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yellow · warm

#ecc97b

a light, vivid yellow · warm · closest name: Burly Wood

Token name suggestion: Meadow Straw

RGB
236, 201, 123
HSL
41°, 75%, 70%
CMYK
0, 15, 48, 8
Luminance
0.6104

#ecc97b is a light vivid yellow, 41° on the wheel and 9/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (13.21:1). As text it scores 1.59:1 on white — use #956D15 instead. Nearest name is Burly Wood, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(41 75% 70%)rgb(236 201 123)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ecc97b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ecc97b
Hue
41°
yellow
Saturation
75%
vivid
Lightness
70%
light
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
80%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6104
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
9/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
13.21:1
Closest name
Burly Wood
ΔE2000 7.7
Chroma
43.5
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.849
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 10.4
Web-safe
#FFCC66
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue41° of 360°
Saturation75%
Lightness70%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #ecc97b.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool9% cool

Reads warm. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Luminance by channel
Red29%
Green68%
Blue2%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#ecc97b
HEX (8-digit)#ecc97bff
RGBrgb(236, 201, 123)
RGBArgba(236, 201, 123, 1)
HSLhsl(41, 75%, 70%)
HSV / HSBhsv(41, 48%, 93%)
HWBhwb(41 48% 7%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 15%, 48%, 8%)
LABlab(82.4 2.5 43.4)
LCHlch(82.4 43.5 86.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.849 0.105 86.1)
XYZ (D65)xyz(59.06, 61.04, 27.41)
Decimal15518075
Display P3color(display-p3 0.925 0.788 0.482)
Web-safe#FFCC66

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #ecc97b;
background-color: #ecc97b;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #ecc97b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ecc97b] bg-[#ecc97b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ecc97b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.925, green: 0.788, blue: 0.482)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.925, green: 0.788, blue: 0.482, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#ECC97B</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFECC97B)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFECC97B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(123, 201, 236)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(236, 201, 123)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(236, 201, 123)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 236, 201, 123)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.9255f, 0.7882f, 0.4824f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{236,201,123}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #ecc97b 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #ecc97b 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#6F5210, #EEE6D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #ecc97b h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCF9F3;
  --brand-100: #F9F3E7;
  --brand-200: #F4E6C8;
  --brand-300: #F1D79D;
  --brand-400: #ecc97b;
  --brand-500: #E3AF3B;
  --brand-600: #D69D1F;
  --brand-700: #B2831A;
  --brand-800: #8F6915;
  --brand-900: #674D13;
  --brand-950: #41300C;
  --brand: #ecc97b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF9F4;
  --brand-border: #EDDFC0;
  --brand-hover: #E7BC5C;
  --brand-pressed: #E3AF3D;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241F14;
    --brand-ink: #EEE6D3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FCF9F3',
        100: '#F9F3E7',
        200: '#F4E6C8',
        300: '#F1D79D',
        400: '#ecc97b',
        500: '#E3AF3B',
        600: '#D69D1F',
        700: '#B2831A',
        800: '#8F6915',
        900: '#674D13',
        950: '#41300C',
        DEFAULT: '#ecc97b',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FCF9F3,
  '100': #F9F3E7,
  '200': #F4E6C8,
  '300': #F1D79D,
  '400': #ecc97b,
  '500': #E3AF3B,
  '600': #D69D1F,
  '700': #B2831A,
  '800': #8F6915,
  '900': #674D13,
  '950': #41300C,
);
$brand-base: #ecc97b;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FCF9F3", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F9F3E7", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#F4E6C8", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#F1D79D", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#ecc97b", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#E3AF3B", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#D69D1F", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#B2831A", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#8F6915", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#674D13", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#41300C", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

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 #ecc97b · 13.21:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.59:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.21:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ecc97b as text scores 1.59:1 on white and 13.21:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #6F5210 at 4.57:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#956D15 · 4.69:1
AA on white−37% L
#956D15
The quick fox
#715310 · 7.13:1
AAA on white−45% L
#715310
The quick fox
#ecc97b · 13.21:1
AA on blackalready passes
#ecc97b
The quick fox
#ecc97b · 13.21:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#ecc97b

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #BD8B1B is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ecc97b on white: 1.59:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ecc97b on black: 13.21:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #ecc97b as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #ecc97b.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.59:1AaAa
Slate 501.52:1AaAa
Slate 1001.45:1AaAa
Slate 2001.29:1AaAa
Slate 3001.07:1AaAa
Slate 4001.61:1AaAa
Slate 5002.99:1AaAa
Slate 6004.77:1AaAa
Slate 7006.51:1AaAa
Slate 8009.20:1AaAa
Slate 90011.23:1AaAa
Black13.21:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #DAC875
deuteranopia · #E3D17E
tritanopia · #FCBDB6

