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#fce9af

a light, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Moccasin

RGB
252, 233, 175
HSL
45°, 93%, 84%
CMYK
0, 8, 31, 1
Luminance
0.8207

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fce9af is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fce9af
Hue
45°
yellow
Saturation
93%
electric
Lightness
84%
light
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
91%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.8207
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
13/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
17.41:1
Closest name
Moccasin
ΔE2000 4.3
Where it sits
Hue45° of 360°
Saturation93%
Lightness84%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool13% 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#fce9af
RGBrgb(252, 233, 175)
HSLhsl(45, 93%, 84%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 8%, 31%, 1%)
LABlab(92.6 -2.0 30.6)
LCHlch(92.6 30.6 93.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.936 0.077 92.1)
Decimal16574895
Display P3color(display-p3 0.988 0.914 0.686)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fce9af;
background-color: #fce9af;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fce9af] bg-[#fce9af]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fce9af;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.988, green: 0.914, blue: 0.686)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fce9af")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFCE9AF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(175, 233, 252)

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 #fce9af · 17.41:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.21:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 17.41:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fce9af as text scores 1.21:1 on white and 17.41:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fce9af on white: 1.21:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fce9af on black: 17.41:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #F6E6AB
deuteranopia · #FBECB1
tritanopia · #FFE0DA

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fce9af is pinned to step 200; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FDFAF2
#FBF5E4
#fce9af
#FBE193
#F9D25D
#F7C427
#ECB409
#C59607
#9D7806
#715809
#473706
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #FDFAF2Darkest = 950 · #473706
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFAF2;
  --brand-100: #FBF5E4;
  --brand-200: #fce9af;
  --brand-300: #FBE193;
  --brand-400: #F9D25D;
  --brand-500: #F7C427;
  --brand-600: #ECB409;
  --brand-700: #C59607;
  --brand-800: #9D7806;
  --brand-900: #715809;
  --brand-950: #473706;
  --brand: #fce9af;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fce9af

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#EDE2C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B874B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0265CA
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7B5E05
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEF8E6
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 #fce9af

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#AFC2FC
Analogous left#FCC2AF
Analogous right#E8FCAF
Split-complement 1#AFE8FC
Split-complement 2#C2AFFC
Triadic 1#AFFCE9
Triadic 2#E9AFFC
Tetradic#AFFCC2

RGB percentages

Red98.8%
Green91.4%
Blue68.6%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta7.5%
Yellow30.6%
Key (black)1.2%

Color previews

#fce9af text on a black background

contrast 17.41:1

Card sample

#fce9af text on a white background

contrast 1.21:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fce9af;
Background color
Panel with #fce9af background
background-color: #fce9af;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fce9af;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(252, 233, 175, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(252, 233, 175, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fce9af;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fce9af, #DCFCAF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fce9af

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.

#fce9af 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.

#fce9af, answered

What color is #fce9af?

#fce9af is a light electric yellow, closest to Moccasin (ΔE2000 4.3). It sits at 45° on the hue wheel with 93% saturation and 84% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fce9af?

rgb(252, 233, 175) — 252 red, 233 green and 175 blue out of 255, or 98.8% / 91.4% / 68.6% by channel.

Is #fce9af a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.8207 and perceived brightness is 91%, so black text on it reaches 17.41:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fce9af?

Black. It scores 17.41:1 against #fce9af, versus 1.21:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fce9af?

#AFC2FC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #AFE8FC and #C2AFFC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fce9af?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE2C0 for borders, #9B874B for secondary text, #0265CA as an accent and #7B5E05 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FCC2AF and #E8FCAF stays calm, while #AFC2FC is the loudest partner.

What is #fce9af in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 8%, 31%, 1%). 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 #fce9af warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 13 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FCD6AF; nudged cooler, #F3FDAE.

Work with #fce9af in the Color Lab