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#fdc945

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

RGB
253, 201, 69
HSL
43°, 98%, 63%
CMYK
0, 21, 73, 1
Luminance
0.6309

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fdc945 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fdc945
Hue
43°
yellow
Saturation
98%
electric
Lightness
63%
balanced
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
82%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6309
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
11/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
13.62:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 6.6
Where it sits
Hue43° of 360°
Saturation98%
Lightness63%
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#fdc945
RGBrgb(253, 201, 69)
HSLhsl(43, 98%, 63%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 21%, 73%, 1%)
LABlab(83.5 5.9 69.4)
LCHlch(83.5 69.6 85.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.860 0.154 86.4)
Decimal16632133
Display P3color(display-p3 0.992 0.788 0.271)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fdc945;
background-color: #fdc945;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fdc945] bg-[#fdc945]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fdc945;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.992, green: 0.788, blue: 0.271)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fdc945")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFDC945)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(69, 201, 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 #fdc945 · 13.62:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.54:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.62:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fdc945 as text scores 1.54:1 on white and 13.62:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fdc945 on white: 1.54:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fdc945 on black: 13.62:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #E1C831
deuteranopia · #EDD64B
tritanopia · #FFB7AF

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fdc945 is pinned to step 400; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FDFAF1
#FCF5E3
#FBEAC1
#FEDF90
#fdc945
#FDBE21
#F2AE03
#CA9102
#A17402
#745506
#493504
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FDFAF1Darkest = 950 · #493504
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFAF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF5E3;
  --brand-200: #FBEAC1;
  --brand-300: #FEDF90;
  --brand-400: #fdc945;
  --brand-500: #FDBE21;
  --brand-600: #F2AE03;
  --brand-700: #CA9102;
  --brand-800: #A17402;
  --brand-900: #745506;
  --brand-950: #493504;
  --brand: #fdc945;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fdc945

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#006CCC
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 #fdc945

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#4579FD
Analogous left#FD6D45
Analogous right#D5FD45
Split-complement 1#45D5FD
Split-complement 2#6D45FD
Triadic 1#45FDC9
Triadic 2#C945FD
Tetradic#45FD6D

RGB percentages

Red99.2%
Green78.8%
Blue27.1%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta20.6%
Yellow72.7%
Key (black)0.8%

Color previews

#fdc945 text on a black background

contrast 13.62:1

Card sample

#fdc945 text on a white background

contrast 1.54:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fdc945;
Background color
Panel with #fdc945 background
background-color: #fdc945;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fdc945;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(253, 201, 69, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(253, 201, 69, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fdc945;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fdc945, #B6FD45);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fdc945

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.

#fdc945 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.

#fdc945, answered

What color is #fdc945?

#fdc945 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 6.6). It sits at 43° on the hue wheel with 98% saturation and 63% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fdc945?

rgb(253, 201, 69) — 253 red, 201 green and 69 blue out of 255, or 99.2% / 78.8% / 27.1% by channel.

Is #fdc945 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6309 and perceived brightness is 82%, so black text on it reaches 13.62:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fdc945?

Black. It scores 13.62:1 against #fdc945, versus 1.54:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fdc945?

#4579FD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #45D5FD and #6D45FD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fdc945?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE0C0 for borders, #9B844B for secondary text, #006CCC as an accent and #7E5B01 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FD6D45 and #D5FD45 stays calm, while #4579FD is the loudest partner.

What is #fdc945 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 21%, 73%, 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 #fdc945 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 #FDAB45; nudged cooler, #EFFF43.

Work with #fdc945 in the Color Lab