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#dba52f

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

RGB
219, 165, 47
HSL
41°, 71%, 52%
CMYK
0, 25, 79, 14
Luminance
0.4218

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dba52f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dba52f
Hue
41°
yellow
Saturation
71%
vivid
Lightness
52%
balanced
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
69%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4218
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
9/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
9.44:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 1.4
Where it sits
Hue41° of 360°
Saturation71%
Lightness52%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool9% 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#dba52f
RGBrgb(219, 165, 47)
HSLhsl(41, 71%, 52%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 25%, 79%, 14%)
LABlab(71.0 9.4 64.3)
LCHlch(71.0 65.0 81.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.753 0.141 82.1)
Decimal14394671
Display P3color(display-p3 0.859 0.647 0.184)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #dba52f;
background-color: #dba52f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dba52f] bg-[#dba52f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dba52f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.859, green: 0.647, blue: 0.184)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dba52f")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDBA52F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(47, 165, 219)

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 #dba52f · 9.44:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.23:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.44:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dba52f as text scores 2.23:1 on white and 9.44:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dba52f on white: 2.23:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dba52f on black: 9.44:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BBA618
deuteranopia · #C8B335
tritanopia · #EE958E

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dba52f is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FCF9F3
#F8F3E7
#F2E6C9
#EED69F
#E6C170
#dba52f
#D19B24
#AE811E
#8B6718
#654C16
#3F300D
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FCF9F3Darkest = 950 · #3F300D
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCF9F3;
  --brand-100: #F8F3E7;
  --brand-200: #F2E6C9;
  --brand-300: #EED69F;
  --brand-400: #E6C170;
  --brand-500: #dba52f;
  --brand-600: #D19B24;
  --brand-700: #AE811E;
  --brand-800: #8B6718;
  --brand-900: #654C16;
  --brand-950: #3F300D;
  --brand: #dba52f;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #dba52f

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#FAF8F4
Tinted page background
Border#EDDFC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B824B
Captions on the surface
Accent#2A91E0
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6D5113
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FBF6E9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241F14
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 #dba52f

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#2F65DB
Analogous left#DB4F2F
Analogous right#BBDB2F
Split-complement 1#2FBBDB
Split-complement 2#4F2FDB
Triadic 1#2FDBA5
Triadic 2#A52FDB
Tetradic#2FDB4F

RGB percentages

Red85.9%
Green64.7%
Blue18.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta24.7%
Yellow78.5%
Key (black)14.1%

Color previews

#dba52f text on a black background

contrast 9.44:1

Card sample

#dba52f text on a white background

contrast 2.23:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dba52f;
Background color
Panel with #dba52f background
background-color: #dba52f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dba52f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(219, 165, 47, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(219, 165, 47, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dba52f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dba52f, #9EDB2F);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dba52f

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.

#dba52f 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

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

#dba52f, answered

What color is #dba52f?

#dba52f is a balanced vivid yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 1.4). It sits at 41° on the hue wheel with 71% saturation and 52% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dba52f?

rgb(219, 165, 47) — 219 red, 165 green and 47 blue out of 255, or 85.9% / 64.7% / 18.4% by channel.

Is #dba52f a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4218 and perceived brightness is 69%, so black text on it reaches 9.44:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dba52f?

Black. It scores 9.44:1 against #dba52f, versus 2.23:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #dba52f?

#2F65DB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #2FBBDB and #4F2FDB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dba52f?

For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #EDDFC0 for borders, #9B824B for secondary text, #2A91E0 as an accent and #6D5113 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DB4F2F and #BBDB2F stays calm, while #2F65DB is the loudest partner.

What is #dba52f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 25%, 79%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dba52f warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 9 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DB8B2F; nudged cooler, #D4DD2D.

Work with #dba52f in the Color Lab