Skip to content

#dfc23f

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

RGB
223, 194, 63
HSL
49°, 71%, 56%
CMYK
0, 13, 72, 13
Luminance
0.5463

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dfc23f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dfc23f
Hue
49°
yellow
Saturation
71%
vivid
Lightness
56%
balanced
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
76%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5463
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
16/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
11.93:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 7.3
Where it sits
Hue49° of 360°
Saturation71%
Lightness56%
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#dfc23f
RGBrgb(223, 194, 63)
HSLhsl(49, 71%, 56%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 13%, 72%, 13%)
LABlab(78.8 -3.5 66.1)
LCHlch(78.8 66.2 93.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.816 0.147 96.3)
Decimal14664255
Display P3color(display-p3 0.875 0.761 0.247)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #dfc23f;
background-color: #dfc23f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dfc23f] bg-[#dfc23f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dfc23f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.875, green: 0.761, blue: 0.247)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dfc23f")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDFC23F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(63, 194, 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 #dfc23f · 11.93:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.76:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.93:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dfc23f as text scores 1.76:1 on white and 11.93:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dfc23f on white: 1.76:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dfc23f on black: 11.93:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D6BE2A
deuteranopia · #DDC747
tritanopia · #F1B3A8

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dfc23f 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.

#FCFAF3
#F8F5E7
#F3EBC9
#EFE09F
#E7D16F
#dfc23f
#D2B223
#AF941D
#8C7717
#655715
#3F360D
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FCFAF3Darkest = 950 · #3F360D
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFAF3;
  --brand-100: #F8F5E7;
  --brand-200: #F3EBC9;
  --brand-300: #EFE09F;
  --brand-400: #E7D16F;
  --brand-500: #dfc23f;
  --brand-600: #D2B223;
  --brand-700: #AF941D;
  --brand-800: #8C7717;
  --brand-900: #655715;
  --brand-950: #3F360D;
  --brand: #dfc23f;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #dfc23f

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#EDE4C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8C4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#3B84E3
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6D5D12
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FBF8E9
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 #dfc23f

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#3F5CDF
Analogous left#DF723F
Analogous right#ACDF3F
Split-complement 1#3FACDF
Split-complement 2#723FDF
Triadic 1#3FDFC2
Triadic 2#C23FDF
Tetradic#3FDF72

RGB percentages

Red87.5%
Green76.1%
Blue24.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta13.0%
Yellow71.7%
Key (black)12.5%

Color previews

#dfc23f text on a black background

contrast 11.93:1

Card sample

#dfc23f text on a white background

contrast 1.76:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dfc23f;
Background color
Panel with #dfc23f background
background-color: #dfc23f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dfc23f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(223, 194, 63, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(223, 194, 63, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dfc23f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dfc23f, #91DF3F);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dfc23f

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.

#dfc23f 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.

#dfc23f, answered

What color is #dfc23f?

#dfc23f is a balanced vivid yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 7.3). It sits at 49° on the hue wheel with 71% saturation and 56% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dfc23f?

rgb(223, 194, 63) — 223 red, 194 green and 63 blue out of 255, or 87.5% / 76.1% / 24.7% by channel.

Is #dfc23f a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5463 and perceived brightness is 76%, so black text on it reaches 11.93:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dfc23f?

Black. It scores 11.93:1 against #dfc23f, versus 1.76:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #dfc23f?

#3F5CDF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #3FACDF and #723FDF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dfc23f?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE4C0 for borders, #9B8C4B for secondary text, #3B84E3 as an accent and #6D5D12 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DF723F and #ACDF3F stays calm, while #3F5CDF is the loudest partner.

What is #dfc23f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 13%, 72%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dfc23f 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 #DF9D3F; nudged cooler, #C3E13D.

Work with #dfc23f in the Color Lab