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#fdf823

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

RGB
253, 248, 35
HSL
59°, 98%, 57%
CMYK
0, 2, 86, 1
Luminance
0.8814

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fdf823 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fdf823
Hue
59°
yellow
Saturation
98%
electric
Lightness
57%
balanced
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
92%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.8814
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
24/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
18.63:1
Closest name
Yellow
ΔE2000 1.8
Where it sits
Hue59° of 360°
Saturation98%
Lightness57%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool24% 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#fdf823
RGBrgb(253, 248, 35)
HSLhsl(59, 98%, 57%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 2%, 86%, 1%)
LABlab(95.2 -18.6 89.2)
LCHlch(95.2 91.1 101.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.952 0.200 108.1)
Decimal16644131
Display P3color(display-p3 0.992 0.973 0.137)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fdf823;
background-color: #fdf823;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fdf823] bg-[#fdf823]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fdf823;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.992, green: 0.973, blue: 0.137)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fdf823")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFDF823)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(35, 248, 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 #fdf823 · 18.63:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.13:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 18.63:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fdf823 as text scores 1.13:1 on white and 18.63:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fdf823 on white: 1.13:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fdf823 on black: 18.63:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #FFEE00
deuteranopia · #FFF43C
tritanopia · #FFE7D4

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fdf823 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.

#FDFDF1
#FCFBE3
#FBFAC1
#FEFB90
#FDFA58
#fdf823
#F3ED02
#CAC502
#A29E01
#747206
#494704
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FDFDF1Darkest = 950 · #494704
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFDF1;
  --brand-100: #FCFBE3;
  --brand-200: #FBFAC1;
  --brand-300: #FEFB90;
  --brand-400: #FDFA58;
  --brand-500: #fdf823;
  --brand-600: #F3ED02;
  --brand-700: #CAC502;
  --brand-800: #A29E01;
  --brand-900: #747206;
  --brand-950: #494704;
  --brand: #fdf823;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fdf823

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#EDECC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B994B
Captions on the surface
Accent#215EFF
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7E7B01
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFFEE6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242414
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 #fdf823

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#2328FD
Analogous left#FD8B23
Analogous right#95FD23
Split-complement 1#2395FD
Split-complement 2#8B23FD
Triadic 1#23FDF8
Triadic 2#F823FD
Tetradic#23FD8B

RGB percentages

Red99.2%
Green97.3%
Blue13.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta2.0%
Yellow86.2%
Key (black)0.8%

Color previews

#fdf823 text on a black background

contrast 18.63:1

Card sample

#fdf823 text on a white background

contrast 1.13:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fdf823;
Background color
Panel with #fdf823 background
background-color: #fdf823;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fdf823;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(253, 248, 35, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(253, 248, 35, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fdf823;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fdf823, #71FD23);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fdf823

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.

#fdf823 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.

#fdf823, answered

What color is #fdf823?

#fdf823 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Yellow (ΔE2000 1.8). It sits at 59° on the hue wheel with 98% saturation and 57% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fdf823?

rgb(253, 248, 35) — 253 red, 248 green and 35 blue out of 255, or 99.2% / 97.3% / 13.7% by channel.

Is #fdf823 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.8814 and perceived brightness is 92%, so black text on it reaches 18.63:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fdf823?

Black. It scores 18.63:1 against #fdf823, versus 1.13:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fdf823?

#2328FD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #2395FD and #8B23FD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fdf823?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDECC0 for borders, #9B994B for secondary text, #215EFF as an accent and #7E7B01 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FD8B23 and #95FD23 stays calm, while #2328FD is the loudest partner.

What is #fdf823 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 2%, 86%, 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 #fdf823 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 24 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FDBA23; nudged cooler, #B3FF21.

Work with #fdf823 in the Color Lab