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#dfec2d

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

RGB
223, 236, 45
HSL
64°, 83%, 55%
CMYK
6, 0, 81, 8
Luminance
0.7587

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dfec2d is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dfec2d
Hue
64°
yellow
Saturation
83%
electric
Lightness
55%
balanced
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
86%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7587
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
28/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
16.17:1
Closest name
Yellow
ΔE2000 5.9
Where it sits
Hue64° of 360°
Saturation83%
Lightness55%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool28% 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#dfec2d
RGBrgb(223, 236, 45)
HSLhsl(64, 83%, 55%)
CMYKcmyk(6%, 0%, 81%, 8%)
LABlab(89.8 -25.0 81.7)
LCHlch(89.8 85.4 107.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.903 0.193 113.8)
Decimal14674989
Display P3color(display-p3 0.875 0.925 0.176)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #dfec2d;
background-color: #dfec2d;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dfec2d] bg-[#dfec2d]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dfec2d;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.875, green: 0.925, blue: 0.176)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dfec2d")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDFEC2D)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(45, 236, 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 #dfec2d · 16.17:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.30:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 16.17:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dfec2d as text scores 1.30:1 on white and 16.17:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dfec2d on white: 1.30:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dfec2d on black: 16.17:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #FEE000
deuteranopia · #FEE441
tritanopia · #EEDECA

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dfec2d 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.

#FCFCF2
#F8FAE6
#F3F6C6
#EFF698
#E7F165
#dfec2d
#D3E014
#AFBB11
#8C960E
#666C0E
#404409
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FCFCF2Darkest = 950 · #404409
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFCF2;
  --brand-100: #F8FAE6;
  --brand-200: #F3F6C6;
  --brand-300: #EFF698;
  --brand-400: #E7F165;
  --brand-500: #dfec2d;
  --brand-600: #D3E014;
  --brand-700: #AFBB11;
  --brand-800: #8C960E;
  --brand-900: #666C0E;
  --brand-950: #404409;
  --brand: #dfec2d;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #dfec2d

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#EAEDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#959B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#284DF1
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6E750B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FBFDE8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#232414
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 #dfec2d

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#3A2DEC
Analogous left#EC9A2D
Analogous right#7FEC2D
Split-complement 1#2D7FEC
Split-complement 2#9A2DEC
Triadic 1#2DDFEC
Triadic 2#EC2DDF
Tetradic#2DEC9A

RGB percentages

Red87.5%
Green92.5%
Blue17.6%

CMYK percentages

Cyan5.5%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow80.9%
Key (black)7.5%

Color previews

#dfec2d text on a black background

contrast 16.17:1

Card sample

#dfec2d text on a white background

contrast 1.30:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dfec2d;
Background color
Panel with #dfec2d background
background-color: #dfec2d;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dfec2d;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(223, 236, 45, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(223, 236, 45, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dfec2d;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dfec2d, #60EC2D);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dfec2d

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.

#dfec2d 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.

#dfec2d, answered

What color is #dfec2d?

#dfec2d is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Yellow (ΔE2000 5.9). It sits at 64° on the hue wheel with 83% saturation and 55% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dfec2d?

rgb(223, 236, 45) — 223 red, 236 green and 45 blue out of 255, or 87.5% / 92.5% / 17.6% by channel.

Is #dfec2d a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7587 and perceived brightness is 86%, so black text on it reaches 16.17:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dfec2d?

Black. It scores 16.17:1 against #dfec2d, versus 1.30:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #dfec2d?

#3A2DEC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #2D7FEC and #9A2DEC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dfec2d?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EAEDC0 for borders, #959B4B for secondary text, #284DF1 as an accent and #6E750B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EC9A2D and #7FEC2D stays calm, while #3A2DEC is the loudest partner.

What is #dfec2d in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(6%, 0%, 81%, 8%). 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 #dfec2d warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 28 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #ECB42D; nudged cooler, #99EE2B.

Work with #dfec2d in the Color Lab