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#fbf9df

a pale, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Beige

RGB
251, 249, 223
HSL
56°, 78%, 93%
CMYK
0, 1, 11, 2
Luminance
0.9359

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fbf9df is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fbf9df
Hue
56°
yellow
Saturation
78%
electric
Lightness
93%
pale
Brightness
98%
HSV value
Perceived
97%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.9359
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
21/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
19.72:1
Closest name
Beige
ΔE2000 1.2
Where it sits
Hue56° of 360°
Saturation78%
Lightness93%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool21% 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#fbf9df
RGBrgb(251, 249, 223)
HSLhsl(56, 78%, 93%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 1%, 11%, 2%)
LABlab(97.5 -3.6 12.7)
LCHlch(97.5 13.2 106.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.977 0.034 103.4)
Decimal16513503
Display P3color(display-p3 0.984 0.976 0.875)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fbf9df;
background-color: #fbf9df;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fbf9df] bg-[#fbf9df]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fbf9df;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.984, green: 0.976, blue: 0.875)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fbf9df")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFBF9DF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 249, 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 #fbf9df · 19.72:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.07:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 19.72:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fbf9df as text scores 1.07:1 on white and 19.72:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fbf9df on white: 1.07:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fbf9df on black: 19.72:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #FEF7DE
deuteranopia · #FFF8E0
tritanopia · #FFF5F1

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fbf9df is pinned to step 100; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FCFBF3
#fbf9df
#F5F1C7
#F3EC9B
#ECE369
#E6DA38
#DACC1B
#B5AA17
#918812
#696311
#423E0B
Base = 100Lightest = 50 · #FCFBF3Darkest = 950 · #423E0B
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFBF3;
  --brand-100: #fbf9df;
  --brand-200: #F5F1C7;
  --brand-300: #F3EC9B;
  --brand-400: #ECE369;
  --brand-500: #E6DA38;
  --brand-600: #DACC1B;
  --brand-700: #B5AA17;
  --brand-800: #918812;
  --brand-900: #696311;
  --brand-950: #423E0B;
  --brand: #fbf9df;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fbf9df

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#EDE9C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B954B
Captions on the surface
Accent#114ABB
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#716A0E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCFBE8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242314
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 #fbf9df

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#DFE1FB
Analogous left#FBEBDF
Analogous right#EFFBDF
Split-complement 1#DFEFFB
Split-complement 2#EBDFFB
Triadic 1#DFFBF9
Triadic 2#F9DFFB
Tetradic#DFFBEB

RGB percentages

Red98.4%
Green97.6%
Blue87.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta0.8%
Yellow11.2%
Key (black)1.6%

Color previews

#fbf9df text on a black background

contrast 19.72:1

Card sample

#fbf9df text on a white background

contrast 1.07:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fbf9df;
Background color
Panel with #fbf9df background
background-color: #fbf9df;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fbf9df;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(251, 249, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(251, 249, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fbf9df;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fbf9df, #EAFBDF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fbf9df

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.

#fbf9df 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.

#fbf9df, answered

What color is #fbf9df?

#fbf9df is a pale electric yellow, closest to Beige (ΔE2000 1.2). It sits at 56° on the hue wheel with 78% saturation and 93% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fbf9df?

rgb(251, 249, 223) — 251 red, 249 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 98.4% / 97.6% / 87.5% by channel.

Is #fbf9df a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.9359 and perceived brightness is 97%, so black text on it reaches 19.72:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fbf9df?

Black. It scores 19.72:1 against #fbf9df, versus 1.07:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fbf9df?

#DFE1FB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DFEFFB and #EBDFFB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fbf9df?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDE9C0 for borders, #9B954B for secondary text, #114ABB as an accent and #716A0E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FBEBDF and #EFFBDF stays calm, while #DFE1FB is the loudest partner.

What is #fbf9df in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 1%, 11%, 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 #fbf9df warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 21 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FBEFDF; nudged cooler, #F3FBDE.

Work with #fbf9df in the Color Lab