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yellow · warm

#fec042

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

Token name suggestion: Signal Citron

RGB
254, 192, 66
HSL
40°, 99%, 63%
CMYK
0, 24, 74, 0
Luminance
0.5916

#fec042 is a balanced electric yellow, 40° on the wheel and 8/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (12.83:1). As text it scores 1.64:1 on white — use #A16C01 instead. Nearest name is Goldenrod, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(40 99% 63%)rgb(254 192 66)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fec042 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fec042
Hue
40°
yellow
Saturation
99%
electric
Lightness
63%
balanced
Brightness
100%
HSV value
Perceived
80%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5916
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
8/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
12.83:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 7.8
Chroma
69.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.844
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 5
Web-safe
#FFCC33
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue40° of 360°
Saturation99%
Lightness63%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #fec042.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool8% cool

Reads warm. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Luminance by channel
Red36%
Green64%
Blue1%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#fec042
HEX (8-digit)#fec042ff
RGBrgb(254, 192, 66)
RGBArgba(254, 192, 66, 1)
HSLhsl(40, 99%, 63%)
HSV / HSBhsv(40, 74%, 100%)
HWBhwb(40 26% 0%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 24%, 74%, 0%)
LABlab(81.4 10.8 68.5)
LCHlch(81.4 69.3 81.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.844 0.153 81.1)
XYZ (D65)xyz(60.71, 59.17, 13.38)
Decimal16695362
Display P3color(display-p3 0.996 0.753 0.259)
Web-safe#FFCC33

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #fec042;
background-color: #fec042;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #fec042;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fec042] bg-[#fec042]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fec042;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.996, green: 0.753, blue: 0.259)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.996, green: 0.753, blue: 0.259, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#FEC042</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFFEC042)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFEC042)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(66, 192, 254)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(254, 192, 66)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(254, 192, 66)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 254, 192, 66)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.9961f, 0.7529f, 0.2588f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{254,192,66}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #fec042 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #fec042 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#7F5501, #EEE5D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #fec042 h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #FEF9F1;
  --brand-100: #FCF4E3;
  --brand-200: #FBE8C0;
  --brand-300: #FEDA8F;
  --brand-400: #fec042;
  --brand-500: #FEB520;
  --brand-600: #F3A401;
  --brand-700: #CB8801;
  --brand-800: #A26D01;
  --brand-900: #755006;
  --brand-950: #493203;
  --brand: #fec042;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF8F4;
  --brand-border: #EDDEC0;
  --brand-hover: #FEB41E;
  --brand-pressed: #F7A601;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241F14;
    --brand-ink: #EEE5D3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FEF9F1',
        100: '#FCF4E3',
        200: '#FBE8C0',
        300: '#FEDA8F',
        400: '#fec042',
        500: '#FEB520',
        600: '#F3A401',
        700: '#CB8801',
        800: '#A26D01',
        900: '#755006',
        950: '#493203',
        DEFAULT: '#fec042',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FEF9F1,
  '100': #FCF4E3,
  '200': #FBE8C0,
  '300': #FEDA8F,
  '400': #fec042,
  '500': #FEB520,
  '600': #F3A401,
  '700': #CB8801,
  '800': #A26D01,
  '900': #755006,
  '950': #493203,
);
$brand-base: #fec042;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FEF9F1", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#FCF4E3", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#FBE8C0", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#FEDA8F", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#fec042", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#FEB520", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#F3A401", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#CB8801", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#A26D01", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#755006", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#493203", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

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 #fec042 · 12.83:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.64:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.83:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fec042 as text scores 1.64:1 on white and 12.83:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #7F5501 at 4.01:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#A16C01 · 4.51:1
AA on white−31% L
#A16C01
The quick fox
#785101 · 7.06:1
AAA on white−39% L
#785101
The quick fox
#fec042 · 12.83:1
AA on blackalready passes
#fec042
The quick fox
#fec042 · 12.83:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#fec042

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #C98701 is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fec042 on white: 1.64:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fec042 on black: 12.83:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #fec042 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #fec042.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.64:1AaAa
Slate 501.56:1AaAa
Slate 1001.49:1AaAa
Slate 2001.33:1AaAa
Slate 3001.10:1AaAa
Slate 4001.57:1AaAa
Slate 5002.91:1AaAa
Slate 6004.63:1AaAa
Slate 7006.33:1AaAa
Slate 8008.94:1AaAa
Slate 90010.91:1AaAa
Black12.83:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #D9C12F
deuteranopia · #E8D147
tritanopia · #FFAEA7

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fec042 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.

