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#ecc855

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

RGB
236, 200, 85
HSL
46°, 80%, 63%
CMYK
0, 15, 64, 8
Luminance
0.5980

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ecc855 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ecc855
Hue
46°
yellow
Saturation
80%
electric
Lightness
63%
balanced
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
79%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5980
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
13/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
12.96:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 7.1
Where it sits
Hue46° of 360°
Saturation80%
Lightness63%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool13% 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#ecc855
RGBrgb(236, 200, 85)
HSLhsl(46, 80%, 63%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 15%, 64%, 8%)
LABlab(81.7 0.1 60.5)
LCHlch(81.7 60.5 89.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.843 0.138 91.7)
Decimal15517781
Display P3color(display-p3 0.925 0.784 0.333)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ecc855;
background-color: #ecc855;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ecc855] bg-[#ecc855]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ecc855;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.925, green: 0.784, blue: 0.333)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ecc855")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFECC855)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(85, 200, 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 #ecc855 · 12.96:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.62:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.96:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ecc855 as text scores 1.62:1 on white and 12.96:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ecc855 on white: 1.62:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ecc855 on black: 12.96:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #DCC548
deuteranopia · #E5D05A
tritanopia · #FEB9AF

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ecc855 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.

#FCFAF3
#F9F5E6
#F5EAC7
#F4DE9A
#ecc855
#E8BE35
#DCAE19
#B79115
#937410
#6A5510
#42350A
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FCFAF3Darkest = 950 · #42350A
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFAF3;
  --brand-100: #F9F5E6;
  --brand-200: #F5EAC7;
  --brand-300: #F4DE9A;
  --brand-400: #ecc855;
  --brand-500: #E8BE35;
  --brand-600: #DCAE19;
  --brand-700: #B79115;
  --brand-800: #937410;
  --brand-900: #6A5510;
  --brand-950: #42350A;
  --brand: #ecc855;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ecc855

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#EDE2C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B884B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1064BC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#735A0D
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCF8E8
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 #ecc855

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#5579EC
Analogous left#EC7C55
Analogous right#C4EC55
Split-complement 1#55C4EC
Split-complement 2#7C55EC
Triadic 1#55ECC8
Triadic 2#C855EC
Tetradic#55EC7C

RGB percentages

Red92.5%
Green78.4%
Blue33.3%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta15.3%
Yellow64.0%
Key (black)7.5%

Color previews

#ecc855 text on a black background

contrast 12.96:1

Card sample

#ecc855 text on a white background

contrast 1.62:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ecc855;
Background color
Panel with #ecc855 background
background-color: #ecc855;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ecc855;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(236, 200, 85, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(236, 200, 85, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ecc855;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ecc855, #ABEC55);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ecc855

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.

#ecc855 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.

#ecc855, answered

What color is #ecc855?

#ecc855 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 7.1). It sits at 46° on the hue wheel with 80% saturation and 63% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ecc855?

rgb(236, 200, 85) — 236 red, 200 green and 85 blue out of 255, or 92.5% / 78.4% / 33.3% by channel.

Is #ecc855 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5980 and perceived brightness is 79%, so black text on it reaches 12.96:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ecc855?

Black. It scores 12.96:1 against #ecc855, versus 1.62:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ecc855?

#5579EC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #55C4EC and #7C55EC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ecc855?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE2C0 for borders, #9B884B for secondary text, #1064BC as an accent and #735A0D for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EC7C55 and #C4EC55 stays calm, while #5579EC is the loudest partner.

What is #ecc855 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 15%, 64%, 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 #ecc855 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 13 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #ECA955; nudged cooler, #DAEE53.

Work with #ecc855 in the Color Lab