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#f3af1d

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

RGB
243, 175, 29
HSL
41°, 90%, 53%
CMYK
0, 28, 88, 5
Luminance
0.4980

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #f3af1d is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#f3af1d
Hue
41°
yellow
Saturation
90%
electric
Lightness
53%
balanced
Brightness
95%
HSV value
Perceived
74%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4980
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
9/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
10.96:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 4.9
Where it sits
Hue41° of 360°
Saturation90%
Lightness53%
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.

Every format

HEX#f3af1d
RGBrgb(243, 175, 29)
HSLhsl(41, 90%, 53%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 28%, 88%, 5%)
LABlab(76.0 13.9 74.7)
LCHlch(76.0 76.0 79.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.798 0.160 79.3)
Decimal15970077
Display P3color(display-p3 0.953 0.686 0.114)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #f3af1d;
background-color: #f3af1d;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#f3af1d] bg-[#f3af1d]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #f3af1d;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.953, green: 0.686, blue: 0.114)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#f3af1d")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFF3AF1D)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(29, 175, 243)

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 #f3af1d · 10.96:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.92:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.96:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #f3af1d as text scores 1.92:1 on white and 10.96:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#f3af1d on white: 1.92:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#f3af1d on black: 10.96:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C9B100
deuteranopia · #D9C226
tritanopia · #FF9C96

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #f3af1d is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FDF9F2
#FBF4E5
#F8E7C3
#F9D994
#F7C65F
#f3af1d
#E8A20C
#C2870A
#9B6C08
#70500B
#463207
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FDF9F2Darkest = 950 · #463207
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDF9F2;
  --brand-100: #FBF4E5;
  --brand-200: #F8E7C3;
  --brand-300: #F9D994;
  --brand-400: #F7C65F;
  --brand-500: #f3af1d;
  --brand-600: #E8A20C;
  --brand-700: #C2870A;
  --brand-800: #9B6C08;
  --brand-900: #70500B;
  --brand-950: #463207;
  --brand: #f3af1d;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #f3af1d

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#FAF8F4
Tinted page background
Border#EDDEC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B814B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0673C6
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#795506
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEF6E7
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 #f3af1d

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#1D61F3
Analogous left#F3441D
Analogous right#CCF31D
Split-complement 1#1DCCF3
Split-complement 2#441DF3
Triadic 1#1DF3AF
Triadic 2#AF1DF3
Tetradic#1DF344

RGB percentages

Red95.3%
Green68.6%
Blue11.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta28.0%
Yellow88.1%
Key (black)4.7%

Color previews

#f3af1d text on a black background

contrast 10.96:1

Card sample

#f3af1d text on a white background

contrast 1.92:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #f3af1d;
Background color
Panel with #f3af1d background
background-color: #f3af1d;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #f3af1d;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(243, 175, 29, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(243, 175, 29, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #f3af1d;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f3af1d, #A8F31D);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #f3af1d

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.

#f3af1d 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.

#f3af1d, answered

What color is #f3af1d?

#f3af1d is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 4.9). It sits at 41° on the hue wheel with 90% saturation and 53% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #f3af1d?

rgb(243, 175, 29) — 243 red, 175 green and 29 blue out of 255, or 95.3% / 68.6% / 11.4% by channel.

Is #f3af1d a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4980 and perceived brightness is 74%, so black text on it reaches 10.96:1.

Should I use black or white text on #f3af1d?

Black. It scores 10.96:1 against #f3af1d, versus 1.92:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #f3af1d?

#1D61F3 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #1DCCF3 and #441DF3, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #f3af1d?

For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #EDDEC0 for borders, #9B814B for secondary text, #0673C6 as an accent and #795506 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #F3441D and #CCF31D stays calm, while #1D61F3 is the loudest partner.

What is #f3af1d in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 28%, 88%, 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 #f3af1d 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 #F3921D; nudged cooler, #EBF51A.

Work with #f3af1d in the Color Lab