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#daaa15

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

RGB
218, 170, 21
HSL
45°, 82%, 47%
CMYK
0, 22, 90, 15
Luminance
0.4371

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #daaa15 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#daaa15
Hue
45°
yellow
Saturation
82%
electric
Lightness
47%
balanced
Brightness
85%
HSV value
Perceived
69%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4371
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
13/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
9.74:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 2.3
Where it sits
Hue45° of 360°
Saturation82%
Lightness47%
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#daaa15
RGBrgb(218, 170, 21)
HSLhsl(45, 82%, 47%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 22%, 90%, 15%)
LABlab(72.0 5.6 72.2)
LCHlch(72.0 72.4 85.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.761 0.152 87.6)
Decimal14330389
Display P3color(display-p3 0.855 0.667 0.082)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #daaa15;
background-color: #daaa15;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#daaa15] bg-[#daaa15]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #daaa15;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.855, green: 0.667, blue: 0.082)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#daaa15")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDAAA15)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(21, 170, 218)

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 #daaa15 · 9.74:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.16:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.74:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #daaa15 as text scores 2.16:1 on white and 9.74:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#daaa15 on white: 2.16:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#daaa15 on black: 9.74:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C0A900
deuteranopia · #CCB622
tritanopia · #ED9991

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #daaa15 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.

#FCFAF2
#FAF5E6
#F6EAC6
#F5DF99
#F0CE66
#EBBE32
#daaa15
#BA9112
#95740E
#6C550F
#433509
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FCFAF2Darkest = 950 · #433509
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFAF2;
  --brand-100: #FAF5E6;
  --brand-200: #F6EAC6;
  --brand-300: #F5DF99;
  --brand-400: #F0CE66;
  --brand-500: #EBBE32;
  --brand-600: #daaa15;
  --brand-700: #BA9112;
  --brand-800: #95740E;
  --brand-900: #6C550F;
  --brand-950: #433509;
  --brand: #daaa15;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #daaa15

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#EDE2C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B874B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1076DF
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#745B0B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDF8E8
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 #daaa15

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#1545DA
Analogous left#DA4815
Analogous right#A8DA15
Split-complement 1#15A8DA
Split-complement 2#4815DA
Triadic 1#15DAAA
Triadic 2#AA15DA
Tetradic#15DA48

RGB percentages

Red85.5%
Green66.7%
Blue8.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta22.0%
Yellow90.4%
Key (black)14.5%

Color previews

#daaa15 text on a black background

contrast 9.74:1

Card sample

#daaa15 text on a white background

contrast 2.16:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #daaa15;
Background color
Panel with #daaa15 background
background-color: #daaa15;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #daaa15;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(218, 170, 21, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(218, 170, 21, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #daaa15;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #daaa15, #87DA15);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #daaa15

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.

#daaa15 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.

#daaa15, answered

What color is #daaa15?

#daaa15 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 2.3). It sits at 45° on the hue wheel with 82% saturation and 47% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #daaa15?

rgb(218, 170, 21) — 218 red, 170 green and 21 blue out of 255, or 85.5% / 66.7% / 8.2% by channel.

Is #daaa15 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4371 and perceived brightness is 69%, so black text on it reaches 9.74:1.

Should I use black or white text on #daaa15?

Black. It scores 9.74:1 against #daaa15, versus 2.16:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #daaa15?

#1545DA sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #15A8DA and #4815DA, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #daaa15?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE2C0 for borders, #9B874B for secondary text, #1076DF as an accent and #745B0B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DA4815 and #A8DA15 stays calm, while #1545DA is the loudest partner.

What is #daaa15 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 22%, 90%, 15%). 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 #daaa15 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 #DA8715; nudged cooler, #C4DD13.

Work with #daaa15 in the Color Lab