Skip to content

#fec44d

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

RGB
254, 196, 77
HSL
40°, 99%, 65%
CMYK
0, 23, 70, 0
Luminance
0.6109

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fec44d is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fec44d
Hue
40°
yellow
Saturation
99%
electric
Lightness
65%
balanced
Brightness
100%
HSV value
Perceived
81%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6109
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
9/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
13.22:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 8.4
Where it sits
Hue40° of 360°
Saturation99%
Lightness65%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool9% 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#fec44d
RGBrgb(254, 196, 77)
HSLhsl(40, 99%, 65%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 23%, 70%, 0%)
LABlab(82.4 9.3 65.2)
LCHlch(82.4 65.8 81.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.852 0.147 82.1)
Decimal16696397
Display P3color(display-p3 0.996 0.769 0.302)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fec44d;
background-color: #fec44d;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fec44d] bg-[#fec44d]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fec44d;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.996, green: 0.769, blue: 0.302)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fec44d")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFEC44D)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(77, 196, 254)

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 #fec44d · 13.22:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.59:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.22:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fec44d as text scores 1.59:1 on white and 13.22:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fec44d on white: 1.59:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fec44d on black: 13.22:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #DCC43E
deuteranopia · #EAD352
tritanopia · #FFB2AB

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fec44d 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
#fec44d
#FEB520
#F3A401
#CB8901
#A26D01
#755006
#493203
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FEF9F1Darkest = 950 · #493203
:root {
  --brand-50: #FEF9F1;
  --brand-100: #FCF4E3;
  --brand-200: #FBE8C0;
  --brand-300: #FEDA8F;
  --brand-400: #fec44d;
  --brand-500: #FEB520;
  --brand-600: #F3A401;
  --brand-700: #CB8901;
  --brand-800: #A26D01;
  --brand-900: #755006;
  --brand-950: #493203;
  --brand: #fec44d;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fec44d

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#9B814B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0077CC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7F5501
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 #fec44d

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#4D87FE
Analogous left#FE6B4D
Analogous right#E0FE4D
Split-complement 1#4DE0FE
Split-complement 2#6B4DFE
Triadic 1#4DFEC4
Triadic 2#C44DFE
Tetradic#4DFE6B

RGB percentages

Red99.6%
Green76.9%
Blue30.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta22.8%
Yellow69.7%
Key (black)0.4%

Color previews

#fec44d text on a black background

contrast 13.22:1

Card sample

#fec44d text on a white background

contrast 1.59:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fec44d;
Background color
Panel with #fec44d background
background-color: #fec44d;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fec44d;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(254, 196, 77, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(254, 196, 77, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fec44d;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fec44d, #C2FE4D);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fec44d

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.

#fec44d 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.

#fec44d, answered

What color is #fec44d?

#fec44d is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 8.4). It sits at 40° on the hue wheel with 99% saturation and 65% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fec44d?

rgb(254, 196, 77) — 254 red, 196 green and 77 blue out of 255, or 99.6% / 76.9% / 30.2% by channel.

Is #fec44d a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6109 and perceived brightness is 81%, so black text on it reaches 13.22:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fec44d?

Black. It scores 13.22:1 against #fec44d, versus 1.59:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fec44d?

#4D87FE sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #4DE0FE and #6B4DFE, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fec44d?

For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #EDDEC0 for borders, #9B814B for secondary text, #0077CC as an accent and #7F5501 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FE6B4D and #E0FE4D stays calm, while #4D87FE is the loudest partner.

What is #fec44d in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 23%, 70%, 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 #fec44d warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 9 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FEAB4D; nudged cooler, #F8FF4C.

Work with #fec44d in the Color Lab