccad4f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.800, green: 0.678, blue: 0.310)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ccad4f")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCCAD4F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(79, 173, 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 #ccad4f · 9.66:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.17:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.66:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ccad4f as text scores 2.17:1 on white and 9.66:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ccad4f on white: 2.17:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ccad4f on black: 9.66:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BEAB45
deuteranopia · #C6B453
tritanopia · #DCA098

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ccad4f 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.

#FBF9F4
#F6F3E9
#EEE6CE
#E6D6A8
#D9C27C
#ccad4f
#BE9C37
#9E822E
#7F6825
#5C4D1E
#3A3013
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FBF9F4Darkest = 950 · #3A3013
:root {
  --brand-50: #FBF9F4;
  --brand-100: #F6F3E9;
  --brand-200: #EEE6CE;
  --brand-300: #E6D6A8;
  --brand-400: #D9C27C;
  --brand-500: #ccad4f;
  --brand-600: #BE9C37;
  --brand-700: #9E822E;
  --brand-800: #7F6825;
  --brand-900: #5C4D1E;
  --brand-950: #3A3013;
  --brand: #ccad4f;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ccad4f

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#EDE1C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B874B
Captions on the surface
Accent#4A8DD1
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#63511D
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F9F6EB
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242014
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 #ccad4f

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#4F6ECC
Analogous left#CC6E4F
Analogous right#ADCC4F
Split-complement 1#4FADCC
Split-complement 2#6E4FCC
Triadic 1#4FCCAD
Triadic 2#AD4FCC
Tetradic#4FCC6E

RGB percentages

Red80.0%
Green67.8%
Blue31.0%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta15.2%
Yellow61.3%
Key (black)20.0%

Color previews

#ccad4f text on a black background

contrast 9.66:1

Card sample

#ccad4f text on a white background

contrast 2.17:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ccad4f;
Background color
Panel with #ccad4f background
background-color: #ccad4f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ccad4f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(204, 173, 79, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(204, 173, 79, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ccad4f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ccad4f, #98CC4F);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ccad4f

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.

#ccad4f 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.

#ccad4f, answered

What color is #ccad4f?

#ccad4f is a balanced vivid yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 6.6). It sits at 45° on the hue wheel with 55% saturation and 56% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ccad4f?

rgb(204, 173, 79) — 204 red, 173 green and 79 blue out of 255, or 80% / 67.8% / 31% by channel.

Is #ccad4f a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4329 and perceived brightness is 69%, so black text on it reaches 9.66:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ccad4f?

Black. It scores 9.66:1 against #ccad4f, versus 2.17:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ccad4f?

#4F6ECC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #4FADCC and #6E4FCC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ccad4f?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE1C0 for borders, #9B874B for secondary text, #4A8DD1 as an accent and #63511D for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CC6E4F and #ADCC4F stays calm, while #4F6ECC is the loudest partner.

What is #ccad4f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 15%, 61%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ccad4f warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 13 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CC934F; nudged cooler, #BFCE4D.

Work with #ccad4f in the Color Lab