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#fdfe21

a balanced, electric yellow · warm · “Yellow”

RGB
253, 254, 33
HSL
60°, 99%, 56%
CMYK
0, 0, 87, 0
Luminance
0.9188

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fdfe21 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fdfe21
Hue
60°
yellow
Saturation
99%
electric
Lightness
56%
balanced
Brightness
100%
HSV value
Perceived
94%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.9188
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
25/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
19.38:1
Closest name
Yellow
ΔE2000 0.8
Where it sits
Hue60° of 360°
Saturation99%
Lightness56%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool25% 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#fdfe21
RGBrgb(253, 254, 33)
HSLhsl(60, 99%, 56%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 0%, 87%, 0%)
LABlab(96.8 -21.5 90.8)
LCHlch(96.8 93.3 103.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.965 0.206 110.0)
Decimal16645665
Display P3color(display-p3 0.992 0.996 0.129)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fdfe21;
background-color: #fdfe21;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fdfe21] bg-[#fdfe21]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fdfe21;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.992, green: 0.996, blue: 0.129)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fdfe21")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFDFE21)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(33, 254, 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 #fdfe21 · 19.38:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.08:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 19.38:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fdfe21 as text scores 1.08:1 on white and 19.38:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fdfe21 on white: 1.08:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fdfe21 on black: 19.38:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #FFF300
deuteranopia · #FFF83C
tritanopia · #FFEDD9

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fdfe21 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.

#FDFEF1
#FCFCE3
#FBFBC0
#FEFE8F
#FDFE57
#fdfe21
#F2F401
#CACB01
#A2A201
#747505
#494903
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FDFEF1Darkest = 950 · #494903
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFEF1;
  --brand-100: #FCFCE3;
  --brand-200: #FBFBC0;
  --brand-300: #FEFE8F;
  --brand-400: #FDFE57;
  --brand-500: #fdfe21;
  --brand-600: #F2F401;
  --brand-700: #CACB01;
  --brand-800: #A2A201;
  --brand-900: #747505;
  --brand-950: #494903;
  --brand: #fdfe21;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fdfe21

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#ECEDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B9B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#2057FF
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7E7F01
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFFFE6
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 #fdfe21

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#2221FE
Analogous left#FE9121
Analogous right#8EFE21
Split-complement 1#218EFE
Split-complement 2#9121FE
Triadic 1#21FDFE
Triadic 2#FE21FD
Tetradic#21FE91

RGB percentages

Red99.2%
Green99.6%
Blue12.9%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.4%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow87.0%
Key (black)0.4%

Color previews

#fdfe21 text on a black background

contrast 19.38:1

Card sample

#fdfe21 text on a white background

contrast 1.08:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fdfe21;
Background color
Panel with #fdfe21 background
background-color: #fdfe21;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fdfe21;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(253, 254, 33, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(253, 254, 33, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fdfe21;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fdfe21, #6AFE21);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fdfe21

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.

#fdfe21 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.

#fdfe21, answered

What color is #fdfe21?

#fdfe21 is a balanced electric yellow — the CSS keyword Yellow. It sits at 60° on the hue wheel with 99% saturation and 56% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fdfe21?

rgb(253, 254, 33) — 253 red, 254 green and 33 blue out of 255, or 99.2% / 99.6% / 12.9% by channel.

Is #fdfe21 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.9188 and perceived brightness is 94%, so black text on it reaches 19.38:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fdfe21?

Black. It scores 19.38:1 against #fdfe21, versus 1.08:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fdfe21?

#2221FE sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #218EFE and #9121FE, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fdfe21?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #ECEDC0 for borders, #9B9B4B for secondary text, #2057FF as an accent and #7E7F01 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FE9121 and #8EFE21 stays calm, while #2221FE is the loudest partner.

What is #fdfe21 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 0%, 87%, 0%). 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 #fdfe21 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 25 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FEBD21; nudged cooler, #ACFF20.

Work with #fdfe21 in the Color Lab