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#fdad02

a balanced, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Orange

RGB
253, 173, 2
HSL
41°, 98%, 50%
CMYK
0, 32, 99, 1
Luminance
0.5077

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fdad02 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fdad02
Hue
41°
yellow
Saturation
98%
electric
Lightness
50%
balanced
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
75%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5077
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
9/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
11.15:1
Closest name
Orange
ΔE2000 3.2
Where it sits
Hue41° of 360°
Saturation98%
Lightness50%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool9% 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#fdad02
RGBrgb(253, 173, 2)
HSLhsl(41, 98%, 50%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 32%, 99%, 1%)
LABlab(76.5 18.9 79.7)
LCHlch(76.5 81.9 76.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.805 0.169 75.5)
Decimal16624898
Display P3color(display-p3 0.992 0.678 0.008)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fdad02;
background-color: #fdad02;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fdad02] bg-[#fdad02]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fdad02;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.992, green: 0.678, blue: 0.008)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fdad02")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFDAD02)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(2, 173, 253)

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 #fdad02 · 11.15:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.88:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.15:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fdad02 as text scores 1.88:1 on white and 11.15:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fdad02 on white: 1.88:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fdad02 on black: 11.15:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #CAB100
deuteranopia · #DDC514
tritanopia · #FF9893

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fdad02 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.

#FEFAF1
#FCF4E3
#FBE8C1
#FEDB90
#FEC958
#FDB720
#fdad02
#CA8A02
#A26F01
#755106
#493304
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FEFAF1Darkest = 950 · #493304
:root {
  --brand-50: #FEFAF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF4E3;
  --brand-200: #FBE8C1;
  --brand-300: #FEDB90;
  --brand-400: #FEC958;
  --brand-500: #FDB720;
  --brand-600: #fdad02;
  --brand-700: #CA8A02;
  --brand-800: #A26F01;
  --brand-900: #755106;
  --brand-950: #493304;
  --brand: #fdad02;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fdad02

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#EDDEC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B814B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0091FF
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7E5701
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFF7E6
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 #fdad02

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
  • 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#0252FD
Analogous left#FD3002
Analogous right#CFFD02
Split-complement 1#02CFFD
Split-complement 2#3002FD
Triadic 1#02FDAD
Triadic 2#AD02FD
Tetradic#02FD30

RGB percentages

Red99.2%
Green67.8%
Blue0.8%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta31.6%
Yellow99.2%
Key (black)0.8%

Color previews

#fdad02 text on a black background

contrast 11.15:1

Card sample

#fdad02 text on a white background

contrast 1.88:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fdad02;
Background color
Panel with #fdad02 background
background-color: #fdad02;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fdad02;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(253, 173, 2, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(253, 173, 2, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fdad02;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fdad02, #A6FD02);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fdad02

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.

#fdad02 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
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

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

#fdad02, answered

What color is #fdad02?

#fdad02 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Orange (ΔE2000 3.2). It sits at 41° on the hue wheel with 98% saturation and 50% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fdad02?

rgb(253, 173, 2) — 253 red, 173 green and 2 blue out of 255, or 99.2% / 67.8% / 0.8% by channel.

Is #fdad02 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5077 and perceived brightness is 75%, so black text on it reaches 11.15:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fdad02?

Black. It scores 11.15:1 against #fdad02, versus 1.88:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fdad02?

#0252FD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #02CFFD and #3002FD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fdad02?

For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #EDDEC0 for borders, #9B814B for secondary text, #0091FF as an accent and #7E5701 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FD3002 and #CFFD02 stays calm, while #0252FD is the loudest partner.

What is #fdad02 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 32%, 99%, 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 #fdad02 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 9 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FD8E02; nudged cooler, #F3FF00.

Work with #fdad02 in the Color Lab