Skip to content
yellow · warm

#fef09b

a light, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Khaki

Token name suggestion: Meadow Citron

RGB
254, 240, 155
HSL
52°, 98%, 80%
CMYK
0, 6, 39, 0
Luminance
0.8576

#fef09b is a light electric yellow, 52° on the wheel and 18/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (18.15:1). As text it scores 1.16:1 on white — use #897601 instead. Nearest name is Khaki, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(52 98% 80%)rgb(254 240 155)Base step 300AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fef09b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fef09b
Hue
52°
yellow
Saturation
98%
electric
Lightness
80%
light
Brightness
100%
HSV value
Perceived
93%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.8576
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
18/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
18.15:1
Closest name
Khaki
ΔE2000 2.7
Chroma
43.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.948
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 18
Web-safe
#FFFF99
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue52° of 360°
Saturation98%
Lightness80%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #fef09b.

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.

Luminance by channel
Red25%
Green73%
Blue3%

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

Every format

HEX#fef09b
HEX (8-digit)#fef09bff
RGBrgb(254, 240, 155)
RGBArgba(254, 240, 155, 1)
HSLhsl(52, 98%, 80%)
HSV / HSBhsv(52, 39%, 100%)
HWBhwb(52 61% 0%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 6%, 39%, 0%)
LABlab(94.2 -7.0 42.8)
LCHlch(94.2 43.3 99.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.948 0.106 100.1)
XYZ (D65)xyz(77.95, 85.76, 43.45)
Decimal16707739
Display P3color(display-p3 0.996 0.941 0.608)
Web-safe#FFFF99

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #fef09b;
background-color: #fef09b;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #fef09b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fef09b] bg-[#fef09b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fef09b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.996, green: 0.941, blue: 0.608)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.996, green: 0.941, blue: 0.608, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#FEF09B</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFFEF09B)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFEF09B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(155, 240, 254)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(254, 240, 155)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(254, 240, 155)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 254, 240, 155)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.9961f, 0.9412f, 0.6078f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{254,240,155}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #fef09b 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #fef09b 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#7E6D01, #EEEAD3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #fef09b 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: #FDFCF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF8E3;
  --brand-200: #FBF3C1;
  --brand-300: #fef09b;
  --brand-400: #FDE658;
  --brand-500: #FDDE21;
  --brand-600: #F2D002;
  --brand-700: #CAAE02;
  --brand-800: #A28B02;
  --brand-900: #746506;
  --brand-950: #493F04;
  --brand: #fef09b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAFAF4;
  --brand-border: #EDE6C0;
  --brand-hover: #FEEB78;
  --brand-pressed: #FDE554;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242214;
    --brand-ink: #EEEAD3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FDFCF1',
        100: '#FCF8E3',
        200: '#FBF3C1',
        300: '#fef09b',
        400: '#FDE658',
        500: '#FDDE21',
        600: '#F2D002',
        700: '#CAAE02',
        800: '#A28B02',
        900: '#746506',
        950: '#493F04',
        DEFAULT: '#fef09b',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FDFCF1,
  '100': #FCF8E3,
  '200': #FBF3C1,
  '300': #fef09b,
  '400': #FDE658,
  '500': #FDDE21,
  '600': #F2D002,
  '700': #CAAE02,
  '800': #A28B02,
  '900': #746506,
  '950': #493F04,
);
$brand-base: #fef09b;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FDFCF1", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#FCF8E3", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#FBF3C1", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#fef09b", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#FDE658", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#FDDE21", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#F2D002", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#CAAE02", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#A28B02", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#746506", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#493F04", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #fef09b · 18.15:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.16:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 18.15:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fef09b as text scores 1.16:1 on white and 18.15:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #7E6D01 at 4.45:1.

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
#897601 · 4.51:1
AA on white−53% L
#897601
The quick fox
#665801 · 7.09:1
AAA on white−60% L
#665801
The quick fox
#fef09b · 18.15:1
AA on blackalready passes
#fef09b
The quick fox
#fef09b · 18.15:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#fef09b

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #A89002 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
#fef09b on white: 1.16:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fef09b on black: 18.15:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #fef09b as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #fef09b.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.16:1AaAa
Slate 501.11:1AaAa
Slate 1001.06:1AaAa
Slate 2001.07:1AaAa
Slate 3001.28:1AaAa
Slate 4002.22:1AaAa
Slate 5004.11:1AaAa
Slate 6006.55:1AaAa
Slate 7008.95:1AaAa
Slate 80012.64:1AaAa
Slate 90015.43:1AaAa
Black18.15:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #FFEB95
deuteranopia · #FFF19E
tritanopia · #FFE5DB