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ecc97b 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
#F9F3E7
#F4E6C8
#F1D79D
#ecc97b
#E3AF3B
#D69D1F
#B2831A
#8F6915
#674D13
#41300C
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FCF9F3Darkest = 950 · #41300CText step on white = 800
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.026 86.1);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.042 86.1);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.063 86.1);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.082 86.1);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.096 86.1);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.105 86.1);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.105 86.1);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.099 86.1);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.088 86.1);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.073 86.1);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.058 86.1);
}

Colors that work with #ecc97b

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#EDDFC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B824B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1670B6
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6F5210
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCF6E9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241F14
Dark-mode background
Hover#E7BC5C
One step down in lightness
Pressed#E3AF3D
Two steps down
Disabled#F0EDE7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#F5D386
Offset from the fill so it reads
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

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #ecc97b

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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #6F5210
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #BD8B1B

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

optimisticalertcheap-and-cheerfulvisible

The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail.

This is a confident chroma: strong enough to lead a brand, restrained enough to live in an interface all day. The lightness keeps it airy and approachable.

Worth knowing

Almost never passes contrast against white. Treat it as a surface or a marker, not as text.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium-high
  • Weight30/100
  • TemperatureWarm
  • ApproachabilityHigh

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

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#7B9EEC
Analogous left#EC917B
Analogous right#D7EC7B
Split-complement 1#7BD7EC
Split-complement 2#917BEC
Triadic 1#7BECC9
Triadic 2#C97BEC
Tetradic#7BEC91
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°41°

#ecc97b sits at 41°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red92.5%
Green78.8%
Blue48.2%
R · 0–255
236
0xec
G · 0–255
201
0xc9
B · 0–255
123
0x7b

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta14.8%
Yellow47.9%
Key (black)7.5%

Total ink coverage is 70%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#ecc97b text on a black background

contrast 13.21:1

Card sample

#ecc97b text on a white background

contrast 1.59:1

Card sample

#ecc97b on grey

1.45:1

#ecc97b on its own surface

1.51:1

#ecc97b on its dark surface

10.31:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ecc97b;
Background color
Panel with #ecc97b background
background-color: #ecc97b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ecc97b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(236, 201, 123, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(236, 201, 123, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ecc97b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ecc97b, #C4EC7B);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ecc97b, #A7EC7B);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #ecc97b;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #ecc97b;
caret-color: #ecc97b;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #ecc97b;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FCF6E9;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #ecc97b;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#ecc97b 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #ecc97b over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(236, 201, 123, 0.5)
rgb(236 201 123 / 50%)
#ecc97b80
hsl(41 75% 70% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #ecc97b 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#ecc97b1a#FDFAF2
20%#ecc97b33#FBF4E5
40%#ecc97b66#F7E9CA
60%#ecc97b99#F4DFB0
80%#ecc97bcc#F0D495

Gradients from #ecc97b

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #F4DFB1, #ecc97b 45%, #6F5210);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #ecc97b, #ACE860);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ecc97b, #7B9EEC);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F8EACB 0%, #ecc97b 45%, #6F5210 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF9F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #F2B0A8 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D7F096 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #6F5210 0%, transparent 65%), #ecc97b;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ecc97b

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

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.

#ecc97b 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

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 13.21:1.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#ecc97b, answered

What color is #ecc97b?

#ecc97b is a light vivid yellow, closest to Burly Wood (ΔE2000 7.7). It sits at 41° on the hue wheel with 75% saturation and 70% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ecc97b?

rgb(236, 201, 123) — 236 red, 201 green and 123 blue out of 255, or 92.5% / 78.8% / 48.2% by channel.

What is #ecc97b in HSL and HSV?

hsl(41, 75%, 70%) and hsv(41, 48%, 93%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #ecc97b a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6104 and perceived brightness is 80%, so black text on it reaches 13.21:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ecc97b?

Black. It scores 13.21:1 against #ecc97b, versus 1.59:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #ecc97b accessible on a white background?

#ecc97b on white scores 1.59:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #956D15 to reach 4.5:1, or #715310 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #ecc97b?

#7B9EEC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #7BD7EC and #917BEC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ecc97b?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDDFC0 for borders, #9B824B for secondary text, #1670B6 as an accent and #6F5210 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EC917B and #D7EC7B stays calm, while #7B9EEC is the loudest partner.

What is #ecc97b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 15%, 48%, 8%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ecc97b warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 9 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #ECB57B; nudged cooler, #E7ED7A.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #ecc97b?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 10.4 away. That is a visible difference, so define #ecc97b as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #ecc97b in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#ecc97b] or text-[#ecc97b], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #ecc97b with 50% opacity?

rgba(236, 201, 123, 0.5), or #ecc97b80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #F6E4BD; over black, #76653E.

Is #ecc97b a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #FFCC66, ΔE2000 5 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #ecc97b mean?

As a yellow, it reads optimistic, alert, cheap-and-cheerful. The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #ecc97b?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #F4DFB1, #ecc97b 45%, #6F5210). For more colour, a short hue run to #ACE860 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #ecc97b in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #ecc97b at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.