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yellow · warm

#ffbf22

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

Token name suggestion: Signal Brass

RGB
255, 191, 34
HSL
43°, 100%, 57%
CMYK
0, 25, 87, 0
Luminance
0.5864

#ffbf22 is a balanced electric yellow, 43° on the wheel and 11/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (12.73:1). As text it scores 1.65:1 on white — use #976C00 instead. Nearest name is Goldenrod, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(43 100% 57%)rgb(255 191 34)Base step 500AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ffbf22 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ffbf22
Hue
43°
yellow
Saturation
100%
electric
Lightness
57%
balanced
Brightness
100%
HSV value
Perceived
79%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5864
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
11/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
12.73:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 7.8
Chroma
78.9
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.841
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 4.1
Web-safe
#FFCC33
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue43° of 360°
Saturation100%
Lightness57%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #ffbf22.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool11% 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%
Blue0%

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

Every format

HEX#ffbf22
HEX (8-digit)#ffbf22ff
RGBrgb(255, 191, 34)
RGBArgba(255, 191, 34, 1)
HSLhsl(43, 100%, 57%)
HSV / HSBhsv(43, 87%, 100%)
HWBhwb(43 13% 0%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 25%, 87%, 0%)
LABlab(81.1 10.8 78.2)
LCHlch(81.1 78.9 82.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.841 0.166 83.0)
XYZ (D65)xyz(60.16, 58.64, 9.66)
Decimal16760610
Display P3color(display-p3 1.000 0.749 0.133)
Web-safe#FFCC33

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #ffbf22;
background-color: #ffbf22;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #ffbf22;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ffbf22] bg-[#ffbf22]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ffbf22;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 1.000, green: 0.749, blue: 0.133)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 1.000, green: 0.749, blue: 0.133, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#FFBF22</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFFFBF22)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFFBF22)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(34, 191, 255)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(255, 191, 34)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(255, 191, 34)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 255, 191, 34)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(1.0000f, 0.7490f, 0.1333f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{255,191,34}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #ffbf22 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #ffbf22 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#805B00, #EEE6D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #ffbf22 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: #FEFAF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF5E3;
  --brand-200: #FCEAC0;
  --brand-300: #FFDE8F;
  --brand-400: #FFCE57;
  --brand-500: #ffbf22;
  --brand-600: #F5AE00;
  --brand-700: #CC9100;
  --brand-800: #A37400;
  --brand-900: #765505;
  --brand-950: #493503;
  --brand: #ffbf22;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF9F4;
  --brand-border: #EDE0C0;
  --brand-hover: #FDB400;
  --brand-pressed: #DA9B00;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242014;
    --brand-ink: #EEE6D3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FEFAF1',
        100: '#FCF5E3',
        200: '#FCEAC0',
        300: '#FFDE8F',
        400: '#FFCE57',
        500: '#ffbf22',
        600: '#F5AE00',
        700: '#CC9100',
        800: '#A37400',
        900: '#765505',
        950: '#493503',
        DEFAULT: '#ffbf22',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FEFAF1,
  '100': #FCF5E3,
  '200': #FCEAC0,
  '300': #FFDE8F,
  '400': #FFCE57,
  '500': #ffbf22,
  '600': #F5AE00,
  '700': #CC9100,
  '800': #A37400,
  '900': #765505,
  '950': #493503,
);
$brand-base: #ffbf22;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FEFAF1", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#FCF5E3", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#FCEAC0", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#FFDE8F", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#FFCE57", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#ffbf22", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#F5AE00", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#CC9100", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#A37400", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#765505", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#493503", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #ffbf22 · 12.73:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.65:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.73:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ffbf22 as text scores 1.65:1 on white and 12.73:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #805B00 at 3.73:1.

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
#976C00 · 4.71:1
AA on white−27% L
#976C00
The quick fox
#745200 · 7.12:1
AAA on white−34% L
#745200
The quick fox
#ffbf22 · 12.73:1
AA on blackalready passes
#ffbf22
The quick fox
#ffbf22 · 12.73:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#ffbf22

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #C08900 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
#ffbf22 on white: 1.65:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ffbf22 on black: 12.73:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #ffbf22 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #ffbf22.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.65:1AaAa
Slate 501.58:1AaAa
Slate 1001.51:1AaAa
Slate 2001.34:1AaAa
Slate 3001.11:1AaAa
Slate 4001.55:1AaAa
Slate 5002.88:1AaAa
Slate 6004.59:1AaAa
Slate 7006.28:1AaAa
Slate 8008.87:1AaAa
Slate 90010.82:1AaAa
Black12.73:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #D9C000
deuteranopia · #E9D02D
tritanopia · #FFABA4

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. #ffbf22 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.

