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#cfab0b

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

RGB
207, 171, 11
HSL
49°, 90%, 43%
CMYK
0, 17, 95, 19
Luminance
0.4242

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cfab0b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cfab0b
Hue
49°
yellow
Saturation
90%
electric
Lightness
43%
dark
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
68%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4242
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
16/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
9.48:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 5.3
Where it sits
Hue49° of 360°
Saturation90%
Lightness43%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool16% 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#cfab0b
RGBrgb(207, 171, 11)
HSLhsl(49, 90%, 43%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 17%, 95%, 19%)
LABlab(71.2 0.1 72.6)
LCHlch(71.2 72.6 89.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.751 0.152 93.4)
Decimal13609739
Display P3color(display-p3 0.812 0.671 0.043)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cfab0b;
background-color: #cfab0b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cfab0b] bg-[#cfab0b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cfab0b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.812, green: 0.671, blue: 0.043)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cfab0b")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCFAB0B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(11, 171, 207)

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 #cfab0b · 9.48:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.21:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.48:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cfab0b as text scores 2.21:1 on white and 9.48:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cfab0b on white: 2.21:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cfab0b on black: 9.48:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BFA800
deuteranopia · #C8B31F
tritanopia · #E19C92

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cfab0b 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
#FBF7E5
#F8EFC3
#F9E794
#F7DB5F
#F4CF2A
#E8C00C
#cfab0b
#9B8008
#705D0B
#463A07
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FDFBF2Darkest = 950 · #463A07
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFBF2;
  --brand-100: #FBF7E5;
  --brand-200: #F8EFC3;
  --brand-300: #F9E794;
  --brand-400: #F7DB5F;
  --brand-500: #F4CF2A;
  --brand-600: #E8C00C;
  --brand-700: #cfab0b;
  --brand-800: #9B8008;
  --brand-900: #705D0B;
  --brand-950: #463A07;
  --brand: #cfab0b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cfab0b

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#EDE4C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8C4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#075FD3
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#796406
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEFAE7
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 #cfab0b

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#0B2FCF
Analogous left#CF490B
Analogous right#91CF0B
Split-complement 1#0B91CF
Split-complement 2#490BCF
Triadic 1#0BCFAB
Triadic 2#AB0BCF
Tetradic#0BCF49

RGB percentages

Red81.2%
Green67.1%
Blue4.3%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta17.4%
Yellow94.7%
Key (black)18.8%

Color previews

#cfab0b text on a black background

contrast 9.48:1

Card sample

#cfab0b text on a white background

contrast 2.21:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cfab0b;
Background color
Panel with #cfab0b background
background-color: #cfab0b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cfab0b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(207, 171, 11, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(207, 171, 11, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cfab0b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cfab0b, #70CF0B);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cfab0b

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.

#cfab0b 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.

#cfab0b, answered

What color is #cfab0b?

#cfab0b is a dark electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 5.3). It sits at 49° on the hue wheel with 90% saturation and 43% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cfab0b?

rgb(207, 171, 11) — 207 red, 171 green and 11 blue out of 255, or 81.2% / 67.1% / 4.3% by channel.

Is #cfab0b a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4242 and perceived brightness is 68%, so black text on it reaches 9.48:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cfab0b?

Black. It scores 9.48:1 against #cfab0b, versus 2.21:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cfab0b?

#0B2FCF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #0B91CF and #490BCF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cfab0b?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE4C0 for borders, #9B8C4B for secondary text, #075FD3 as an accent and #796406 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CF490B and #91CF0B stays calm, while #0B2FCF is the loudest partner.

What is #cfab0b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 17%, 95%, 19%). 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 #cfab0b warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 16 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CF810B; nudged cooler, #ACD109.

Work with #cfab0b in the Color Lab