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#df601b

a balanced, electric orange · warm · closest name: Chocolate

RGB
223, 96, 27
HSL
21°, 78%, 49%
CMYK
0, 57, 88, 13
Luminance
0.2413

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #df601b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#df601b
Hue
21°
orange
Saturation
78%
electric
Lightness
49%
balanced
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
56%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2413
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
5/100 cool
Color family
Orange
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
5.83:1
Closest name
Chocolate
ΔE2000 4.2
Where it sits
Hue21° of 360°
Saturation78%
Lightness49%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool5% 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#df601b
RGBrgb(223, 96, 27)
HSLhsl(21, 78%, 49%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 57%, 88%, 13%)
LABlab(56.2 46.4 58.8)
LCHlch(56.2 74.9 51.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.640 0.175 43.9)
Decimal14639131
Display P3color(display-p3 0.875 0.376 0.106)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #df601b;
background-color: #df601b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#df601b] bg-[#df601b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #df601b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.875, green: 0.376, blue: 0.106)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#df601b")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDF601B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(27, 96, 223)

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 #df601b · 5.83:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 3.60:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 5.83:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #df601b as text scores 3.60:1 on white and 5.83:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#df601b on white: 3.60:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#df601b on black: 5.83:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #85750A
deuteranopia · #A49214
tritanopia · #F54154

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #df601b 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.

#FCF6F3
#F9EDE6
#F5D7C7
#F3BA9B
#ED9769
#E77537
#df601b
#B64E16
#923F12
#693011
#421E0B
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FCF6F3Darkest = 950 · #421E0B
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCF6F3;
  --brand-100: #F9EDE6;
  --brand-200: #F5D7C7;
  --brand-300: #F3BA9B;
  --brand-400: #ED9769;
  --brand-500: #E77537;
  --brand-600: #df601b;
  --brand-700: #B64E16;
  --brand-800: #923F12;
  --brand-900: #693011;
  --brand-950: #421E0B;
  --brand: #df601b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #df601b

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#FAF6F4
Tinted page background
Border#EDD0C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B674B
Captions on the surface
Accent#12A9BA
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#72310E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCEFE8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241A14
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 #df601b

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Headings from 24px up on white
  • 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
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • 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#1B9ADF
Analogous left#DF1B38
Analogous right#DFC21B
Split-complement 1#1BDFC2
Split-complement 2#1B38DF
Triadic 1#1BDF60
Triadic 2#601BDF
Tetradic#38DF1B

RGB percentages

Red87.5%
Green37.6%
Blue10.6%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta57.0%
Yellow87.9%
Key (black)12.5%

Color previews

#df601b text on a black background

contrast 5.83:1

Card sample

#df601b text on a white background

contrast 3.60:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #df601b;
Background color
Panel with #df601b background
background-color: #df601b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #df601b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(223, 96, 27, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(223, 96, 27, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #df601b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #df601b, #DBDF1B);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #df601b

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.

#df601b in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
E-commerceFood deliveryLogisticsCreator tools
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

#df601b, answered

What color is #df601b?

#df601b is a balanced electric orange, closest to Chocolate (ΔE2000 4.2). It sits at 21° on the hue wheel with 78% saturation and 49% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #df601b?

rgb(223, 96, 27) — 223 red, 96 green and 27 blue out of 255, or 87.5% / 37.6% / 10.6% by channel.

Is #df601b a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2413 and perceived brightness is 56%, so black text on it reaches 5.83:1.

Should I use black or white text on #df601b?

Black. It scores 5.83:1 against #df601b, versus 3.60:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #df601b?

#1B9ADF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #1BDFC2 and #1B38DF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #df601b?

For interface work: #FAF6F4 as the surface, #EDD0C0 for borders, #9B674B for secondary text, #12A9BA as an accent and #72310E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DF1B38 and #DFC21B stays calm, while #1B9ADF is the loudest partner.

What is #df601b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 57%, 88%, 13%). 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 #df601b warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 5 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #E6762E; nudged cooler, #E1181C.

Work with #df601b in the Color Lab