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#f4f2c9

a pale, vivid yellow · warm · closest name: Light Goldenrod Yellow

RGB
244, 242, 201
HSL
57°, 66%, 87%
CMYK
0, 1, 18, 4
Luminance
0.8695

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #f4f2c9 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#f4f2c9
Hue
57°
yellow
Saturation
66%
vivid
Lightness
87%
pale
Brightness
96%
HSV value
Perceived
93%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.8695
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
23/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
18.39:1
Closest name
Light Goldenrod Yellow
ΔE2000 1.8
Where it sits
Hue57° of 360°
Saturation66%
Lightness87%
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#f4f2c9
RGBrgb(244, 242, 201)
HSLhsl(57, 66%, 87%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 1%, 18%, 4%)
LABlab(94.7 -5.9 20.1)
LCHlch(94.7 20.9 106.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.952 0.053 105.1)
Decimal16052937
Display P3color(display-p3 0.957 0.949 0.788)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #f4f2c9;
background-color: #f4f2c9;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#f4f2c9] bg-[#f4f2c9]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #f4f2c9;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.957, green: 0.949, blue: 0.788)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#f4f2c9")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFF4F2C9)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(201, 242, 244)

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 #f4f2c9 · 18.39:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.14:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 18.39:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #f4f2c9 as text scores 1.14:1 on white and 18.39:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#f4f2c9 on white: 1.14:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#f4f2c9 on black: 18.39:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #FAEFC7
deuteranopia · #FBF1CA
tritanopia · #FBECE7

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #f4f2c9 is pinned to step 200; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FBFBF3
#F8F7E8
#f4f2c9
#ECE9A2
#E3DD73
#D9D245
#CBC429
#AAA322
#88831C
#625F18
#3E3B0F
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #FBFBF3Darkest = 950 · #3E3B0F
:root {
  --brand-50: #FBFBF3;
  --brand-100: #F8F7E8;
  --brand-200: #f4f2c9;
  --brand-300: #ECE9A2;
  --brand-400: #E3DD73;
  --brand-500: #D9D245;
  --brand-600: #CBC429;
  --brand-700: #AAA322;
  --brand-800: #88831C;
  --brand-900: #625F18;
  --brand-950: #3E3B0F;
  --brand: #f4f2c9;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #f4f2c9

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#9B974B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1F48AD
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6A6616
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FBFAEA
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 #f4f2c9

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#C9CBF4
Analogous left#F4DDC9
Analogous right#E1F4C9
Split-complement 1#C9E1F4
Split-complement 2#DDC9F4
Triadic 1#C9F4F2
Triadic 2#F2C9F4
Tetradic#C9F4DD

RGB percentages

Red95.7%
Green94.9%
Blue78.8%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta0.8%
Yellow17.6%
Key (black)4.3%

Color previews

#f4f2c9 text on a black background

contrast 18.39:1

Card sample

#f4f2c9 text on a white background

contrast 1.14:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #f4f2c9;
Background color
Panel with #f4f2c9 background
background-color: #f4f2c9;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #f4f2c9;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(244, 242, 201, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(244, 242, 201, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #f4f2c9;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f4f2c9, #D9F4C9);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #f4f2c9

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.

#f4f2c9 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

Very light tints can drop out on uncoated stock; check it at 100% size before signing off.

#f4f2c9, answered

What color is #f4f2c9?

#f4f2c9 is a pale vivid yellow, closest to Light Goldenrod Yellow (ΔE2000 1.8). It sits at 57° on the hue wheel with 66% saturation and 87% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #f4f2c9?

rgb(244, 242, 201) — 244 red, 242 green and 201 blue out of 255, or 95.7% / 94.9% / 78.8% by channel.

Is #f4f2c9 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.8695 and perceived brightness is 93%, so black text on it reaches 18.39:1.

Should I use black or white text on #f4f2c9?

Black. It scores 18.39:1 against #f4f2c9, versus 1.14:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #f4f2c9?

#C9CBF4 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #C9E1F4 and #DDC9F4, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #f4f2c9?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDEBC0 for borders, #9B974B for secondary text, #1F48AD as an accent and #6A6616 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #F4DDC9 and #E1F4C9 stays calm, while #C9CBF4 is the loudest partner.

What is #f4f2c9 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 1%, 18%, 4%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #f4f2c9 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 #F4E2C9; nudged cooler, #E7F5C9.

Work with #f4f2c9 in the Color Lab