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#cdcd1b

a balanced, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Gold

RGB
205, 205, 27
HSL
60°, 77%, 46%
CMYK
0, 0, 87, 20
Luminance
0.5672

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cdcd1b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cdcd1b
Hue
60°
yellow
Saturation
77%
electric
Lightness
46%
balanced
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
76%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5672
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
25/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
12.34:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 10.5
Where it sits
Hue60° of 360°
Saturation77%
Lightness46%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool25% 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#cdcd1b
RGBrgb(205, 205, 27)
HSLhsl(60, 77%, 46%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 0%, 87%, 20%)
LABlab(80.0 -17.9 76.9)
LCHlch(80.0 78.9 103.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.822 0.174 109.7)
Decimal13487387
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.804 0.106)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cdcd1b;
background-color: #cdcd1b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdcd1b] bg-[#cdcd1b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdcd1b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.804, blue: 0.106)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cdcd1b")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDCD1B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(27, 205, 205)

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 #cdcd1b · 12.34:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.70:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.34:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdcd1b as text scores 1.70:1 on white and 12.34:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cdcd1b on white: 1.70:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdcd1b on black: 12.34:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #DEC400
deuteranopia · #E0C930
tritanopia · #DCBFAF

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cdcd1b 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.

#FCFCF3
#F9F9E7
#F4F4C7
#F2F29C
#EBEB6A
#E5E539
#cdcd1b
#B4B418
#909013
#686812
#41410B
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FCFCF3Darkest = 950 · #41410B
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFCF3;
  --brand-100: #F9F9E7;
  --brand-200: #F4F4C7;
  --brand-300: #F2F29C;
  --brand-400: #EBEB6A;
  --brand-500: #E5E539;
  --brand-600: #cdcd1b;
  --brand-700: #B4B418;
  --brand-800: #909013;
  --brand-900: #686812;
  --brand-950: #41410B;
  --brand: #cdcd1b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cdcd1b

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#EDEDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B9B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1645D2
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#71710F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCFCE8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242414
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 #cdcd1b

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#1B1BCD
Analogous left#CD741B
Analogous right#74CD1B
Split-complement 1#1B74CD
Split-complement 2#741BCD
Triadic 1#1BCDCD
Triadic 2#CD1BCD
Tetradic#1BCD74

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green80.4%
Blue10.6%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow86.8%
Key (black)19.6%

Color previews

#cdcd1b text on a black background

contrast 12.34:1

Card sample

#cdcd1b text on a white background

contrast 1.70:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cdcd1b;
Background color
Panel with #cdcd1b background
background-color: #cdcd1b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cdcd1b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 205, 27, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 205, 27, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdcd1b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdcd1b, #56CD1B);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdcd1b

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.

#cdcd1b 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.

#cdcd1b, answered

What color is #cdcd1b?

#cdcd1b is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 10.5). It sits at 60° on the hue wheel with 77% saturation and 46% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cdcd1b?

rgb(205, 205, 27) — 205 red, 205 green and 27 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 80.4% / 10.6% by channel.

Is #cdcd1b a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5672 and perceived brightness is 76%, so black text on it reaches 12.34:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdcd1b?

Black. It scores 12.34:1 against #cdcd1b, versus 1.70:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cdcd1b?

#1B1BCD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #1B74CD and #741BCD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cdcd1b?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDEDC0 for borders, #9B9B4B for secondary text, #1645D2 as an accent and #71710F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CD741B and #74CD1B stays calm, while #1B1BCD is the loudest partner.

What is #cdcd1b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 0%, 87%, 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 #cdcd1b warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 25 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CD931B; nudged cooler, #8CCF19.

Work with #cdcd1b in the Color Lab