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#fcf7ae

a light, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Pale Goldenrod

RGB
252, 247, 174
HSL
56°, 93%, 84%
CMYK
0, 2, 31, 1
Luminance
0.9027

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fcf7ae is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fcf7ae
Hue
56°
yellow
Saturation
93%
electric
Lightness
84%
light
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
95%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.9027
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
22/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
19.05:1
Closest name
Pale Goldenrod
ΔE2000 3.6
Where it sits
Hue56° of 360°
Saturation93%
Lightness84%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool22% 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#fcf7ae
RGBrgb(252, 247, 174)
HSLhsl(56, 93%, 84%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 2%, 31%, 1%)
LABlab(96.1 -9.1 35.8)
LCHlch(96.1 36.9 104.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.963 0.092 104.7)
Decimal16578478
Display P3color(display-p3 0.988 0.969 0.682)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fcf7ae;
background-color: #fcf7ae;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fcf7ae] bg-[#fcf7ae]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fcf7ae;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.988, green: 0.969, blue: 0.682)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fcf7ae")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFCF7AE)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(174, 247, 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 #fcf7ae · 19.05:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.10:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 19.05:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fcf7ae as text scores 1.10:1 on white and 19.05:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fcf7ae on white: 1.10:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fcf7ae on black: 19.05:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #FFF2A9
deuteranopia · #FFF6B1
tritanopia · #FFEEE4

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fcf7ae 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.

#FDFCF2
#FBFAE4
#fcf7ae
#FBF493
#F9EF5D
#F7EA27
#ECDE09
#C5B907
#9D9406
#726B09
#474306
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #FDFCF2Darkest = 950 · #474306
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFCF2;
  --brand-100: #FBFAE4;
  --brand-200: #fcf7ae;
  --brand-300: #FBF493;
  --brand-400: #F9EF5D;
  --brand-500: #F7EA27;
  --brand-600: #ECDE09;
  --brand-700: #C5B907;
  --brand-800: #9D9406;
  --brand-900: #726B09;
  --brand-950: #474306;
  --brand: #fcf7ae;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fcf7ae

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#EDEAC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B964B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0241CA
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7B7305
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEFDE6
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 #fcf7ae

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#AEB3FC
Analogous left#FCD0AE
Analogous right#DAFCAE
Split-complement 1#AEDAFC
Split-complement 2#D0AEFC
Triadic 1#AEFCF7
Triadic 2#F7AEFC
Tetradic#AEFCD0

RGB percentages

Red98.8%
Green96.9%
Blue68.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta2.0%
Yellow31.0%
Key (black)1.2%

Color previews

#fcf7ae text on a black background

contrast 19.05:1

Card sample

#fcf7ae text on a white background

contrast 1.10:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fcf7ae;
Background color
Panel with #fcf7ae background
background-color: #fcf7ae;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fcf7ae;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(252, 247, 174, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(252, 247, 174, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fcf7ae;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fcf7ae, #CDFCAE);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fcf7ae

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.

#fcf7ae 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.

#fcf7ae, answered

What color is #fcf7ae?

#fcf7ae is a light electric yellow, closest to Pale Goldenrod (ΔE2000 3.6). It sits at 56° on the hue wheel with 93% saturation and 84% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fcf7ae?

rgb(252, 247, 174) — 252 red, 247 green and 174 blue out of 255, or 98.8% / 96.9% / 68.2% by channel.

Is #fcf7ae a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.9027 and perceived brightness is 95%, so black text on it reaches 19.05:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fcf7ae?

Black. It scores 19.05:1 against #fcf7ae, versus 1.10:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fcf7ae?

#AEB3FC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #AEDAFC and #D0AEFC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fcf7ae?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDEAC0 for borders, #9B964B for secondary text, #0241CA as an accent and #7B7305 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FCD0AE and #DAFCAE stays calm, while #AEB3FC is the loudest partner.

What is #fcf7ae in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 2%, 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 #fcf7ae warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 22 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FCDAAE; nudged cooler, #E5FDAD.

Work with #fcf7ae in the Color Lab