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#f3eb1f

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

RGB
243, 235, 31
HSL
58°, 90%, 54%
CMYK
0, 3, 87, 5
Luminance
0.7857

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #f3eb1f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#f3eb1f
Hue
58°
yellow
Saturation
90%
electric
Lightness
54%
balanced
Brightness
95%
HSV value
Perceived
88%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7857
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
23/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
16.71:1
Closest name
Yellow
ΔE2000 4.4
Where it sits
Hue58° of 360°
Saturation90%
Lightness54%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool23% 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#f3eb1f
RGBrgb(243, 235, 31)
HSLhsl(58, 90%, 54%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 3%, 87%, 5%)
LABlab(91.0 -16.6 86.2)
LCHlch(91.0 87.8 100.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.917 0.192 107.1)
Decimal15985439
Display P3color(display-p3 0.953 0.922 0.122)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #f3eb1f;
background-color: #f3eb1f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#f3eb1f] bg-[#f3eb1f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #f3eb1f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.953, green: 0.922, blue: 0.122)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#f3eb1f")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFF3EB1F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(31, 235, 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 #f3eb1f · 16.71:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.26:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 16.71:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #f3eb1f as text scores 1.26:1 on white and 16.71:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#f3eb1f on white: 1.26:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#f3eb1f on black: 16.71:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #FFE200
deuteranopia · #FFE837
tritanopia · #FFDBC9

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #f3eb1f 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.

#FDFCF2
#FBFAE5
#F8F6C3
#F9F595
#F6F15F
#f3eb1f
#E8E00C
#C2BB0A
#9B9508
#706C0B
#464307
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FDFCF2Darkest = 950 · #464307
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFCF2;
  --brand-100: #FBFAE5;
  --brand-200: #F8F6C3;
  --brand-300: #F9F595;
  --brand-400: #F6F15F;
  --brand-500: #f3eb1f;
  --brand-600: #E8E00C;
  --brand-700: #C2BB0A;
  --brand-800: #9B9508;
  --brand-900: #706C0B;
  --brand-950: #464307;
  --brand: #f3eb1f;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #f3eb1f

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#EDEBC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B984B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1A5AF8
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#797507
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEFDE7
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242414
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 #f3eb1f

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#1F27F3
Analogous left#F3811F
Analogous right#91F31F
Split-complement 1#1F91F3
Split-complement 2#811FF3
Triadic 1#1FF3EB
Triadic 2#EB1FF3
Tetradic#1FF381

RGB percentages

Red95.3%
Green92.2%
Blue12.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta3.3%
Yellow87.2%
Key (black)4.7%

Color previews

#f3eb1f text on a black background

contrast 16.71:1

Card sample

#f3eb1f text on a white background

contrast 1.26:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #f3eb1f;
Background color
Panel with #f3eb1f background
background-color: #f3eb1f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #f3eb1f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(243, 235, 31, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(243, 235, 31, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #f3eb1f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f3eb1f, #6EF31F);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #f3eb1f

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.

#f3eb1f 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.

#f3eb1f, answered

What color is #f3eb1f?

#f3eb1f is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Yellow (ΔE2000 4.4). It sits at 58° on the hue wheel with 90% saturation and 54% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #f3eb1f?

rgb(243, 235, 31) — 243 red, 235 green and 31 blue out of 255, or 95.3% / 92.2% / 12.2% by channel.

Is #f3eb1f a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7857 and perceived brightness is 88%, so black text on it reaches 16.71:1.

Should I use black or white text on #f3eb1f?

Black. It scores 16.71:1 against #f3eb1f, versus 1.26:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #f3eb1f?

#1F27F3 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #1F91F3 and #811FF3, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #f3eb1f?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDEBC0 for borders, #9B984B for secondary text, #1A5AF8 as an accent and #797507 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #F3811F and #91F31F stays calm, while #1F27F3 is the loudest partner.

What is #f3eb1f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 3%, 87%, 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 #f3eb1f warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 23 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #F3AF1F; nudged cooler, #AEF51D.

Work with #f3eb1f in the Color Lab