Skip to content

#dfeb9a

a light, vivid yellow · warm · closest name: Pale Goldenrod

RGB
223, 235, 154
HSL
69°, 67%, 76%
CMYK
5, 0, 35, 8
Luminance
0.7744

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dfeb9a is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dfeb9a
Hue
69°
yellow
Saturation
67%
vivid
Lightness
76%
light
Brightness
92%
HSV value
Perceived
88%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7744
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
32/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
16.49:1
Closest name
Pale Goldenrod
ΔE2000 5.7
Where it sits
Hue69° of 360°
Saturation67%
Lightness76%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool32% 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#dfeb9a
RGBrgb(223, 235, 154)
HSLhsl(69, 67%, 76%)
CMYKcmyk(5%, 0%, 35%, 8%)
LABlab(90.5 -16.4 38.0)
LCHlch(90.5 41.4 113.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.912 0.104 115.4)
Decimal14674842
Display P3color(display-p3 0.875 0.922 0.604)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #dfeb9a;
background-color: #dfeb9a;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dfeb9a] bg-[#dfeb9a]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dfeb9a;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.875, green: 0.922, blue: 0.604)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dfeb9a")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDFEB9A)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(154, 235, 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 #dfeb9a · 16.49:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.27:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 16.49:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dfeb9a as text scores 1.27:1 on white and 16.49:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dfeb9a on white: 1.27:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dfeb9a on black: 16.49:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #F6E394
deuteranopia · #F5E59E
tritanopia · #E8E2D7

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dfeb9a is pinned to step 300; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FAFBF3
#F5F8E8
#ECF1CA
#dfeb9a
#D2E373
#C4DA44
#B4CC29
#96AA22
#78881B
#586318
#373E0F
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FAFBF3Darkest = 950 · #373E0F
:root {
  --brand-50: #FAFBF3;
  --brand-100: #F5F8E8;
  --brand-200: #ECF1CA;
  --brand-300: #dfeb9a;
  --brand-400: #D2E373;
  --brand-500: #C4DA44;
  --brand-600: #B4CC29;
  --brand-700: #96AA22;
  --brand-800: #78881B;
  --brand-900: #586318;
  --brand-950: #373E0F;
  --brand: #dfeb9a;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #dfeb9a

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#E6EDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8F9B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1E2CAE
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#5E6A15
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F8FBEA
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#222414
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 #dfeb9a

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
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • 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
  • White text placed on it
  • 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#A69AEB
Analogous left#EBCF9A
Analogous right#B7EB9A
Split-complement 1#9AB7EB
Split-complement 2#CF9AEB
Triadic 1#9ADFEB
Triadic 2#EB9ADF
Tetradic#9AEBCF

RGB percentages

Red87.5%
Green92.2%
Blue60.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan5.1%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow34.5%
Key (black)7.8%

Color previews

#dfeb9a text on a black background

contrast 16.49:1

Card sample

#dfeb9a text on a white background

contrast 1.27:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dfeb9a;
Background color
Panel with #dfeb9a background
background-color: #dfeb9a;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dfeb9a;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(223, 235, 154, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(223, 235, 154, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dfeb9a;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dfeb9a, #A9EB9A);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dfeb9a

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.

#dfeb9a 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
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

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

#dfeb9a, answered

What color is #dfeb9a?

#dfeb9a is a light vivid yellow, closest to Pale Goldenrod (ΔE2000 5.7). It sits at 69° on the hue wheel with 67% saturation and 76% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dfeb9a?

rgb(223, 235, 154) — 223 red, 235 green and 154 blue out of 255, or 87.5% / 92.2% / 60.4% by channel.

Is #dfeb9a a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7744 and perceived brightness is 88%, so black text on it reaches 16.49:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dfeb9a?

Black. It scores 16.49:1 against #dfeb9a, versus 1.27:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #dfeb9a?

#A69AEB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9AB7EB and #CF9AEB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dfeb9a?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #E6EDC0 for borders, #8F9B4B for secondary text, #1E2CAE as an accent and #5E6A15 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EBCF9A and #B7EB9A stays calm, while #A69AEB is the loudest partner.

What is #dfeb9a in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(5%, 0%, 35%, 8%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dfeb9a warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 32 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #EBD99A; nudged cooler, #C1EC99.

Work with #dfeb9a in the Color Lab