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#dce039

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

RGB
220, 224, 57
HSL
61°, 73%, 55%
CMYK
2, 0, 75, 12
Luminance
0.6882

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dce039 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dce039
Hue
61°
yellow
Saturation
73%
vivid
Lightness
55%
balanced
Brightness
88%
HSV value
Perceived
83%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6882
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
26/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
14.76:1
Closest name
Yellow
ΔE2000 7.8
Where it sits
Hue61° of 360°
Saturation73%
Lightness55%
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#dce039
RGBrgb(220, 224, 57)
HSLhsl(61, 73%, 55%)
CMYKcmyk(2%, 0%, 75%, 12%)
LABlab(86.4 -20.0 75.3)
LCHlch(86.4 77.9 104.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.876 0.177 111.0)
Decimal14475321
Display P3color(display-p3 0.863 0.878 0.224)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #dce039;
background-color: #dce039;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dce039] bg-[#dce039]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dce039;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.863, green: 0.878, blue: 0.224)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dce039")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDCE039)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(57, 224, 220)

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 #dce039 · 14.76:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.42:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.76:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dce039 as text scores 1.42:1 on white and 14.76:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dce039 on white: 1.42:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dce039 on black: 14.76:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #F2D60E
deuteranopia · #F3DA47
tritanopia · #EBD2C1

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dce039 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.

#FBFCF3
#F8F8E7
#F2F3C9
#EEF09E
#E5E86E
#dce039
#CFD421
#ADB01C
#8A8D16
#646614
#3F400D
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FBFCF3Darkest = 950 · #3F400D
:root {
  --brand-50: #FBFCF3;
  --brand-100: #F8F8E7;
  --brand-200: #F2F3C9;
  --brand-300: #EEF09E;
  --brand-400: #E5E86E;
  --brand-500: #dce039;
  --brand-600: #CFD421;
  --brand-700: #ADB01C;
  --brand-800: #8A8D16;
  --brand-900: #646614;
  --brand-950: #3F400D;
  --brand: #dce039;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #dce039

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#ECEDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#999B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#345CE5
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6C6E11
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FBFCE9
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 #dce039

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#3D39E0
Analogous left#E09039
Analogous right#89E039
Split-complement 1#3989E0
Split-complement 2#9039E0
Triadic 1#39DCE0
Triadic 2#E039DC
Tetradic#39E090

RGB percentages

Red86.3%
Green87.8%
Blue22.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan1.8%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow74.6%
Key (black)12.2%

Color previews

#dce039 text on a black background

contrast 14.76:1

Card sample

#dce039 text on a white background

contrast 1.42:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dce039;
Background color
Panel with #dce039 background
background-color: #dce039;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dce039;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(220, 224, 57, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(220, 224, 57, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dce039;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dce039, #6DE039);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dce039

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.

#dce039 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.

#dce039, answered

What color is #dce039?

#dce039 is a balanced vivid yellow, closest to Yellow (ΔE2000 7.8). It sits at 61° on the hue wheel with 73% saturation and 55% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dce039?

rgb(220, 224, 57) — 220 red, 224 green and 57 blue out of 255, or 86.3% / 87.8% / 22.4% by channel.

Is #dce039 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6882 and perceived brightness is 83%, so black text on it reaches 14.76:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dce039?

Black. It scores 14.76:1 against #dce039, versus 1.42:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #dce039?

#3D39E0 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #3989E0 and #9039E0, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dce039?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #ECEDC0 for borders, #999B4B for secondary text, #345CE5 as an accent and #6C6E11 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #E09039 and #89E039 stays calm, while #3D39E0 is the loudest partner.

What is #dce039 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(2%, 0%, 75%, 12%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dce039 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 #E0A939; nudged cooler, #9FE237.

Work with #dce039 in the Color Lab