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#cdd697

a light, soft yellow · warm · closest name: Pale Goldenrod

RGB
205, 214, 151
HSL
69°, 43%, 72%
CMYK
4, 0, 29, 16
Luminance
0.6331

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cdd697 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cdd697
Hue
69°
yellow
Saturation
43%
soft
Lightness
72%
light
Brightness
84%
HSV value
Perceived
80%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6331
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
32/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
13.66:1
Closest name
Pale Goldenrod
ΔE2000 6.4
Where it sits
Hue69° of 360°
Saturation43%
Lightness72%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool32% 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#cdd697
RGBrgb(205, 214, 151)
HSLhsl(69, 43%, 72%)
CMYKcmyk(4%, 0%, 29%, 16%)
LABlab(83.6 -13.2 30.2)
LCHlch(83.6 32.9 113.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.854 0.083 114.8)
Decimal13489815
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.839 0.592)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cdd697;
background-color: #cdd697;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdd697] bg-[#cdd697]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdd697;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.839, blue: 0.592)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cdd697")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDD697)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(151, 214, 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 #cdd697 · 13.66:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.54:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.66:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdd697 as text scores 1.54:1 on white and 13.66:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cdd697 on white: 1.54:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdd697 on black: 13.66:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #DFD093
deuteranopia · #DED19A
tritanopia · #D4CFC6

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cdd697 is pinned to step 400; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F9FAF5
#F3F5EB
#E7EBD1
#D8DFAF
#cdd697
#B2BF5E
#A0B045
#86923A
#6B752E
#4F5625
#313617
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9FAF5Darkest = 950 · #313617
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9FAF5;
  --brand-100: #F3F5EB;
  --brand-200: #E7EBD1;
  --brand-300: #D8DFAF;
  --brand-400: #cdd697;
  --brand-500: #B2BF5E;
  --brand-600: #A0B045;
  --brand-700: #86923A;
  --brand-800: #6B752E;
  --brand-900: #4F5625;
  --brand-950: #313617;
  --brand: #cdd697;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cdd697

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#E3E8C4
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8F9B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#354197
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#535B24
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6F8ED
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#222414
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 #cdd697

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • White 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#A097D6
Analogous left#D6C097
Analogous right#AED697
Split-complement 1#97AED6
Split-complement 2#C097D6
Triadic 1#97CDD6
Triadic 2#D697CD
Tetradic#97D6C0

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green83.9%
Blue59.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan4.2%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow29.4%
Key (black)16.1%

Color previews

#cdd697 text on a black background

contrast 13.66:1

Card sample

#cdd697 text on a white background

contrast 1.54:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cdd697;
Background color
Panel with #cdd697 background
background-color: #cdd697;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cdd697;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 214, 151, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 214, 151, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdd697;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdd697, #A3D697);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdd697

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.

#cdd697 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
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#cdd697, answered

What color is #cdd697?

#cdd697 is a light soft yellow, closest to Pale Goldenrod (ΔE2000 6.4). It sits at 69° on the hue wheel with 43% saturation and 72% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cdd697?

rgb(205, 214, 151) — 205 red, 214 green and 151 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 83.9% / 59.2% by channel.

Is #cdd697 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6331 and perceived brightness is 80%, so black text on it reaches 13.66:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdd697?

Black. It scores 13.66:1 against #cdd697, versus 1.54:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cdd697?

#A097D6 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #97AED6 and #C097D6, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cdd697?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #E3E8C4 for borders, #8F9B4B for secondary text, #354197 as an accent and #535B24 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #D6C097 and #AED697 stays calm, while #A097D6 is the loudest partner.

What is #cdd697 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(4%, 0%, 29%, 16%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cdd697 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 32 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #D6C897; nudged cooler, #B6D796.

Work with #cdd697 in the Color Lab