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#f5cb2c

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

RGB
245, 203, 44
HSL
48°, 91%, 57%
CMYK
0, 17, 82, 4
Luminance
0.6231

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #f5cb2c is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#f5cb2c
Hue
48°
yellow
Saturation
91%
electric
Lightness
57%
balanced
Brightness
96%
HSV value
Perceived
81%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6231
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
15/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
13.46:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 3.6
Where it sits
Hue48° of 360°
Saturation91%
Lightness57%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool15% 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#f5cb2c
RGBrgb(245, 203, 44)
HSLhsl(48, 91%, 57%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 17%, 82%, 4%)
LABlab(83.1 0.6 76.9)
LCHlch(83.1 76.9 89.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.854 0.165 92.6)
Decimal16108332
Display P3color(display-p3 0.961 0.796 0.173)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #f5cb2c;
background-color: #f5cb2c;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#f5cb2c] bg-[#f5cb2c]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #f5cb2c;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.961, green: 0.796, blue: 0.173)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#f5cb2c")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFF5CB2C)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(44, 203, 245)

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 #f5cb2c · 13.46:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.56:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.46:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #f5cb2c as text scores 1.56:1 on white and 13.46:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#f5cb2c on white: 1.56:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#f5cb2c on black: 13.46:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #E2C800
deuteranopia · #EDD438
tritanopia · #FFB9AE

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #f5cb2c 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.

#FDFBF2
#FBF6E5
#F9EEC3
#FAE594
#F7D85E
#f5cb2c
#EABB0B
#C39C09
#9C7D07
#705B0A
#463906
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FDFBF2Darkest = 950 · #463906
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFBF2;
  --brand-100: #FBF6E5;
  --brand-200: #F9EEC3;
  --brand-300: #FAE594;
  --brand-400: #F7D85E;
  --brand-500: #f5cb2c;
  --brand-600: #EABB0B;
  --brand-700: #C39C09;
  --brand-800: #9C7D07;
  --brand-900: #705B0A;
  --brand-950: #463906;
  --brand: #f5cb2c;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #f5cb2c

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#EDE3C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8A4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#2888F9
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7A6206
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEF9E7
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242114
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 #f5cb2c

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#2C56F5
Analogous left#F5672C
Analogous right#BAF52C
Split-complement 1#2CBAF5
Split-complement 2#672CF5
Triadic 1#2CF5CB
Triadic 2#CB2CF5
Tetradic#2CF567

RGB percentages

Red96.1%
Green79.6%
Blue17.3%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta17.1%
Yellow82.0%
Key (black)3.9%

Color previews

#f5cb2c text on a black background

contrast 13.46:1

Card sample

#f5cb2c text on a white background

contrast 1.56:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #f5cb2c;
Background color
Panel with #f5cb2c background
background-color: #f5cb2c;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #f5cb2c;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(245, 203, 44, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(245, 203, 44, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #f5cb2c;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f5cb2c, #99F52C);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #f5cb2c

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.

#f5cb2c 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.

#f5cb2c, answered

What color is #f5cb2c?

#f5cb2c is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 3.6). It sits at 48° on the hue wheel with 91% saturation and 57% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #f5cb2c?

rgb(245, 203, 44) — 245 red, 203 green and 44 blue out of 255, or 96.1% / 79.6% / 17.3% by channel.

Is #f5cb2c a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6231 and perceived brightness is 81%, so black text on it reaches 13.46:1.

Should I use black or white text on #f5cb2c?

Black. It scores 13.46:1 against #f5cb2c, versus 1.56:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #f5cb2c?

#2C56F5 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #2CBAF5 and #672CF5, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #f5cb2c?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE3C0 for borders, #9B8A4B for secondary text, #2888F9 as an accent and #7A6206 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #F5672C and #BAF52C stays calm, while #2C56F5 is the loudest partner.

What is #f5cb2c in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 17%, 82%, 4%). 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 #f5cb2c warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 15 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #F5A42C; nudged cooler, #D7F72A.

Work with #f5cb2c in the Color Lab