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#eee281

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

RGB
238, 226, 129
HSL
53°, 76%, 72%
CMYK
0, 5, 46, 7
Luminance
0.7415

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #eee281 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#eee281
Hue
53°
yellow
Saturation
76%
electric
Lightness
72%
light
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
87%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7415
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
19/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
15.83:1
Closest name
Khaki
ΔE2000 1.5
Where it sits
Hue53° of 360°
Saturation76%
Lightness72%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool19% 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#eee281
RGBrgb(238, 226, 129)
HSLhsl(53, 76%, 72%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 5%, 46%, 7%)
LABlab(89.0 -8.9 48.6)
LCHlch(89.0 49.4 100.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.902 0.119 102.2)
Decimal15655553
Display P3color(display-p3 0.933 0.886 0.506)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #eee281;
background-color: #eee281;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#eee281] bg-[#eee281]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #eee281;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.933, green: 0.886, blue: 0.506)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#eee281")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFEEE281)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(129, 226, 238)

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 #eee281 · 15.83:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.33:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 15.83:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #eee281 as text scores 1.33:1 on white and 15.83:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#eee281 on white: 1.33:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#eee281 on black: 15.83:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #F2DC79
deuteranopia · #F6E285
tritanopia · #FCD6CB

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #eee281 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.

#FCFBF3
#F9F7E7
#F4EFC8
#F2E89C
#eee281
#E4D139
#D8C31D
#B4A318
#908213
#685F12
#413B0B
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FCFBF3Darkest = 950 · #413B0B
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFBF3;
  --brand-100: #F9F7E7;
  --brand-200: #F4EFC8;
  --brand-300: #F2E89C;
  --brand-400: #eee281;
  --brand-500: #E4D139;
  --brand-600: #D8C31D;
  --brand-700: #B4A318;
  --brand-800: #908213;
  --brand-900: #685F12;
  --brand-950: #413B0B;
  --brand: #eee281;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #eee281

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#FAFAF4
Tinted page background
Border#EDE8C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B924B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1450B8
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#70660F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCFAE9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242314
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 #eee281

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#818DEE
Analogous left#EEAC81
Analogous right#C4EE81
Split-complement 1#81C4EE
Split-complement 2#AC81EE
Triadic 1#81EEE2
Triadic 2#E281EE
Tetradic#81EEAC

RGB percentages

Red93.3%
Green88.6%
Blue50.6%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta5.0%
Yellow45.8%
Key (black)6.7%

Color previews

#eee281 text on a black background

contrast 15.83:1

Card sample

#eee281 text on a white background

contrast 1.33:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #eee281;
Background color
Panel with #eee281 background
background-color: #eee281;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #eee281;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(238, 226, 129, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(238, 226, 129, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #eee281;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #eee281, #B1EE81);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #eee281

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.

#eee281 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.

#eee281, answered

What color is #eee281?

#eee281 is a light electric yellow, closest to Khaki (ΔE2000 1.5). It sits at 53° on the hue wheel with 76% saturation and 72% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #eee281?

rgb(238, 226, 129) — 238 red, 226 green and 129 blue out of 255, or 93.3% / 88.6% / 50.6% by channel.

Is #eee281 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7415 and perceived brightness is 87%, so black text on it reaches 15.83:1.

Should I use black or white text on #eee281?

Black. It scores 15.83:1 against #eee281, versus 1.33:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #eee281?

#818DEE sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #81C4EE and #AC81EE, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #eee281?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDE8C0 for borders, #9B924B for secondary text, #1450B8 as an accent and #70660F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EEAC81 and #C4EE81 stays calm, while #818DEE is the loudest partner.

What is #eee281 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 5%, 46%, 7%). 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 #eee281 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 19 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #EEC081; nudged cooler, #D3EF80.

Work with #eee281 in the Color Lab