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yellow · warm

#fadf41

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

Token name suggestion: Studio Brass

RGB
250, 223, 65
HSL
51°, 95%, 62%
CMYK
0, 11, 74, 2
Luminance
0.7348

#fadf41 is a balanced electric yellow, 51° on the wheel and 18/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (15.70:1). As text it scores 1.34:1 on white — use #857203 instead. Nearest name is Gold, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(51 95% 62%)rgb(250 223 65)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fadf41 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fadf41
Hue
51°
yellow
Saturation
95%
electric
Lightness
62%
balanced
Brightness
98%
HSV value
Perceived
86%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7348
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
18/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
15.70:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 4
Chroma
76.0
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.900
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 12.1
Web-safe
#FFCC33
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue51° of 360°
Saturation95%
Lightness62%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #fadf41.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool18% cool

Reads warm. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Luminance by channel
Red28%
Green72%
Blue1%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#fadf41
HEX (8-digit)#fadf41ff
RGBrgb(250, 223, 65)
RGBArgba(250, 223, 65, 1)
HSLhsl(51, 95%, 62%)
HSV / HSBhsv(51, 74%, 98%)
HWBhwb(51 25% 2%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 11%, 74%, 2%)
LABlab(88.7 -6.7 75.7)
LCHlch(88.7 76.0 95.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.900 0.168 99.1)
XYZ (D65)xyz(66.77, 73.48, 15.67)
Decimal16441153
Display P3color(display-p3 0.980 0.875 0.255)
Web-safe#FFCC33

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #fadf41;
background-color: #fadf41;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #fadf41;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fadf41] bg-[#fadf41]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fadf41;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.980, green: 0.875, blue: 0.255)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.980, green: 0.875, blue: 0.255, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#FADF41</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFFADF41)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFADF41)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(65, 223, 250)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(250, 223, 65)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(250, 223, 65)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 250, 223, 65)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.9804f, 0.8745f, 0.2549f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{250,223,65}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #fadf41 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #fadf41 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#7C6B03, #EEEAD3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #fadf41 h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFCF1;
  --brand-100: #FBF8E4;
  --brand-200: #FAF2C2;
  --brand-300: #FCED92;
  --brand-400: #fadf41;
  --brand-500: #F9DA24;
  --brand-600: #EFCC06;
  --brand-700: #C7AA05;
  --brand-800: #9F8804;
  --brand-900: #736308;
  --brand-950: #483E05;
  --brand: #fadf41;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAFAF4;
  --brand-border: #EDE6C0;
  --brand-hover: #F9D91E;
  --brand-pressed: #EECC06;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242214;
    --brand-ink: #EEEAD3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FDFCF1',
        100: '#FBF8E4',
        200: '#FAF2C2',
        300: '#FCED92',
        400: '#fadf41',
        500: '#F9DA24',
        600: '#EFCC06',
        700: '#C7AA05',
        800: '#9F8804',
        900: '#736308',
        950: '#483E05',
        DEFAULT: '#fadf41',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FDFCF1,
  '100': #FBF8E4,
  '200': #FAF2C2,
  '300': #FCED92,
  '400': #fadf41,
  '500': #F9DA24,
  '600': #EFCC06,
  '700': #C7AA05,
  '800': #9F8804,
  '900': #736308,
  '950': #483E05,
);
$brand-base: #fadf41;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FDFCF1", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#FBF8E4", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#FAF2C2", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#FCED92", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#fadf41", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#F9DA24", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#EFCC06", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#C7AA05", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#9F8804", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#736308", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#483E05", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

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 #fadf41 · 15.70:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.34:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 15.70:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fadf41 as text scores 1.34:1 on white and 15.70:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #7C6B03 at 3.96:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#857203 · 4.77:1
AA on white−35% L
#857203
The quick fox
#625403 · 7.53:1
AAA on white−42% L
#625403
The quick fox
#fadf41 · 15.70:1
AA on blackalready passes
#fadf41
The quick fox
#fadf41 · 15.70:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#fadf41

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #A89004 is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fadf41 on white: 1.34:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fadf41 on black: 15.70:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #fadf41 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #fadf41.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.34:1AaAa
Slate 501.28:1AaAa
Slate 1001.22:1AaAa
Slate 2001.09:1AaAa
Slate 3001.11:1AaAa
Slate 4001.92:1AaAa
Slate 5003.56:1AaAa
Slate 6005.66:1AaAa
Slate 7007.74:1AaAa
Slate 80010.93:1AaAa
Slate 90013.34:1AaAa
Black15.70:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #F5D922
deuteranopia · #FCE34C
tritanopia · #FFCEC1