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. #fef09b is pinned to step 300; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FDFCF1
#FCF8E3
#FBF3C1
#fef09b
#FDE658
#FDDE21
#F2D002
#CAAE02
#A28B02
#746506
#493F04
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FDFCF1Darkest = 950 · #493F04Text 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 0.027 100.1);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.043 100.1);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.064 100.1);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.083 100.1);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.098 100.1);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.106 100.1);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.106 100.1);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.100 100.1);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.089 100.1);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.074 100.1);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.059 100.1);
}

Colors that work with #fef09b

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#EDE6C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B904B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0051CC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7E6D01
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFFBE6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242214
Dark-mode background
Hover#FEEB78
One step down in lightness
Pressed#FDE554
Two steps down
Disabled#F7F6F3
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#FFF4AE
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 #fef09b

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
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • 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
  • White text placed on it
  • 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 #7E6D01
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #A89002

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 lightness keeps it airy and approachable.

Worth knowing

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

Reads as
  • FormalityLow
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight20/100
  • 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#9BA9FE
Analogous left#FEBE9B
Analogous right#DBFE9B
Split-complement 1#9BDBFE
Split-complement 2#BE9BFE
Triadic 1#9BFEF0
Triadic 2#F09BFE
Tetradic#9BFEBE
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°52°

#fef09b sits at 52°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red99.6%
Green94.1%
Blue60.8%
R · 0–255
254
0xfe
G · 0–255
240
0xf0
B · 0–255
155
0x9b

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta5.5%
Yellow39.0%
Key (black)0.4%

Total ink coverage is 45%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#fef09b text on a black background

contrast 18.15:1

Card sample

#fef09b text on a white background

contrast 1.16:1

Card sample

#fef09b on grey

1.06:1

#fef09b on its own surface

1.10:1

#fef09b on its dark surface

13.81:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fef09b;
Background color
Panel with #fef09b background
background-color: #fef09b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fef09b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(254, 240, 155, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(254, 240, 155, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fef09b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fef09b, #CAFE9B);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #fef09b, #B1FE9B);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #fef09b;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #fef09b;
caret-color: #fef09b;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #fef09b;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FFFBE6;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #fef09b;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#fef09b 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #fef09b 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, 240, 155, 0.5)
rgb(254 240 155 / 50%)
#fef09b80
hsl(52 98% 80% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #fef09b 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#fef09b1a#FFFEF5
20%#fef09b33#FFFCEB
40%#fef09b66#FFF9D7
60%#fef09b99#FEF6C3
80%#fef09bcc#FEF3AF

Gradients from #fef09b

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, #FFF9D8, #fef09b 45%, #7E6D01);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #fef09b, #AFFE7D);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #fef09b, #9BA9FE);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #FFFDF0 0%, #fef09b 45%, #7E6D01 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAFAF4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #FFDBCE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #E0FEB9 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #7E6D01 0%, transparent 65%), #fef09b;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fef09b

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.

#fef09b 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
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

On screens

Very light values are indistinguishable from white on a dim phone screen outdoors. Give it a border if the boundary matters.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 18.15:1.

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.

#fef09b, answered

What color is #fef09b?

#fef09b is a light electric yellow, closest to Khaki (ΔE2000 2.7). It sits at 52° on the hue wheel with 98% saturation and 80% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fef09b?

rgb(254, 240, 155) — 254 red, 240 green and 155 blue out of 255, or 99.6% / 94.1% / 60.8% by channel.

What is #fef09b in HSL and HSV?

hsl(52, 98%, 80%) and hsv(52, 39%, 100%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #fef09b a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.8576 and perceived brightness is 93%, so black text on it reaches 18.15:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fef09b?

Black. It scores 18.15:1 against #fef09b, versus 1.16:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #fef09b accessible on a white background?

#fef09b on white scores 1.16:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #897601 to reach 4.5:1, or #665801 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #fef09b?

#9BA9FE sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9BDBFE and #BE9BFE, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fef09b?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDE6C0 for borders, #9B904B for secondary text, #0051CC as an accent and #7E6D01 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FEBE9B and #DBFE9B stays calm, while #9BA9FE is the loudest partner.

What is #fef09b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 6%, 39%, 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 #fef09b 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 #FED29B; nudged cooler, #E8FF9A.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #fef09b?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 18 away. That is a visible difference, so define #fef09b as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #fef09b in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#fef09b] or text-[#fef09b], 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 #fef09b with 50% opacity?

rgba(254, 240, 155, 0.5), or #fef09b80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #FFF8CD; over black, #7F784E.

Is #fef09b a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #FFFF99, ΔE2000 5 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #fef09b 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 #fef09b?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #FFF9D8, #fef09b 45%, #7E6D01). For more colour, a short hue run to #AFFE7D keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #fef09b in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #fef09b at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.