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#dfbc1b

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

RGB
223, 188, 27
HSL
49°, 78%, 49%
CMYK
0, 16, 88, 13
Luminance
0.5173

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dfbc1b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dfbc1b
Hue
49°
yellow
Saturation
78%
electric
Lightness
49%
balanced
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
74%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5173
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
16/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
11.35:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 7.1
Where it sits
Hue49° of 360°
Saturation78%
Lightness49%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool16% 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#dfbc1b
RGBrgb(223, 188, 27)
HSLhsl(49, 78%, 49%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 16%, 88%, 13%)
LABlab(77.1 -1.5 75.2)
LCHlch(77.1 75.2 91.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.802 0.160 94.9)
Decimal14662683
Display P3color(display-p3 0.875 0.737 0.106)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #dfbc1b;
background-color: #dfbc1b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dfbc1b] bg-[#dfbc1b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dfbc1b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.875, green: 0.737, blue: 0.106)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dfbc1b")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDFBC1B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(27, 188, 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 #dfbc1b · 11.35:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.85:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.35:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dfbc1b as text scores 1.85:1 on white and 11.35:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dfbc1b on white: 1.85:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dfbc1b on black: 11.35:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D1B800
deuteranopia · #DAC32A
tritanopia · #F2ACA1

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dfbc1b 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.

#FCFAF3
#F9F6E6
#F5EDC7
#F3E39B
#EDD569
#E7C737
#dfbc1b
#B69916
#927B12
#695A11
#42380B
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FCFAF3Darkest = 950 · #42380B
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFAF3;
  --brand-100: #F9F6E6;
  --brand-200: #F5EDC7;
  --brand-300: #F3E39B;
  --brand-400: #EDD569;
  --brand-500: #E7C737;
  --brand-600: #dfbc1b;
  --brand-700: #B69916;
  --brand-800: #927B12;
  --brand-900: #695A11;
  --brand-950: #42380B;
  --brand: #dfbc1b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #dfbc1b

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#EDE5C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8D4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#166EE4
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#72600E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCF9E8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242114
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 #dfbc1b

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#1B3EDF
Analogous left#DF5A1B
Analogous right#A0DF1B
Split-complement 1#1BA0DF
Split-complement 2#5A1BDF
Triadic 1#1BDFBC
Triadic 2#BC1BDF
Tetradic#1BDF5A

RGB percentages

Red87.5%
Green73.7%
Blue10.6%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta15.7%
Yellow87.9%
Key (black)12.5%

Color previews

#dfbc1b text on a black background

contrast 11.35:1

Card sample

#dfbc1b text on a white background

contrast 1.85:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dfbc1b;
Background color
Panel with #dfbc1b background
background-color: #dfbc1b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dfbc1b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(223, 188, 27, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(223, 188, 27, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dfbc1b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dfbc1b, #7FDF1B);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dfbc1b

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.

#dfbc1b 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.

#dfbc1b, answered

What color is #dfbc1b?

#dfbc1b is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 7.1). It sits at 49° on the hue wheel with 78% saturation and 49% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dfbc1b?

rgb(223, 188, 27) — 223 red, 188 green and 27 blue out of 255, or 87.5% / 73.7% / 10.6% by channel.

Is #dfbc1b a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5173 and perceived brightness is 74%, so black text on it reaches 11.35:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dfbc1b?

Black. It scores 11.35:1 against #dfbc1b, versus 1.85:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #dfbc1b?

#1B3EDF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #1BA0DF and #5A1BDF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dfbc1b?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE5C0 for borders, #9B8D4B for secondary text, #166EE4 as an accent and #72600E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DF5A1B and #A0DF1B stays calm, while #1B3EDF is the loudest partner.

What is #dfbc1b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 16%, 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 #dfbc1b warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 16 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DF921B; nudged cooler, #BCE118.

Work with #dfbc1b in the Color Lab