#FEF9F1
#FCF4E3
#FBE8C0
#FEDA8F
#fec042
#FEB520
#F3A401
#CB8801
#A26D01
#755006
#493203
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FEF9F1Darkest = 950 · #493203Text step on white = 900
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.038 81.1);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.061 81.1);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.092 81.1);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.119 81.1);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.140 81.1);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.153 81.1);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.153 81.1);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.144 81.1);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.128 81.1);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.107 81.1);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.084 81.1);
}

Colors that work with #fec042

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#FAF8F4
Tinted page background
Border#EDDEC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B804B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0076CC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7F5501
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFF7E6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241F14
Dark-mode background
Hover#FEB41E
One step down in lightness
Pressed#F7A601
Two steps down
Disabled#E1DBCF
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#FFC755
Offset from the fill so it reads
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

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #fec042

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
  • Chart series and data categories
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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #7F5501
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #C98701

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

optimisticalertcheap-and-cheerfulvisible

The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. The mid lightness keeps it versatile in both themes.

Worth knowing

Almost never passes contrast against white. Treat it as a surface or a marker, not as text.

Reads as
  • FormalityLow
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight37/100
  • TemperatureWarm
  • ApproachabilityHigh

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

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#4280FE
Analogous left#FE6242
Analogous right#DEFE42
Split-complement 1#42DEFE
Split-complement 2#6242FE
Triadic 1#42FEC0
Triadic 2#C042FE
Tetradic#42FE62
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°40°

#fec042 sits at 40°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red99.6%
Green75.3%
Blue25.9%
R · 0–255
254
0xfe
G · 0–255
192
0xc0
B · 0–255
66
0x42

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta24.4%
Yellow74.0%
Key (black)0.4%

Total ink coverage is 99%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#fec042 text on a black background

contrast 12.83:1

Card sample

#fec042 text on a white background

contrast 1.64:1

Card sample

#fec042 on grey

1.49:1

#fec042 on its own surface

1.54:1

#fec042 on its dark surface

10.02:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fec042;
Background color
Panel with #fec042 background
background-color: #fec042;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fec042;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(254, 192, 66, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(254, 192, 66, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fec042;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fec042, #BFFE42);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #fec042, #90FE42);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #fec042;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #fec042;
caret-color: #fec042;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #fec042;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FFF7E6;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #fec042;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#fec042 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #fec042 over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(254, 192, 66, 0.5)
rgb(254 192 66 / 50%)
#fec04280
hsl(40 99% 63% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #fec042 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#fec0421a#FFF9EC
20%#fec04233#FFF2D9
40%#fec04266#FFE6B3
60%#fec04299#FED98E
80%#fec042cc#FECD68

Gradients from #fec042

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #FED47F, #fec042 45%, #7F5501);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #fec042, #A2FE23);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #fec042, #4280FE);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #FEDE9D 0%, #fec042 45%, #7F5501 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF8F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #FE8075 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D6FE60 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #7F5501 0%, transparent 65%), #fec042;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fec042

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

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.

#fec042 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.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 12.83:1.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#fec042, answered

What color is #fec042?

#fec042 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 7.8). It sits at 40° on the hue wheel with 99% saturation and 63% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fec042?

rgb(254, 192, 66) — 254 red, 192 green and 66 blue out of 255, or 99.6% / 75.3% / 25.9% by channel.

What is #fec042 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(40, 99%, 63%) and hsv(40, 74%, 100%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #fec042 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5916 and perceived brightness is 80%, so black text on it reaches 12.83:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fec042?

Black. It scores 12.83:1 against #fec042, versus 1.64:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #fec042 accessible on a white background?

#fec042 on white scores 1.64:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #A16C01 to reach 4.5:1, or #785101 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #fec042?

#4280FE sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #42DEFE and #6242FE, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fec042?

For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #EDDEC0 for borders, #9B804B for secondary text, #0076CC as an accent and #7F5501 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FE6242 and #DEFE42 stays calm, while #4280FE is the loudest partner.

What is #fec042 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 24%, 74%, 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 #fec042 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 8 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FEA642; nudged cooler, #F8FF41.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #fec042?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 5 away. That is a visible difference, so define #fec042 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #fec042 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#fec042] or text-[#fec042], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #fec042 with 50% opacity?

rgba(254, 192, 66, 0.5), or #fec04280 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #FFE0A1; over black, #7F6021.

Is #fec042 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #FFCC33, ΔE2000 5.1 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #fec042 mean?

As a yellow, it reads optimistic, alert, cheap-and-cheerful. The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #fec042?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #FED47F, #fec042 45%, #7F5501). For more colour, a short hue run to #A2FE23 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #fec042 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #fec042 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.