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#fdbf0c

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

RGB
253, 191, 12
HSL
45°, 98%, 52%
CMYK
0, 25, 95, 1
Luminance
0.5817

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fdbf0c is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fdbf0c
Hue
45°
yellow
Saturation
98%
electric
Lightness
52%
balanced
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
79%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5817
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
12/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
12.63:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 7.8
Where it sits
Hue45° of 360°
Saturation98%
Lightness52%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool12% 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#fdbf0c
RGBrgb(253, 191, 12)
HSLhsl(45, 98%, 52%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 25%, 95%, 1%)
LABlab(80.8 9.6 81.6)
LCHlch(80.8 82.2 83.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.838 0.170 84.6)
Decimal16629516
Display P3color(display-p3 0.992 0.749 0.047)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fdbf0c;
background-color: #fdbf0c;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fdbf0c] bg-[#fdbf0c]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fdbf0c;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.992, green: 0.749, blue: 0.047)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fdbf0c")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFDBF0C)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(12, 191, 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 #fdbf0c · 12.63:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.66:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.63:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fdbf0c as text scores 1.66:1 on white and 12.63:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fdbf0c on white: 1.66:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fdbf0c on black: 12.63:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D9BF00
deuteranopia · #E8CF20
tritanopia · #FFABA3

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fdbf0c 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.

#FEFAF1
#FCF6E3
#FBECC1
#FEE290
#FED358
#fdbf0c
#F3B502
#CA9702
#A27901
#755806
#493704
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FEFAF1Darkest = 950 · #493704
:root {
  --brand-50: #FEFAF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF6E3;
  --brand-200: #FBECC1;
  --brand-300: #FEE290;
  --brand-400: #FED358;
  --brand-500: #fdbf0c;
  --brand-600: #F3B502;
  --brand-700: #CA9702;
  --brand-800: #A27901;
  --brand-900: #755806;
  --brand-950: #493704;
  --brand: #fdbf0c;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fdbf0c

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#EDE1C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B864B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0A86FF
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7E5E01
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 #fdbf0c

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#0C4AFD
Analogous left#FD470C
Analogous right#C2FD0C
Split-complement 1#0CC2FD
Split-complement 2#470CFD
Triadic 1#0CFDBF
Triadic 2#BF0CFD
Tetradic#0CFD47

RGB percentages

Red99.2%
Green74.9%
Blue4.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta24.5%
Yellow95.3%
Key (black)0.8%

Color previews

#fdbf0c text on a black background

contrast 12.63:1

Card sample

#fdbf0c text on a white background

contrast 1.66:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fdbf0c;
Background color
Panel with #fdbf0c background
background-color: #fdbf0c;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fdbf0c;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(253, 191, 12, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(253, 191, 12, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fdbf0c;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fdbf0c, #9AFD0C);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fdbf0c

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.

#fdbf0c 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.

#fdbf0c, answered

What color is #fdbf0c?

#fdbf0c is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 7.8). It sits at 45° on the hue wheel with 98% saturation and 52% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fdbf0c?

rgb(253, 191, 12) — 253 red, 191 green and 12 blue out of 255, or 99.2% / 74.9% / 4.7% by channel.

Is #fdbf0c a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5817 and perceived brightness is 79%, so black text on it reaches 12.63:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fdbf0c?

Black. It scores 12.63:1 against #fdbf0c, versus 1.66:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fdbf0c?

#0C4AFD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #0CC2FD and #470CFD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fdbf0c?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE1C0 for borders, #9B864B for secondary text, #0A86FF as an accent and #7E5E01 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FD470C and #C2FD0C stays calm, while #0C4AFD is the loudest partner.

What is #fdbf0c in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 25%, 95%, 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 #fdbf0c warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 12 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FD990C; nudged cooler, #E4FF0A.

Work with #fdbf0c in the Color Lab