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#fdba11

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

RGB
253, 186, 17
HSL
43°, 98%, 53%
CMYK
0, 27, 93, 1
Luminance
0.5604

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fdba11 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fdba11
Hue
43°
yellow
Saturation
98%
electric
Lightness
53%
balanced
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
78%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5604
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
11/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
12.21:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 7.1
Where it sits
Hue43° of 360°
Saturation98%
Lightness53%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool11% 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#fdba11
RGBrgb(253, 186, 17)
HSLhsl(43, 98%, 53%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 27%, 93%, 1%)
LABlab(79.6 12.3 80.2)
LCHlch(79.6 81.1 81.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.829 0.169 81.9)
Decimal16628241
Display P3color(display-p3 0.992 0.729 0.067)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fdba11;
background-color: #fdba11;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fdba11] bg-[#fdba11]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fdba11;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.992, green: 0.729, blue: 0.067)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fdba11")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFDBA11)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(17, 186, 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 #fdba11 · 12.21:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.72:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.21:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fdba11 as text scores 1.72:1 on white and 12.21:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fdba11 on white: 1.72:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fdba11 on black: 12.21:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D5BB00
deuteranopia · #E5CC21
tritanopia · #FFA69F

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fdba11 is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FDFAF1
#FCF5E3
#FBEBC1
#FEDF90
#FECF58
#fdba11
#F3AF02
#CA9102
#A27401
#755506
#493504
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FDFAF1Darkest = 950 · #493504
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFAF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF5E3;
  --brand-200: #FBEBC1;
  --brand-300: #FEDF90;
  --brand-400: #FECF58;
  --brand-500: #fdba11;
  --brand-600: #F3AF02;
  --brand-700: #CA9102;
  --brand-800: #A27401;
  --brand-900: #755506;
  --brand-950: #493504;
  --brand: #fdba11;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fdba11

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#EDE0C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B844B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0F8FFF
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7E5B01
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFF8E6
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 #fdba11

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#1154FD
Analogous left#FD4411
Analogous right#CAFD11
Split-complement 1#11CAFD
Split-complement 2#4411FD
Triadic 1#11FDBA
Triadic 2#BA11FD
Tetradic#11FD44

RGB percentages

Red99.2%
Green72.9%
Blue6.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta26.5%
Yellow93.3%
Key (black)0.8%

Color previews

#fdba11 text on a black background

contrast 12.21:1

Card sample

#fdba11 text on a white background

contrast 1.72:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fdba11;
Background color
Panel with #fdba11 background
background-color: #fdba11;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fdba11;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(253, 186, 17, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(253, 186, 17, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fdba11;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fdba11, #A2FD11);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fdba11

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.

#fdba11 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.

#fdba11, answered

What color is #fdba11?

#fdba11 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 7.1). It sits at 43° on the hue wheel with 98% saturation and 53% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fdba11?

rgb(253, 186, 17) — 253 red, 186 green and 17 blue out of 255, or 99.2% / 72.9% / 6.7% by channel.

Is #fdba11 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5604 and perceived brightness is 78%, so black text on it reaches 12.21:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fdba11?

Black. It scores 12.21:1 against #fdba11, versus 1.72:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fdba11?

#1154FD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #11CAFD and #4411FD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fdba11?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE0C0 for borders, #9B844B for secondary text, #0F8FFF as an accent and #7E5B01 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FD4411 and #CAFD11 stays calm, while #1154FD is the loudest partner.

What is #fdba11 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 27%, 93%, 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 #fdba11 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 11 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FD9811; nudged cooler, #EBFF0F.

Work with #fdba11 in the Color Lab