Skip to content

#f2cb5b

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

RGB
242, 203, 91
HSL
45°, 85%, 65%
CMYK
0, 16, 62, 5
Luminance
0.6234

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #f2cb5b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#f2cb5b
Hue
45°
yellow
Saturation
85%
electric
Lightness
65%
light
Brightness
95%
HSV value
Perceived
81%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6234
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
12/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
13.47:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 7.2
Where it sits
Hue45° of 360°
Saturation85%
Lightness65%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool12% 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#f2cb5b
RGBrgb(242, 203, 91)
HSLhsl(45, 85%, 65%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 16%, 62%, 5%)
LABlab(83.1 1.4 59.5)
LCHlch(83.1 59.6 88.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.855 0.137 90.0)
Decimal15911771
Display P3color(display-p3 0.949 0.796 0.357)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #f2cb5b;
background-color: #f2cb5b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#f2cb5b] bg-[#f2cb5b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #f2cb5b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.949, green: 0.796, blue: 0.357)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#f2cb5b")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFF2CB5B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(91, 203, 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 #f2cb5b · 13.47:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.56:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.47:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #f2cb5b as text scores 1.56:1 on white and 13.47:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#f2cb5b on white: 1.56:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#f2cb5b on black: 13.47:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #E0C94F
deuteranopia · #E9D460
tritanopia · #FFBCB3

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #f2cb5b 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.

#FCFAF2
#FAF5E5
#F7EAC5
#F7DE97
#f2cb5b
#EFBD2F
#E3AD12
#BD900F
#97730C
#6D540D
#443508
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FCFAF2Darkest = 950 · #443508
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFAF2;
  --brand-100: #FAF5E5;
  --brand-200: #F7EAC5;
  --brand-300: #F7DE97;
  --brand-400: #f2cb5b;
  --brand-500: #EFBD2F;
  --brand-600: #E3AD12;
  --brand-700: #BD900F;
  --brand-800: #97730C;
  --brand-900: #6D540D;
  --brand-950: #443508;
  --brand: #f2cb5b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #f2cb5b

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#EDE1C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B864B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0A68C2
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#765A09
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDF8E7
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 #f2cb5b

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#5B82F2
Analogous left#F2805B
Analogous right#CEF25B
Split-complement 1#5BCEF2
Split-complement 2#805BF2
Triadic 1#5BF2CB
Triadic 2#CB5BF2
Tetradic#5BF280

RGB percentages

Red94.9%
Green79.6%
Blue35.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta16.1%
Yellow62.4%
Key (black)5.1%

Color previews

#f2cb5b text on a black background

contrast 13.47:1

Card sample

#f2cb5b text on a white background

contrast 1.56:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #f2cb5b;
Background color
Panel with #f2cb5b background
background-color: #f2cb5b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #f2cb5b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(242, 203, 91, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(242, 203, 91, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #f2cb5b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f2cb5b, #B4F25B);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #f2cb5b

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.

#f2cb5b 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.

#f2cb5b, answered

What color is #f2cb5b?

#f2cb5b is a light electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 7.2). It sits at 45° on the hue wheel with 85% saturation and 65% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #f2cb5b?

rgb(242, 203, 91) — 242 red, 203 green and 91 blue out of 255, or 94.9% / 79.6% / 35.7% by channel.

Is #f2cb5b a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6234 and perceived brightness is 81%, so black text on it reaches 13.47:1.

Should I use black or white text on #f2cb5b?

Black. It scores 13.47:1 against #f2cb5b, versus 1.56:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #f2cb5b?

#5B82F2 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #5BCEF2 and #805BF2, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #f2cb5b?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE1C0 for borders, #9B864B for secondary text, #0A68C2 as an accent and #765A09 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #F2805B and #CEF25B stays calm, while #5B82F2 is the loudest partner.

What is #f2cb5b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 16%, 62%, 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 #f2cb5b warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 12 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #F2AE5B; nudged cooler, #E3F459.

Work with #f2cb5b in the Color Lab