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#f2ab05

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

RGB
242, 171, 5
HSL
42°, 96%, 48%
CMYK
0, 29, 98, 5
Luminance
0.4801

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #f2ab05 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#f2ab05
Hue
42°
yellow
Saturation
96%
electric
Lightness
48%
balanced
Brightness
95%
HSV value
Perceived
73%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4801
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
10/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
10.60:1
Closest name
Orange
ΔE2000 4.8
Where it sits
Hue42° of 360°
Saturation96%
Lightness48%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool10% 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#f2ab05
RGBrgb(242, 171, 5)
HSLhsl(42, 96%, 48%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 29%, 98%, 5%)
LABlab(74.8 15.3 77.6)
LCHlch(74.8 79.1 78.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.789 0.163 78.5)
Decimal15903493
Display P3color(display-p3 0.949 0.671 0.020)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #f2ab05;
background-color: #f2ab05;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#f2ab05] bg-[#f2ab05]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #f2ab05;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.949, green: 0.671, blue: 0.020)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#f2ab05")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFF2AB05)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(5, 171, 242)

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 #f2ab05 · 10.60:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.98:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.60:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #f2ab05 as text scores 1.98:1 on white and 10.60:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#f2ab05 on white: 1.98:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#f2ab05 on black: 10.60:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C6AE00
deuteranopia · #D7BF17
tritanopia · #FF9792

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #f2ab05 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.

#FDFAF1
#FCF4E4
#FAE9C1
#FDDC91
#FCCB5A
#FBBA23
#f2ab05
#C88D04
#A07103
#735307
#483404
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FDFAF1Darkest = 950 · #483404
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFAF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF4E4;
  --brand-200: #FAE9C1;
  --brand-300: #FDDC91;
  --brand-400: #FCCB5A;
  --brand-500: #FBBA23;
  --brand-600: #f2ab05;
  --brand-700: #C88D04;
  --brand-800: #A07103;
  --brand-900: #735307;
  --brand-950: #483404;
  --brand: #f2ab05;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #f2ab05

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#9B834B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0088F7
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7D5803
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEF7E6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241F14
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 #f2ab05

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#054CF2
Analogous left#F23405
Analogous right#C3F205
Split-complement 1#05C3F2
Split-complement 2#3405F2
Triadic 1#05F2AB
Triadic 2#AB05F2
Tetradic#05F234

RGB percentages

Red94.9%
Green67.1%
Blue2.0%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta29.3%
Yellow97.9%
Key (black)5.1%

Color previews

#f2ab05 text on a black background

contrast 10.60:1

Card sample

#f2ab05 text on a white background

contrast 1.98:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #f2ab05;
Background color
Panel with #f2ab05 background
background-color: #f2ab05;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #f2ab05;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(242, 171, 5, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(242, 171, 5, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #f2ab05;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f2ab05, #9BF205);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #f2ab05

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.

#f2ab05 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.

#f2ab05, answered

What color is #f2ab05?

#f2ab05 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Orange (ΔE2000 4.8). It sits at 42° on the hue wheel with 96% saturation and 48% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #f2ab05?

rgb(242, 171, 5) — 242 red, 171 green and 5 blue out of 255, or 94.9% / 67.1% / 2% by channel.

Is #f2ab05 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4801 and perceived brightness is 73%, so black text on it reaches 10.60:1.

Should I use black or white text on #f2ab05?

Black. It scores 10.60:1 against #f2ab05, versus 1.98:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #f2ab05?

#054CF2 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #05C3F2 and #3405F2, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #f2ab05?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDDFC0 for borders, #9B834B for secondary text, #0088F7 as an accent and #7D5803 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #F23405 and #C3F205 stays calm, while #054CF2 is the loudest partner.

What is #f2ab05 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 29%, 98%, 5%). 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 #f2ab05 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 10 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #F28A05; nudged cooler, #E4F402.

Work with #f2ab05 in the Color Lab