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orange · warm

#fcf1dc

a pale, electric orange · warm · closest name: Papaya Whip

Token name suggestion: Whisper Amber

RGB
252, 241, 220
HSL
39°, 84%, 93%
CMYK
0, 4, 13, 1
Luminance
0.8877

#fcf1dc is a pale electric orange, 39° on the wheel and 8/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (18.75:1). As text it scores 1.12:1 on white — use #9D6C0D instead. Nearest name is Papaya Whip, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(39 84% 93%)rgb(252 241 220)Base step 100AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fcf1dc is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fcf1dc
Hue
39°
orange
Saturation
84%
electric
Lightness
93%
pale
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
95%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.8877
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
8/100 cool
Color family
Orange
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
18.75:1
Closest name
Papaya Whip
ΔE2000 2.3
Chroma
11.5
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.961
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 25.6
Web-safe
#FFFFCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue39° of 360°
Saturation84%
Lightness93%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #fcf1dc.

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.

Luminance by channel
Red23%
Green71%
Blue6%

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

Every format

HEX#fcf1dc
HEX (8-digit)#fcf1dcff
RGBrgb(252, 241, 220)
RGBArgba(252, 241, 220, 1)
HSLhsl(39, 84%, 93%)
HSV / HSBhsv(39, 13%, 99%)
HWBhwb(39 86% 1%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 4%, 13%, 1%)
LABlab(95.5 0.3 11.5)
LCHlch(95.5 11.5 88.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.961 0.030 83.6)
XYZ (D65)xyz(84.52, 88.77, 80.38)
Decimal16576988
Display P3color(display-p3 0.988 0.945 0.863)
Web-safe#FFFFCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #fcf1dc;
background-color: #fcf1dc;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #fcf1dc;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fcf1dc] bg-[#fcf1dc]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fcf1dc;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.988, green: 0.945, blue: 0.863)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.988, green: 0.945, blue: 0.863, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#FCF1DC</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFFCF1DC)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFCF1DC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(220, 241, 252)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(252, 241, 220)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(252, 241, 220)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 252, 241, 220)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.9882f, 0.9451f, 0.8627f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{252,241,220}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #fcf1dc 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #fcf1dc 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#75510A, #EEE5D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #fcf1dc 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: #FCF9F2;
  --brand-100: #fcf1dc;
  --brand-200: #F6E6C5;
  --brand-300: #F6D698;
  --brand-400: #F2C164;
  --brand-500: #EDAC30;
  --brand-600: #E19B13;
  --brand-700: #BC8110;
  --brand-800: #96670D;
  --brand-900: #6D4C0E;
  --brand-950: #443009;
  --brand: #fcf1dc;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF8F4;
  --brand-border: #EDDDC0;
  --brand-hover: #F9E4BB;
  --brand-pressed: #F6D79A;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241F14;
    --brand-ink: #EEE5D3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FCF9F2',
        100: '#fcf1dc',
        200: '#F6E6C5',
        300: '#F6D698',
        400: '#F2C164',
        500: '#EDAC30',
        600: '#E19B13',
        700: '#BC8110',
        800: '#96670D',
        900: '#6D4C0E',
        950: '#443009',
        DEFAULT: '#fcf1dc',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FCF9F2,
  '100': #fcf1dc,
  '200': #F6E6C5,
  '300': #F6D698,
  '400': #F2C164,
  '500': #EDAC30,
  '600': #E19B13,
  '700': #BC8110,
  '800': #96670D,
  '900': #6D4C0E,
  '950': #443009,
);
$brand-base: #fcf1dc;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FCF9F2", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#fcf1dc", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#F6E6C5", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#F6D698", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#F2C164", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#EDAC30", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#E19B13", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#BC8110", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#96670D", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#6D4C0E", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#443009", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #fcf1dc · 18.75:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.12:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 18.75:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fcf1dc as text scores 1.12:1 on white and 18.75:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #75510A at 6.38:1.

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
#9D6C0D · 4.58:1
AA on white−59% L
#9D6C0D
The quick fox
#734F0A · 7.36:1
AAA on white−68% L
#734F0A
The quick fox
#fcf1dc · 18.75:1
AA on blackalready passes
#fcf1dc
The quick fox
#fcf1dc · 18.75:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#fcf1dc

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #C38611 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
#fcf1dc on white: 1.12:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fcf1dc on black: 18.75:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #fcf1dc as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #fcf1dc.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.12:1AaAa
Slate 501.07:1AaAa
Slate 1001.02:1AaAa
Slate 2001.10:1AaAa
Slate 3001.33:1AaAa
Slate 4002.29:1AaAa
Slate 5004.25:1AaAa
Slate 6006.77:1AaAa
Slate 7009.25:1AaAa
Slate 80013.06:1AaAa
Slate 90015.94:1AaAa
Black18.75:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #F7F0DB
deuteranopia · #F9F3DD
tritanopia · #FFEDEB

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. #fcf1dc 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.