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fadf41 is pinned to step 400; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FDFCF1
#FBF8E4
#FAF2C2
#FCED92
#fadf41
#F9DA24
#EFCC06
#C7AA05
#9F8804
#736308
#483E05
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FDFCF1Darkest = 950 · #483E05Text step on white = 900
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.042 99.1);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.067 99.1);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.101 99.1);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.131 99.1);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.155 99.1);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.168 99.1);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.168 99.1);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.158 99.1);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.141 99.1);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.118 99.1);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.093 99.1);
}

Colors that work with #fadf41

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#EDE6C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8F4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#3D8AFE
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7C6B03
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEFBE6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242214
Dark-mode background
Hover#F9D91E
One step down in lightness
Pressed#EECC06
Two steps down
Disabled#DFDCCD
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#FFE551
Offset from the fill so it reads
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

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #fadf41

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
  • Chart series and data categories
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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #7C6B03
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #A89004

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

optimisticalertcheap-and-cheerfulvisible

The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. The mid lightness keeps it versatile in both themes.

Worth knowing

Almost never passes contrast against white. Treat it as a surface or a marker, not as text.

Reads as
  • FormalityLow
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight38/100
  • TemperatureWarm
  • ApproachabilityHigh

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

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#415CFA
Analogous left#FA8241
Analogous right#B9FA41
Split-complement 1#41B9FA
Split-complement 2#8241FA
Triadic 1#41FADF
Triadic 2#DF41FA
Tetradic#41FA82
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°51°

#fadf41 sits at 51°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red98.0%
Green87.5%
Blue25.5%
R · 0–255
250
0xfa
G · 0–255
223
0xdf
B · 0–255
65
0x41

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta10.8%
Yellow74.0%
Key (black)2.0%

Total ink coverage is 87%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#fadf41 text on a black background

contrast 15.70:1

Card sample

#fadf41 text on a white background

contrast 1.34:1

Card sample

#fadf41 on grey

1.22:1

#fadf41 on its own surface

1.28:1

#fadf41 on its dark surface

11.95:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fadf41;
Background color
Panel with #fadf41 background
background-color: #fadf41;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fadf41;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(250, 223, 65, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(250, 223, 65, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fadf41;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fadf41, #9AFA41);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #fadf41, #6CFA41);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #fadf41;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #fadf41;
caret-color: #fadf41;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #fadf41;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FEFBE6;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #fadf41;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#fadf41 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #fadf41 over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(250, 223, 65, 0.5)
rgb(250 223 65 / 50%)
#fadf4180
hsl(51 95% 62% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #fadf41 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#fadf411a#FFFCEC
20%#fadf4133#FEF9D9
40%#fadf4166#FDF2B3
60%#fadf4199#FCEC8D
80%#fadf41cc#FBE567

Gradients from #fadf41

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #FCE97D, #fadf41 45%, #7C6B03);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #fadf41, #78F923);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #fadf41, #415CFA);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #FCEE9B 0%, #fadf41 45%, #7C6B03 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAFAF4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #FB9873 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #B7FB5F 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #7C6B03 0%, transparent 65%), #fadf41;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fadf41

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

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.

#fadf41 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.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 15.70:1.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#fadf41, answered

What color is #fadf41?

#fadf41 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 4). It sits at 51° on the hue wheel with 95% saturation and 62% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fadf41?

rgb(250, 223, 65) — 250 red, 223 green and 65 blue out of 255, or 98% / 87.5% / 25.5% by channel.

What is #fadf41 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(51, 95%, 62%) and hsv(51, 74%, 98%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #fadf41 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7348 and perceived brightness is 86%, so black text on it reaches 15.70:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fadf41?

Black. It scores 15.70:1 against #fadf41, versus 1.34:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #fadf41 accessible on a white background?

#fadf41 on white scores 1.34:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #857203 to reach 4.5:1, or #625403 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #fadf41?

#415CFA sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #41B9FA and #8241FA, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fadf41?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDE6C0 for borders, #9B8F4B for secondary text, #3D8AFE as an accent and #7C6B03 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FA8241 and #B9FA41 stays calm, while #415CFA is the loudest partner.

What is #fadf41 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 11%, 74%, 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 #fadf41 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 18 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FAB341; nudged cooler, #D2FC3F.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #fadf41?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 12.1 away. That is a visible difference, so define #fadf41 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #fadf41 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#fadf41] or text-[#fadf41], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #fadf41 with 50% opacity?

rgba(250, 223, 65, 0.5), or #fadf4180 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #FDEFA0; over black, #7D7021.

Is #fadf41 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #FFCC33, ΔE2000 7.1 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #fadf41 mean?

As a yellow, it reads optimistic, alert, cheap-and-cheerful. The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #fadf41?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #FCE97D, #fadf41 45%, #7C6B03). For more colour, a short hue run to #78F923 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #fadf41 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #fadf41 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.