Skip to content

#ebc971

a light, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Khaki

RGB
235, 201, 113
HSL
43°, 75%, 68%
CMYK
0, 15, 52, 8
Luminance
0.6063

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ebc971 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ebc971
Hue
43°
yellow
Saturation
75%
electric
Lightness
68%
light
Brightness
92%
HSV value
Perceived
80%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6063
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
11/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
13.13:1
Closest name
Khaki
ΔE2000 8.9
Where it sits
Hue43° of 360°
Saturation75%
Lightness68%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool11% 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#ebc971
RGBrgb(235, 201, 113)
HSLhsl(43, 75%, 68%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 15%, 52%, 8%)
LABlab(82.2 1.2 48.0)
LCHlch(82.2 48.0 88.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.847 0.114 88.8)
Decimal15452529
Display P3color(display-p3 0.922 0.788 0.443)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ebc971;
background-color: #ebc971;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ebc971] bg-[#ebc971]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ebc971;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.922, green: 0.788, blue: 0.443)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ebc971")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFEBC971)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(113, 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 #ebc971 · 13.13:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.60:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.13:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ebc971 as text scores 1.60:1 on white and 13.13:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ebc971 on white: 1.60:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ebc971 on black: 13.13:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #DBC769
deuteranopia · #E3D074
tritanopia · #FBBCB4

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ebc971 is pinned to step 400; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FCF9F3
#F9F4E7
#F4E8C8
#F1DA9D
#ebc971
#E3B43A
#D7A31E
#B38819
#8F6D14
#685013
#41320C
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FCF9F3Darkest = 950 · #41320C
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCF9F3;
  --brand-100: #F9F4E7;
  --brand-200: #F4E8C8;
  --brand-300: #F1DA9D;
  --brand-400: #ebc971;
  --brand-500: #E3B43A;
  --brand-600: #D7A31E;
  --brand-700: #B38819;
  --brand-800: #8F6D14;
  --brand-900: #685013;
  --brand-950: #41320C;
  --brand: #ebc971;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ebc971

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#EDE0C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B854B
Captions on the surface
Accent#156BB7
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#705510
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCF7E9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242014
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 #ebc971

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#7193EB
Analogous left#EB8C71
Analogous right#D0EB71
Split-complement 1#71D0EB
Split-complement 2#8C71EB
Triadic 1#71EBC9
Triadic 2#C971EB
Tetradic#71EB8C

RGB percentages

Red92.2%
Green78.8%
Blue44.3%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta14.5%
Yellow51.9%
Key (black)7.8%

Color previews

#ebc971 text on a black background

contrast 13.13:1

Card sample

#ebc971 text on a white background

contrast 1.60:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ebc971;
Background color
Panel with #ebc971 background
background-color: #ebc971;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ebc971;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(235, 201, 113, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(235, 201, 113, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ebc971;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ebc971, #BCEB71);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ebc971

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.

#ebc971 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

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

#ebc971, answered

What color is #ebc971?

#ebc971 is a light electric yellow, closest to Khaki (ΔE2000 8.9). It sits at 43° on the hue wheel with 75% saturation and 68% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ebc971?

rgb(235, 201, 113) — 235 red, 201 green and 113 blue out of 255, or 92.2% / 78.8% / 44.3% by channel.

Is #ebc971 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6063 and perceived brightness is 80%, so black text on it reaches 13.13:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ebc971?

Black. It scores 13.13:1 against #ebc971, versus 1.60:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ebc971?

#7193EB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #71D0EB and #8C71EB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ebc971?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE0C0 for borders, #9B854B for secondary text, #156BB7 as an accent and #705510 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EB8C71 and #D0EB71 stays calm, while #7193EB is the loudest partner.

What is #ebc971 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 15%, 52%, 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 #ebc971 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 11 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #EBB171; nudged cooler, #E2ED6F.

Work with #ebc971 in the Color Lab