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#f9da9b

a light, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Navajo White

RGB
249, 218, 155
HSL
40°, 89%, 79%
CMYK
0, 12, 38, 2
Luminance
0.7265

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #f9da9b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#f9da9b
Hue
40°
yellow
Saturation
89%
electric
Lightness
79%
light
Brightness
98%
HSV value
Perceived
87%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7265
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
8/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
15.53:1
Closest name
Navajo White
ΔE2000 3.8
Where it sits
Hue40° of 360°
Saturation89%
Lightness79%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool8% 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#f9da9b
RGBrgb(249, 218, 155)
HSLhsl(40, 89%, 79%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 12%, 38%, 2%)
LABlab(88.3 2.2 35.0)
LCHlch(88.3 35.0 86.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.900 0.087 84.5)
Decimal16374427
Display P3color(display-p3 0.976 0.855 0.608)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #f9da9b;
background-color: #f9da9b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#f9da9b] bg-[#f9da9b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #f9da9b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.976, green: 0.855, blue: 0.608)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#f9da9b")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFF9DA9B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(155, 218, 249)

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 #f9da9b · 15.53:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.35:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 15.53:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #f9da9b as text scores 1.35:1 on white and 15.53:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#f9da9b on white: 1.35:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#f9da9b on black: 15.53:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #E9D997
deuteranopia · #F1E19D
tritanopia · #FFCFCA

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #f9da9b is pinned to step 300; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FDF9F2
#FBF3E5
#F8E7C4
#f9da9b
#F5C460
#F2B12B
#E79F0E
#C0850C
#9A6A09
#6F4E0B
#453107
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FDF9F2Darkest = 950 · #453107
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDF9F2;
  --brand-100: #FBF3E5;
  --brand-200: #F8E7C4;
  --brand-300: #f9da9b;
  --brand-400: #F5C460;
  --brand-500: #F2B12B;
  --brand-600: #E79F0E;
  --brand-700: #C0850C;
  --brand-800: #9A6A09;
  --brand-900: #6F4E0B;
  --brand-950: #453107;
  --brand: #f9da9b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #f9da9b

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#9B804B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0875C4
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#785307
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 #f9da9b

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#9BBAF9
Analogous left#F9AB9B
Analogous right#E9F99B
Split-complement 1#9BE9F9
Split-complement 2#AB9BF9
Triadic 1#9BF9DA
Triadic 2#DA9BF9
Tetradic#9BF9AB

RGB percentages

Red97.6%
Green85.5%
Blue60.8%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta12.4%
Yellow37.8%
Key (black)2.4%

Color previews

#f9da9b text on a black background

contrast 15.53:1

Card sample

#f9da9b text on a white background

contrast 1.35:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #f9da9b;
Background color
Panel with #f9da9b background
background-color: #f9da9b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #f9da9b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(249, 218, 155, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(249, 218, 155, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #f9da9b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f9da9b, #D9F99B);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #f9da9b

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.

#f9da9b 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

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

#f9da9b, answered

What color is #f9da9b?

#f9da9b is a light electric yellow, closest to Navajo White (ΔE2000 3.8). It sits at 40° on the hue wheel with 89% saturation and 79% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #f9da9b?

rgb(249, 218, 155) — 249 red, 218 green and 155 blue out of 255, or 97.6% / 85.5% / 60.8% by channel.

Is #f9da9b a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7265 and perceived brightness is 87%, so black text on it reaches 15.53:1.

Should I use black or white text on #f9da9b?

Black. It scores 15.53:1 against #f9da9b, versus 1.35:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #f9da9b?

#9BBAF9 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9BE9F9 and #AB9BF9, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #f9da9b?

For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #EDDEC0 for borders, #9B804B for secondary text, #0875C4 as an accent and #785307 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #F9AB9B and #E9F99B stays calm, while #9BBAF9 is the loudest partner.

What is #f9da9b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 12%, 38%, 2%). 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 #f9da9b warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 8 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #F9C99B; nudged cooler, #F7FA9A.

Work with #f9da9b in the Color Lab