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#ecbf13

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

RGB
236, 191, 19
HSL
48°, 85%, 50%
CMYK
0, 19, 92, 8
Luminance
0.5514

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ecbf13 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ecbf13
Hue
48°
yellow
Saturation
85%
electric
Lightness
50%
balanced
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
77%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5514
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
15/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
12.03:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 6.1
Where it sits
Hue48° of 360°
Saturation85%
Lightness50%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool15% 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#ecbf13
RGBrgb(236, 191, 19)
HSLhsl(48, 85%, 50%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 19%, 92%, 8%)
LABlab(79.1 2.4 78.7)
LCHlch(79.1 78.7 88.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.821 0.165 91.2)
Decimal15515411
Display P3color(display-p3 0.925 0.749 0.075)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ecbf13;
background-color: #ecbf13;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ecbf13] bg-[#ecbf13]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ecbf13;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.925, green: 0.749, blue: 0.075)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ecbf13")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFECBF13)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(19, 191, 236)

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 #ecbf13 · 12.03:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.75:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.03:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ecbf13 as text scores 1.75:1 on white and 12.03:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ecbf13 on white: 1.75:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ecbf13 on black: 12.03:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D6BD00
deuteranopia · #E1C925
tritanopia · #FFADA3

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ecbf13 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.

#FCFAF2
#FAF6E5
#F7ECC5
#F7E397
#F2D563
#EEC72F
#ecbf13
#BD990F
#977A0C
#6D590D
#443808
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FCFAF2Darkest = 950 · #443808
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFAF2;
  --brand-100: #FAF6E5;
  --brand-200: #F7ECC5;
  --brand-300: #F7E397;
  --brand-400: #F2D563;
  --brand-500: #EEC72F;
  --brand-600: #ecbf13;
  --brand-700: #BD990F;
  --brand-800: #977A0C;
  --brand-900: #6D590D;
  --brand-950: #443808;
  --brand: #ecbf13;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ecbf13

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#EDE3C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8A4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0E76F1
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#766009
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDF9E7
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242114
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 #ecbf13

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#1340EC
Analogous left#EC5313
Analogous right#ACEC13
Split-complement 1#13ACEC
Split-complement 2#5313EC
Triadic 1#13ECBF
Triadic 2#BF13EC
Tetradic#13EC53

RGB percentages

Red92.5%
Green74.9%
Blue7.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta19.1%
Yellow91.9%
Key (black)7.5%

Color previews

#ecbf13 text on a black background

contrast 12.03:1

Card sample

#ecbf13 text on a white background

contrast 1.75:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ecbf13;
Background color
Panel with #ecbf13 background
background-color: #ecbf13;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ecbf13;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(236, 191, 19, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(236, 191, 19, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ecbf13;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ecbf13, #88EC13);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ecbf13

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.

#ecbf13 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.

#ecbf13, answered

What color is #ecbf13?

#ecbf13 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 6.1). It sits at 48° on the hue wheel with 85% saturation and 50% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ecbf13?

rgb(236, 191, 19) — 236 red, 191 green and 19 blue out of 255, or 92.5% / 74.9% / 7.5% by channel.

Is #ecbf13 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5514 and perceived brightness is 77%, so black text on it reaches 12.03:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ecbf13?

Black. It scores 12.03:1 against #ecbf13, versus 1.75:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ecbf13?

#1340EC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #13ACEC and #5313EC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ecbf13?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE3C0 for borders, #9B8A4B for secondary text, #0E76F1 as an accent and #766009 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EC5313 and #ACEC13 stays calm, while #1340EC is the loudest partner.

What is #ecbf13 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 19%, 92%, 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 #ecbf13 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 15 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #EC9613; nudged cooler, #CBEF10.

Work with #ecbf13 in the Color Lab