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#fba403

a balanced, electric orange · warm · “Orange”

RGB
251, 164, 3
HSL
39°, 98%, 50%
CMYK
0, 35, 99, 2
Luminance
0.4707

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fba403 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fba403
Hue
39°
orange
Saturation
98%
electric
Lightness
50%
balanced
Brightness
98%
HSV value
Perceived
73%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4707
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
8/100 cool
Color family
Orange
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
10.41:1
Closest name
Orange
ΔE2000 0.7
Where it sits
Hue39° of 360°
Saturation98%
Lightness50%
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#fba403
RGBrgb(251, 164, 3)
HSLhsl(39, 98%, 50%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 35%, 99%, 2%)
LABlab(74.2 22.8 77.9)
LCHlch(74.2 81.2 73.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.786 0.168 71.4)
Decimal16491523
Display P3color(display-p3 0.984 0.643 0.012)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fba403;
background-color: #fba403;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fba403] bg-[#fba403]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fba403;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.984, green: 0.643, blue: 0.012)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fba403")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFBA403)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(3, 164, 251)

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 #fba403 · 10.41:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.02:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.41:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fba403 as text scores 2.02:1 on white and 10.41:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fba403 on white: 2.02:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fba403 on black: 10.41:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C2AA00
deuteranopia · #D6BF11
tritanopia · #FF8E8C

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fba403 is pinned to step 600; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FDF9F1
#FCF3E4
#FBE7C1
#FED790
#FDC359
#FCB021
#fba403
#CA8402
#A16902
#744E06
#493104
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FDF9F1Darkest = 950 · #493104
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDF9F1;
  --brand-100: #FCF3E4;
  --brand-200: #FBE7C1;
  --brand-300: #FED790;
  --brand-400: #FDC359;
  --brand-500: #FCB021;
  --brand-600: #fba403;
  --brand-700: #CA8402;
  --brand-800: #A16902;
  --brand-900: #744E06;
  --brand-950: #493104;
  --brand: #fba403;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fba403

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#EDDDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B7F4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#007ACC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7E5202
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFF6E6
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 #fba403

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
  • 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#035AFB
Analogous left#FB2803
Analogous right#D6FB03
Split-complement 1#03D6FB
Split-complement 2#2803FB
Triadic 1#03FBA4
Triadic 2#A403FB
Tetradic#03FB28

RGB percentages

Red98.4%
Green64.3%
Blue1.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta34.7%
Yellow98.8%
Key (black)1.6%

Color previews

#fba403 text on a black background

contrast 10.41:1

Card sample

#fba403 text on a white background

contrast 2.02:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fba403;
Background color
Panel with #fba403 background
background-color: #fba403;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fba403;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(251, 164, 3, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(251, 164, 3, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fba403;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fba403, #ACFB03);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fba403

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.

#fba403 in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
E-commerceFood deliveryLogisticsCreator tools
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

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

#fba403, answered

What color is #fba403?

#fba403 is a balanced electric orange — the CSS keyword Orange. It sits at 39° on the hue wheel with 98% saturation and 50% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fba403?

rgb(251, 164, 3) — 251 red, 164 green and 3 blue out of 255, or 98.4% / 64.3% / 1.2% by channel.

Is #fba403 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4707 and perceived brightness is 73%, so black text on it reaches 10.41:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fba403?

Black. It scores 10.41:1 against #fba403, versus 2.02:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fba403?

#035AFB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #03D6FB and #2803FB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fba403?

For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #EDDDC0 for borders, #9B7F4B for secondary text, #007ACC as an accent and #7E5202 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FB2803 and #D6FB03 stays calm, while #035AFB is the loudest partner.

What is #fba403 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 35%, 99%, 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 #fba403 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 #FB8903; nudged cooler, #F9FD01.

Work with #fba403 in the Color Lab