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#fdcd5e

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

RGB
253, 205, 94
HSL
42°, 98%, 68%
CMYK
0, 19, 63, 1
Luminance
0.6535

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fdcd5e is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fdcd5e
Hue
42°
yellow
Saturation
98%
electric
Lightness
68%
light
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
83%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6535
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
10/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
14.07:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 7.9
Where it sits
Hue42° of 360°
Saturation98%
Lightness68%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool10% 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#fdcd5e
RGBrgb(253, 205, 94)
HSLhsl(42, 98%, 68%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 19%, 63%, 1%)
LABlab(84.7 5.2 60.2)
LCHlch(84.7 60.5 85.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.870 0.139 85.7)
Decimal16633182
Display P3color(display-p3 0.992 0.804 0.369)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fdcd5e;
background-color: #fdcd5e;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fdcd5e] bg-[#fdcd5e]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fdcd5e;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.992, green: 0.804, blue: 0.369)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fdcd5e")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFDCD5E)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(94, 205, 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 #fdcd5e · 14.07:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.49:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.07:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fdcd5e as text scores 1.49:1 on white and 14.07:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fdcd5e on white: 1.49:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fdcd5e on black: 14.07:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #E3CC52
deuteranopia · #EFD962
tritanopia · #FFBDB5

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fdcd5e 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
#FCF5E4
#FBE9C1
#FEDD90
#fdcd5e
#FCBA21
#F2AA03
#C98D03
#A17102
#745306
#493404
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FDFAF1Darkest = 950 · #493404
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFAF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF5E4;
  --brand-200: #FBE9C1;
  --brand-300: #FEDD90;
  --brand-400: #fdcd5e;
  --brand-500: #FCBA21;
  --brand-600: #F2AA03;
  --brand-700: #C98D03;
  --brand-800: #A17102;
  --brand-900: #745306;
  --brand-950: #493404;
  --brand: #fdcd5e;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fdcd5e

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#9B834B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0071CC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7E5802
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 #fdcd5e

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
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • 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
  • White text placed on it
  • 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#5E8EFD
Analogous left#FD7D5E
Analogous right#DDFD5E
Split-complement 1#5EDDFD
Split-complement 2#7D5EFD
Triadic 1#5EFDCD
Triadic 2#CD5EFD
Tetradic#5EFD7D

RGB percentages

Red99.2%
Green80.4%
Blue36.9%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta19.0%
Yellow62.8%
Key (black)0.8%

Color previews

#fdcd5e text on a black background

contrast 14.07:1

Card sample

#fdcd5e text on a white background

contrast 1.49:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fdcd5e;
Background color
Panel with #fdcd5e background
background-color: #fdcd5e;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fdcd5e;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(253, 205, 94, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(253, 205, 94, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fdcd5e;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fdcd5e, #C3FD5E);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fdcd5e

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.

#fdcd5e 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
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

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

#fdcd5e, answered

What color is #fdcd5e?

#fdcd5e is a light electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 7.9). It sits at 42° on the hue wheel with 98% saturation and 68% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fdcd5e?

rgb(253, 205, 94) — 253 red, 205 green and 94 blue out of 255, or 99.2% / 80.4% / 36.9% by channel.

Is #fdcd5e a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6535 and perceived brightness is 83%, so black text on it reaches 14.07:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fdcd5e?

Black. It scores 14.07:1 against #fdcd5e, versus 1.49:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fdcd5e?

#5E8EFD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #5EDDFD and #7D5EFD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fdcd5e?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDDFC0 for borders, #9B834B for secondary text, #0071CC as an accent and #7E5802 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FD7D5E and #DDFD5E stays calm, while #5E8EFD is the loudest partner.

What is #fdcd5e in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 19%, 63%, 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 #fdcd5e warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 10 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FDB35E; nudged cooler, #F4FF5C.

Work with #fdcd5e in the Color Lab