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#e2cd33

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

RGB
226, 205, 51
HSL
53°, 75%, 54%
CMYK
0, 9, 77, 11
Luminance
0.6007

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #e2cd33 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#e2cd33
Hue
53°
yellow
Saturation
75%
electric
Lightness
54%
balanced
Brightness
89%
HSV value
Perceived
79%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6007
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
19/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
13.01:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 6
Where it sits
Hue53° of 360°
Saturation75%
Lightness54%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool19% 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#e2cd33
RGBrgb(226, 205, 51)
HSLhsl(53, 75%, 54%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 9%, 77%, 11%)
LABlab(81.9 -8.3 73.2)
LCHlch(81.9 73.6 96.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.841 0.162 101.1)
Decimal14863667
Display P3color(display-p3 0.886 0.804 0.200)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #e2cd33;
background-color: #e2cd33;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#e2cd33] bg-[#e2cd33]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #e2cd33;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.886, green: 0.804, blue: 0.200)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#e2cd33")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFE2CD33)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(51, 205, 226)

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 #e2cd33 · 13.01:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.61:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.01:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #e2cd33 as text scores 1.61:1 on white and 13.01:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#e2cd33 on white: 1.61:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#e2cd33 on black: 13.01:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #E1C708
deuteranopia · #E7CF3F
tritanopia · #F4BEB0

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #e2cd33 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.

#FCFBF3
#F9F7E7
#F4EFC8
#F1E79D
#EADB6C
#e2cd33
#D6C01E
#B3A019
#8F8014
#675D13
#413A0C
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FCFBF3Darkest = 950 · #413A0C
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFBF3;
  --brand-100: #F9F7E7;
  --brand-200: #F4EFC8;
  --brand-300: #F1E79D;
  --brand-400: #EADB6C;
  --brand-500: #e2cd33;
  --brand-600: #D6C01E;
  --brand-700: #B3A019;
  --brand-800: #8F8014;
  --brand-900: #675D13;
  --brand-950: #413A0C;
  --brand: #e2cd33;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #e2cd33

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#EDE7C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B914B
Captions on the surface
Accent#2E72E7
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#706410
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCFAE9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242214
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 #e2cd33

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#3348E2
Analogous left#E27533
Analogous right#9FE233
Split-complement 1#339FE2
Split-complement 2#7533E2
Triadic 1#33E2CD
Triadic 2#CD33E2
Tetradic#33E275

RGB percentages

Red88.6%
Green80.4%
Blue20.0%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta9.3%
Yellow77.4%
Key (black)11.4%

Color previews

#e2cd33 text on a black background

contrast 13.01:1

Card sample

#e2cd33 text on a white background

contrast 1.61:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #e2cd33;
Background color
Panel with #e2cd33 background
background-color: #e2cd33;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #e2cd33;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(226, 205, 51, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(226, 205, 51, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #e2cd33;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #e2cd33, #82E233);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #e2cd33

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.

#e2cd33 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.

#e2cd33, answered

What color is #e2cd33?

#e2cd33 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 6). It sits at 53° on the hue wheel with 75% saturation and 54% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #e2cd33?

rgb(226, 205, 51) — 226 red, 205 green and 51 blue out of 255, or 88.6% / 80.4% / 20% by channel.

Is #e2cd33 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6007 and perceived brightness is 79%, so black text on it reaches 13.01:1.

Should I use black or white text on #e2cd33?

Black. It scores 13.01:1 against #e2cd33, versus 1.61:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #e2cd33?

#3348E2 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #339FE2 and #7533E2, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #e2cd33?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDE7C0 for borders, #9B914B for secondary text, #2E72E7 as an accent and #706410 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #E27533 and #9FE233 stays calm, while #3348E2 is the loudest partner.

What is #e2cd33 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 9%, 77%, 11%). 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 #e2cd33 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 19 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #E29F33; nudged cooler, #B8E431.

Work with #e2cd33 in the Color Lab