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#fdbb28

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

RGB
253, 187, 40
HSL
41°, 98%, 58%
CMYK
0, 26, 84, 1
Luminance
0.5658

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fdbb28 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fdbb28
Hue
41°
yellow
Saturation
98%
electric
Lightness
58%
balanced
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
78%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5658
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
9/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
12.32:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 7
Where it sits
Hue41° of 360°
Saturation98%
Lightness58%
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#fdbb28
RGBrgb(253, 187, 40)
HSLhsl(41, 98%, 58%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 26%, 84%, 1%)
LABlab(79.9 12.2 75.7)
LCHlch(79.9 76.6 80.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.832 0.163 81.2)
Decimal16628520
Display P3color(display-p3 0.992 0.733 0.157)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fdbb28;
background-color: #fdbb28;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fdbb28] bg-[#fdbb28]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fdbb28;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.992, green: 0.733, blue: 0.157)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fdbb28")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFDBB28)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(40, 187, 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 #fdbb28 · 12.32:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.71:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.32:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fdbb28 as text scores 1.71:1 on white and 12.32:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fdbb28 on white: 1.71:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fdbb28 on black: 12.32:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D5BC00
deuteranopia · #E5CD31
tritanopia · #FFA7A1

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fdbb28 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
#FCF4E3
#FBE9C1
#FEDC90
#FDCA58
#fdbb28
#F3A802
#CA8C02
#A27001
#745206
#493304
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FDFAF1Darkest = 950 · #493304
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFAF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF4E3;
  --brand-200: #FBE9C1;
  --brand-300: #FEDC90;
  --brand-400: #FDCA58;
  --brand-500: #fdbb28;
  --brand-600: #F3A802;
  --brand-700: #CA8C02;
  --brand-800: #A27001;
  --brand-900: #745206;
  --brand-950: #493304;
  --brand: #fdbb28;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fdbb28

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#EDDFC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B824B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0073CC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7E5801
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 #fdbb28

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#286AFD
Analogous left#FD5128
Analogous right#D5FD28
Split-complement 1#28D5FD
Split-complement 2#5128FD
Triadic 1#28FDBB
Triadic 2#BB28FD
Tetradic#28FD51

RGB percentages

Red99.2%
Green73.3%
Blue15.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta26.1%
Yellow84.2%
Key (black)0.8%

Color previews

#fdbb28 text on a black background

contrast 12.32:1

Card sample

#fdbb28 text on a white background

contrast 1.71:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fdbb28;
Background color
Panel with #fdbb28 background
background-color: #fdbb28;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fdbb28;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(253, 187, 40, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(253, 187, 40, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fdbb28;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fdbb28, #B1FD28);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fdbb28

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.

#fdbb28 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.

#fdbb28, answered

What color is #fdbb28?

#fdbb28 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 7). It sits at 41° on the hue wheel with 98% saturation and 58% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fdbb28?

rgb(253, 187, 40) — 253 red, 187 green and 40 blue out of 255, or 99.2% / 73.3% / 15.7% by channel.

Is #fdbb28 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5658 and perceived brightness is 78%, so black text on it reaches 12.32:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fdbb28?

Black. It scores 12.32:1 against #fdbb28, versus 1.71:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fdbb28?

#286AFD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #28D5FD and #5128FD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fdbb28?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDDFC0 for borders, #9B824B for secondary text, #0073CC as an accent and #7E5801 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FD5128 and #D5FD28 stays calm, while #286AFD is the loudest partner.

What is #fdbb28 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 26%, 84%, 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 #fdbb28 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 #FD9E28; nudged cooler, #F3FF26.

Work with #fdbb28 in the Color Lab