Skip to content

#dadc97

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

RGB
218, 220, 151
HSL
62°, 50%, 73%
CMYK
1, 0, 31, 14
Luminance
0.6833

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dadc97 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dadc97
Hue
62°
yellow
Saturation
50%
vivid
Lightness
73%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
83%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6833
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
26/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
14.67:1
Closest name
Pale Goldenrod
ΔE2000 4.1
Where it sits
Hue62° of 360°
Saturation50%
Lightness73%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool26% 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#dadc97
RGBrgb(218, 220, 151)
HSLhsl(62, 50%, 73%)
CMYKcmyk(1%, 0%, 31%, 14%)
LABlab(86.2 -11.3 33.8)
LCHlch(86.2 35.6 108.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.877 0.089 109.5)
Decimal14343319
Display P3color(display-p3 0.855 0.863 0.592)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #dadc97;
background-color: #dadc97;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dadc97] bg-[#dadc97]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dadc97;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.855, green: 0.863, blue: 0.592)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dadc97")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDADC97)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(151, 220, 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 #dadc97 · 14.67:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.43:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.67:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dadc97 as text scores 1.43:1 on white and 14.67:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dadc97 on white: 1.43:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dadc97 on black: 14.67:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #E7D692
deuteranopia · #E7D99A
tritanopia · #E3D4CA

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dadc97 is pinned to step 300; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FAFAF4
#F5F6EA
#EBECCF
#dadc97
#D2D581
#C3C657
#B4B73E
#969933
#787A29
#585921
#373815
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FAFAF4Darkest = 950 · #373815
:root {
  --brand-50: #FAFAF4;
  --brand-100: #F5F6EA;
  --brand-200: #EBECCF;
  --brand-300: #dadc97;
  --brand-400: #D2D581;
  --brand-500: #C3C657;
  --brand-600: #B4B73E;
  --brand-700: #969933;
  --brand-800: #787A29;
  --brand-900: #585921;
  --brand-950: #373815;
  --brand: #dadc97;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #dadc97

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#E9EAC2
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#999B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#2F489D
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#5E5F20
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F8F9EC
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 #dadc97

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
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • 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
  • 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#9997DC
Analogous left#DCBB97
Analogous right#B7DC97
Split-complement 1#97B7DC
Split-complement 2#BB97DC
Triadic 1#97DADC
Triadic 2#DC97DA
Tetradic#97DCBB

RGB percentages

Red85.5%
Green86.3%
Blue59.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.9%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow31.4%
Key (black)13.7%

Color previews

#dadc97 text on a black background

contrast 14.67:1

Card sample

#dadc97 text on a white background

contrast 1.43:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dadc97;
Background color
Panel with #dadc97 background
background-color: #dadc97;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dadc97;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(218, 220, 151, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(218, 220, 151, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dadc97;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dadc97, #ACDC97);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dadc97

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.

#dadc97 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.

#dadc97, answered

What color is #dadc97?

#dadc97 is a light vivid yellow, closest to Pale Goldenrod (ΔE2000 4.1). It sits at 62° on the hue wheel with 50% saturation and 73% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dadc97?

rgb(218, 220, 151) — 218 red, 220 green and 151 blue out of 255, or 85.5% / 86.3% / 59.2% by channel.

Is #dadc97 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6833 and perceived brightness is 83%, so black text on it reaches 14.67:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dadc97?

Black. It scores 14.67:1 against #dadc97, versus 1.43:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #dadc97?

#9997DC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #97B7DC and #BB97DC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dadc97?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #E9EAC2 for borders, #999B4B for secondary text, #2F489D as an accent and #5E5F20 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DCBB97 and #B7DC97 stays calm, while #9997DC is the loudest partner.

What is #dadc97 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(1%, 0%, 31%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dadc97 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 26 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DCC597; nudged cooler, #C1DD95.

Work with #dadc97 in the Color Lab