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#fddc00

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

RGB
253, 220, 0
HSL
52°, 100%, 50%
CMYK
0, 13, 100, 1
Luminance
0.7207

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fddc00 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fddc00
Hue
52°
yellow
Saturation
100%
electric
Lightness
50%
balanced
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
86%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7207
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
18/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
15.41:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 2
Where it sits
Hue52° of 360°
Saturation100%
Lightness50%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool18% 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#fddc00
RGBrgb(253, 220, 0)
HSLhsl(52, 100%, 50%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 13%, 100%, 1%)
LABlab(88.0 -5.3 87.8)
LCHlch(88.0 88.0 93.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.895 0.185 98.2)
Decimal16636928
Display P3color(display-p3 0.992 0.863 0.000)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fddc00;
background-color: #fddc00;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fddc00] bg-[#fddc00]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fddc00;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.992, green: 0.863, blue: 0.000)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fddc00")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFDDC00)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(0, 220, 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 #fddc00 · 15.41:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.36:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 15.41:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fddc00 as text scores 1.36:1 on white and 15.41:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fddc00 on white: 1.36:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fddc00 on black: 15.41:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #F4D600
deuteranopia · #FCE126
tritanopia · #FFCABB

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fddc00 is pinned to step 600; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FEFCF1
#FCF9E3
#FCF4C0
#FFF08F
#FFE957
#FFE21F
#fddc00
#CCB100
#A38E00
#766705
#494003
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FEFCF1Darkest = 950 · #494003
:root {
  --brand-50: #FEFCF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF9E3;
  --brand-200: #FCF4C0;
  --brand-300: #FFF08F;
  --brand-400: #FFE957;
  --brand-500: #FFE21F;
  --brand-600: #fddc00;
  --brand-700: #CCB100;
  --brand-800: #A38E00;
  --brand-900: #766705;
  --brand-950: #494003;
  --brand: #fddc00;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fddc00

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#FAFAF4
Tinted page background
Border#EDE7C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B904B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0060FD
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#806F00
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFFCE5
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242214
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 #fddc00

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#0021FD
Analogous left#FD5E00
Analogous right#9FFD00
Split-complement 1#009FFD
Split-complement 2#5E00FD
Triadic 1#00FDDC
Triadic 2#DC00FD
Tetradic#00FD5E

RGB percentages

Red99.2%
Green86.3%
Blue0.0%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta13.0%
Yellow100.0%
Key (black)0.8%

Color previews

#fddc00 text on a black background

contrast 15.41:1

Card sample

#fddc00 text on a white background

contrast 1.36:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fddc00;
Background color
Panel with #fddc00 background
background-color: #fddc00;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fddc00;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(253, 220, 0, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(253, 220, 0, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fddc00;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fddc00, #75FD00);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fddc00

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.

#fddc00 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.

#fddc00, answered

What color is #fddc00?

#fddc00 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 2). It sits at 52° on the hue wheel with 100% saturation and 50% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fddc00?

rgb(253, 220, 0) — 253 red, 220 green and 0 blue out of 255, or 99.2% / 86.3% / 0% by channel.

Is #fddc00 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7207 and perceived brightness is 86%, so black text on it reaches 15.41:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fddc00?

Black. It scores 15.41:1 against #fddc00, versus 1.36:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fddc00?

#0021FD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #009FFD and #5E00FD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fddc00?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDE7C0 for borders, #9B904B for secondary text, #0060FD as an accent and #806F00 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FD5E00 and #9FFD00 stays calm, while #0021FD is the loudest partner.

What is #fddc00 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 13%, 100%, 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 #fddc00 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 18 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FDA600; nudged cooler, #C1FD00.

Work with #fddc00 in the Color Lab