#FCF9F2
#fcf1dc
#F6E6C5
#F6D698
#F2C164
#EDAC30
#E19B13
#BC8110
#96670D
#6D4C0E
#443009
Base = 100Lightest = 50 · #FCF9F2Darkest = 950 · #443009Text step on white = 800
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 0.008 83.6);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.012 83.6);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.018 83.6);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.023 83.6);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.028 83.6);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.030 83.6);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.030 83.6);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.028 83.6);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.025 83.6);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.021 83.6);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.017 83.6);
}

Colors that work with #fcf1dc

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#0B76C1
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#75510A
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDF6E8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241F14
Dark-mode background
Hover#F9E4BB
One step down in lightness
Pressed#F6D79A
Two steps down
Disabled#F7F6F3
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#FEF1D7
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 #fcf1dc

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
  • 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 #75510A
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #C38611

Meaning and mood

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

friendlyenergeticaffordablesocial

Orange is red with the aggression taken out — approachable, active, and strongly associated with buying and doing.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. The high lightness makes it recede — a surface colour rather than a statement.

Worth knowing

Hard to make feel premium, and it collides with the "caution" band in status systems.

Reads as
  • FormalityLow
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight8/100
  • 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#DCE7FC
Analogous left#FCE1DC
Analogous right#F7FCDC
Split-complement 1#DCF7FC
Split-complement 2#E1DCFC
Triadic 1#DCFCF1
Triadic 2#F1DCFC
Tetradic#DCFCE1
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°39°

#fcf1dc sits at 39°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red98.8%
Green94.5%
Blue86.3%
R · 0–255
252
0xfc
G · 0–255
241
0xf1
B · 0–255
220
0xdc

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta4.4%
Yellow12.7%
Key (black)1.2%

Total ink coverage is 18%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#fcf1dc text on a black background

contrast 18.75:1

Card sample

#fcf1dc text on a white background

contrast 1.12:1

Card sample

#fcf1dc on grey

1.02:1

#fcf1dc on its own surface

1.06:1

#fcf1dc on its dark surface

14.64:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fcf1dc;
Background color
Panel with #fcf1dc background
background-color: #fcf1dc;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fcf1dc;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(252, 241, 220, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(252, 241, 220, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fcf1dc;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fcf1dc, #F2FCDC);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #fcf1dc, #EAFCDC);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #fcf1dc;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #fcf1dc;
caret-color: #fcf1dc;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #fcf1dc;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FDF6E8;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #fcf1dc;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#fcf1dc 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #fcf1dc 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(252, 241, 220, 0.5)
rgb(252 241 220 / 50%)
#fcf1dc80
hsl(39 84% 93% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #fcf1dc 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#fcf1dc1a#FFFEFC
20%#fcf1dc33#FEFCF8
40%#fcf1dc66#FEF9F1
60%#fcf1dc99#FDF7EA
80%#fcf1dccc#FDF4E3

Gradients from #fcf1dc

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, #FDF7EC, #fcf1dc 45%, #75510A);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #fcf1dc, #E2FAC0);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #fcf1dc, #DCE7FC);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #FEF9F1 0%, #fcf1dc 45%, #75510A 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF8F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #FFFFFF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #FDFEF8 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #75510A 0%, transparent 65%), #fcf1dc;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fcf1dc

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.

#fcf1dc 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
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

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

On screens

Very light values are indistinguishable from white on a dim phone screen outdoors. Give it a border if the boundary matters.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 18.75:1.

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.

#fcf1dc, answered

What color is #fcf1dc?

#fcf1dc is a pale electric orange, closest to Papaya Whip (ΔE2000 2.3). It sits at 39° on the hue wheel with 84% saturation and 93% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fcf1dc?

rgb(252, 241, 220) — 252 red, 241 green and 220 blue out of 255, or 98.8% / 94.5% / 86.3% by channel.

What is #fcf1dc in HSL and HSV?

hsl(39, 84%, 93%) and hsv(39, 13%, 99%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #fcf1dc a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.8877 and perceived brightness is 95%, so black text on it reaches 18.75:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fcf1dc?

Black. It scores 18.75:1 against #fcf1dc, versus 1.12:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #fcf1dc accessible on a white background?

#fcf1dc on white scores 1.12:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #9D6C0D to reach 4.5:1, or #734F0A for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #fcf1dc?

#DCE7FC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DCF7FC and #E1DCFC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fcf1dc?

For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #EDDDC0 for borders, #9B7F4B for secondary text, #0B76C1 as an accent and #75510A for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FCE1DC and #F7FCDC stays calm, while #DCE7FC is the loudest partner.

What is #fcf1dc in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 4%, 13%, 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 #fcf1dc 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 #FCEADC; nudged cooler, #FCFCDB.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #fcf1dc?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 25.6 away. That is a visible difference, so define #fcf1dc as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #fcf1dc in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#fcf1dc] or text-[#fcf1dc], 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 #fcf1dc with 50% opacity?

rgba(252, 241, 220, 0.5), or #fcf1dc80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #FEF8EE; over black, #7E796E.

Is #fcf1dc a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #FFFFCC, ΔE2000 10.6 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #fcf1dc mean?

As a orange, it reads friendly, energetic, affordable. Orange is red with the aggression taken out — approachable, active, and strongly associated with buying and doing. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #fcf1dc?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #FDF7EC, #fcf1dc 45%, #75510A). For more colour, a short hue run to #E2FAC0 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #fcf1dc in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #fcf1dc at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.