#FEFAF1
#FCF5E3
#FCEAC0
#FFDE8F
#FFCE57
#ffbf22
#F5AE00
#CC9100
#A37400
#765505
#493503
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FEFAF1Darkest = 950 · #493503Text 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 0.042 83.0);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.067 83.0);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.100 83.0);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.130 83.0);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.153 83.0);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.166 83.0);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.166 83.0);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.156 83.0);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.140 83.0);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.116 83.0);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.092 83.0);
}

Colors that work with #ffbf22

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#FAF9F4
Tinted page background
Border#EDE0C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B844B
Captions on the surface
Accent#006ECC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#805B00
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFF8E5
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242014
Dark-mode background
Hover#FDB400
One step down in lightness
Pressed#DA9B00
Two steps down
Disabled#D5CEBD
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#FFC537
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 #ffbf22

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 #805B00
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #C08900

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
  • Weight43/100
  • 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#2262FF
Analogous left#FF5122
Analogous right#D1FF22
Split-complement 1#22D1FF
Split-complement 2#5122FF
Triadic 1#22FFBF
Triadic 2#BF22FF
Tetradic#22FF51
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°43°

#ffbf22 sits at 43°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red100.0%
Green74.9%
Blue13.3%
R · 0–255
255
0xff
G · 0–255
191
0xbf
B · 0–255
34
0x22

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta25.1%
Yellow86.7%
Key (black)0.0%

Total ink coverage is 112%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#ffbf22 text on a black background

contrast 12.73:1

Card sample

#ffbf22 text on a white background

contrast 1.65:1

Card sample

#ffbf22 on grey

1.51:1

#ffbf22 on its own surface

1.57:1

#ffbf22 on its dark surface

9.85:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ffbf22;
Background color
Panel with #ffbf22 background
background-color: #ffbf22;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ffbf22;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(255, 191, 34, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(255, 191, 34, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ffbf22;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ffbf22, #ACFF22);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ffbf22, #75FF22);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #ffbf22;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #ffbf22;
caret-color: #ffbf22;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #ffbf22;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FFF8E5;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #ffbf22;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#ffbf22 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #ffbf22 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(255, 191, 34, 0.5)
rgb(255 191 34 / 50%)
#ffbf2280
hsl(43 100% 57% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #ffbf22 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#ffbf221a#FFF9E9
20%#ffbf2233#FFF2D3
40%#ffbf2266#FFE5A7
60%#ffbf2299#FFD97A
80%#ffbf22cc#FFCC4E

Gradients from #ffbf22

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, #FFD15F, #ffbf22 45%, #805B00);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #ffbf22, #8BFF04);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ffbf22, #2262FF);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #FFDA7E 0%, #ffbf22 45%, #805B00 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF9F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #FF6B55 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #C7FF41 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #805B00 0%, transparent 65%), #ffbf22;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ffbf22

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.

#ffbf22 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 12.73:1.

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.

#ffbf22, answered

What color is #ffbf22?

#ffbf22 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 7.8). It sits at 43° on the hue wheel with 100% saturation and 57% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ffbf22?

rgb(255, 191, 34) — 255 red, 191 green and 34 blue out of 255, or 100% / 74.9% / 13.3% by channel.

What is #ffbf22 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(43, 100%, 57%) and hsv(43, 87%, 100%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #ffbf22 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5864 and perceived brightness is 79%, so black text on it reaches 12.73:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ffbf22?

Black. It scores 12.73:1 against #ffbf22, versus 1.65:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #ffbf22 accessible on a white background?

#ffbf22 on white scores 1.65:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #976C00 to reach 4.5:1, or #745200 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #ffbf22?

#2262FF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #22D1FF and #5122FF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ffbf22?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE0C0 for borders, #9B844B for secondary text, #006ECC as an accent and #805B00 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FF5122 and #D1FF22 stays calm, while #2262FF is the loudest partner.

What is #ffbf22 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 25%, 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 #ffbf22 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 11 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FF9F22; nudged cooler, #EEFF22.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #ffbf22?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 4.1 away. That is a visible difference, so define #ffbf22 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #ffbf22 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#ffbf22] or text-[#ffbf22], 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 #ffbf22 with 50% opacity?

rgba(255, 191, 34, 0.5), or #ffbf2280 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #FFDF91; over black, #806011.

Is #ffbf22 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #FFCC33, ΔE2000 4.2 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #ffbf22 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 #ffbf22?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #FFD15F, #ffbf22 45%, #805B00). For more colour, a short hue run to #8BFF04 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #ffbf22 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #ffbf22 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.