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#ebc90c

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

RGB
235, 201, 12
HSL
51°, 90%, 48%
CMYK
0, 15, 95, 8
Luminance
0.5946

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ebc90c is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ebc90c
Hue
51°
yellow
Saturation
90%
electric
Lightness
48%
balanced
Brightness
92%
HSV value
Perceived
79%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5946
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
17/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
12.89:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 3.9
Where it sits
Hue51° of 360°
Saturation90%
Lightness48%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool17% 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#ebc90c
RGBrgb(235, 201, 12)
HSLhsl(51, 90%, 48%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 15%, 95%, 8%)
LABlab(81.5 -3.3 81.3)
LCHlch(81.5 81.4 92.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.840 0.172 96.6)
Decimal15452428
Display P3color(display-p3 0.922 0.788 0.047)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ebc90c;
background-color: #ebc90c;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ebc90c] bg-[#ebc90c]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ebc90c;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.922, green: 0.788, blue: 0.047)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ebc90c")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFEBC90C)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(12, 201, 235)

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 #ebc90c · 12.89:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.63:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.89:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ebc90c as text scores 1.63:1 on white and 12.89:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ebc90c on white: 1.63:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ebc90c on black: 12.89:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #DFC400
deuteranopia · #E8CF25
tritanopia · #FFB8AB

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ebc90c 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.

#FDFBF2
#FBF7E5
#F8F0C3
#FAEA94
#F7E05F
#F4D529
#ebc90c
#C2A60A
#9B8508
#70610A
#463C06
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FDFBF2Darkest = 950 · #463C06
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFBF2;
  --brand-100: #FBF7E5;
  --brand-200: #F8F0C3;
  --brand-300: #FAEA94;
  --brand-400: #F7E05F;
  --brand-500: #F4D529;
  --brand-600: #ebc90c;
  --brand-700: #C2A60A;
  --brand-800: #9B8508;
  --brand-900: #70610A;
  --brand-950: #463C06;
  --brand: #ebc90c;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ebc90c

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#EDE6C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8F4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0765F0
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#796806
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEFAE7
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 #ebc90c

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#0C2EEB
Analogous left#EB5A0C
Analogous right#9DEB0C
Split-complement 1#0C9DEB
Split-complement 2#5A0CEB
Triadic 1#0CEBC9
Triadic 2#C90CEB
Tetradic#0CEB5A

RGB percentages

Red92.2%
Green78.8%
Blue4.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta14.5%
Yellow94.9%
Key (black)7.8%

Color previews

#ebc90c text on a black background

contrast 12.89:1

Card sample

#ebc90c text on a white background

contrast 1.63:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ebc90c;
Background color
Panel with #ebc90c background
background-color: #ebc90c;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ebc90c;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(235, 201, 12, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(235, 201, 12, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ebc90c;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ebc90c, #78EB0C);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ebc90c

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.

#ebc90c 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.

#ebc90c, answered

What color is #ebc90c?

#ebc90c is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 3.9). It sits at 51° on the hue wheel with 90% saturation and 48% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ebc90c?

rgb(235, 201, 12) — 235 red, 201 green and 12 blue out of 255, or 92.2% / 78.8% / 4.7% by channel.

Is #ebc90c a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5946 and perceived brightness is 79%, so black text on it reaches 12.89:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ebc90c?

Black. It scores 12.89:1 against #ebc90c, versus 1.63:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ebc90c?

#0C2EEB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #0C9DEB and #5A0CEB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ebc90c?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE6C0 for borders, #9B8F4B for secondary text, #0765F0 as an accent and #796806 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EB5A0C and #9DEB0C stays calm, while #0C2EEB is the loudest partner.

What is #ebc90c in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 15%, 95%, 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 #ebc90c warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 17 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #EB990C; nudged cooler, #BCED0A.

Work with #ebc90c in the Color Lab