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#f8c441

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

RGB
248, 196, 65
HSL
43°, 93%, 61%
CMYK
0, 21, 74, 3
Luminance
0.5982

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #f8c441 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#f8c441
Hue
43°
yellow
Saturation
93%
electric
Lightness
61%
balanced
Brightness
97%
HSV value
Perceived
80%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5982
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
11/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
12.96:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 7.3
Where it sits
Hue43° of 360°
Saturation93%
Lightness61%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool11% 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#f8c441
RGBrgb(248, 196, 65)
HSLhsl(43, 93%, 61%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 21%, 74%, 3%)
LABlab(81.7 6.2 69.0)
LCHlch(81.7 69.3 84.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.845 0.152 86.1)
Decimal16303169
Display P3color(display-p3 0.973 0.769 0.255)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #f8c441;
background-color: #f8c441;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#f8c441] bg-[#f8c441]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #f8c441;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.973, green: 0.769, blue: 0.255)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#f8c441")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFF8C441)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(65, 196, 248)

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 #f8c441 · 12.96:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.62:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.96:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #f8c441 as text scores 1.62:1 on white and 12.96:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#f8c441 on white: 1.62:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#f8c441 on black: 12.96:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #DCC32C
deuteranopia · #E8D147
tritanopia · #FFB3AA

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #f8c441 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.

#FDFAF2
#FBF5E4
#F9EAC2
#FBDD93
#F9CD5D
#f8c441
#ECAC09
#C58F07
#9D7206
#725409
#473406
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FDFAF2Darkest = 950 · #473406
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFAF2;
  --brand-100: #FBF5E4;
  --brand-200: #F9EAC2;
  --brand-300: #FBDD93;
  --brand-400: #F9CD5D;
  --brand-500: #f8c441;
  --brand-600: #ECAC09;
  --brand-700: #C58F07;
  --brand-800: #9D7206;
  --brand-900: #725409;
  --brand-950: #473406;
  --brand: #f8c441;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #f8c441

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#EDE0C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B844B
Captions on the surface
Accent#036DC9
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7B5905
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEF7E6
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 #f8c441

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#4175F8
Analogous left#F86941
Analogous right#D0F841
Split-complement 1#41D0F8
Split-complement 2#6941F8
Triadic 1#41F8C4
Triadic 2#C441F8
Tetradic#41F869

RGB percentages

Red97.3%
Green76.9%
Blue25.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta21.0%
Yellow73.8%
Key (black)2.7%

Color previews

#f8c441 text on a black background

contrast 12.96:1

Card sample

#f8c441 text on a white background

contrast 1.62:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #f8c441;
Background color
Panel with #f8c441 background
background-color: #f8c441;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #f8c441;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(248, 196, 65, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(248, 196, 65, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #f8c441;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f8c441, #B2F841);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #f8c441

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.

#f8c441 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.

#f8c441, answered

What color is #f8c441?

#f8c441 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 7.3). It sits at 43° on the hue wheel with 93% saturation and 61% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #f8c441?

rgb(248, 196, 65) — 248 red, 196 green and 65 blue out of 255, or 97.3% / 76.9% / 25.5% by channel.

Is #f8c441 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5982 and perceived brightness is 80%, so black text on it reaches 12.96:1.

Should I use black or white text on #f8c441?

Black. It scores 12.96:1 against #f8c441, versus 1.62:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #f8c441?

#4175F8 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #41D0F8 and #6941F8, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #f8c441?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE0C0 for borders, #9B844B for secondary text, #036DC9 as an accent and #7B5905 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #F86941 and #D0F841 stays calm, while #4175F8 is the loudest partner.

What is #f8c441 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 21%, 74%, 3%). 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 #f8c441 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 11 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #F8A641; nudged cooler, #EAFA3F.

Work with #f8c441 in the Color Lab