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#a97f13

a dark, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Dark Goldenrod

RGB
169, 127, 19
HSL
43°, 80%, 37%
CMYK
0, 25, 89, 34
Luminance
0.2366

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #a97f13 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#a97f13
Hue
43°
yellow
Saturation
80%
electric
Lightness
37%
dark
Brightness
66%
HSV value
Perceived
53%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2366
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
11/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
5.73:1
Closest name
Dark Goldenrod
ΔE2000 3.7
Where it sits
Hue43° of 360°
Saturation80%
Lightness37%
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.

Every format

HEX#a97f13
RGBrgb(169, 127, 19)
HSLhsl(43, 80%, 37%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 25%, 89%, 34%)
LABlab(55.8 7.1 57.7)
LCHlch(55.8 58.1 83.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.621 0.123 84.1)
Decimal11108115
Display P3color(display-p3 0.663 0.498 0.075)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #a97f13;
background-color: #a97f13;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#a97f13] bg-[#a97f13]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #a97f13;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.663, green: 0.498, blue: 0.075)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#a97f13")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFA97F13)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(19, 127, 169)

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 #a97f13 · 5.73:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 3.66:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 5.73:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #a97f13 as text scores 3.66:1 on white and 5.73:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#a97f13 on white: 3.66:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#a97f13 on black: 5.73:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #917F00
deuteranopia · #9B8A1B
tritanopia · #B8726C

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #a97f13 is pinned to step 700; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FCF9F3
#F9F4E6
#F5E8C7
#F4DB9A
#EEC868
#E8B635
#DCA519
#a97f13
#936E10
#6A5110
#42330A
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FCF9F3Darkest = 950 · #42330A
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCF9F3;
  --brand-100: #F9F4E6;
  --brand-200: #F5E8C7;
  --brand-300: #F4DB9A;
  --brand-400: #EEC868;
  --brand-500: #E8B635;
  --brand-600: #DCA519;
  --brand-700: #a97f13;
  --brand-800: #936E10;
  --brand-900: #6A5110;
  --brand-950: #42330A;
  --brand: #a97f13;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #a97f13

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#0F63AD
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#73560D
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCF7E8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242014
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 #a97f13

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Headings from 24px up on white
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Headers, footers and dark-mode surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Black text placed on it
  • 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#133DA9
Analogous left#A93413
Analogous right#88A913
Split-complement 1#1388A9
Split-complement 2#3413A9
Triadic 1#13A97F
Triadic 2#7F13A9
Tetradic#13A934

RGB percentages

Red66.3%
Green49.8%
Blue7.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta24.9%
Yellow88.8%
Key (black)33.7%

Color previews

#a97f13 text on a black background

contrast 5.73:1

Card sample

#a97f13 text on a white background

contrast 3.66:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #a97f13;
Background color
Panel with #a97f13 background
background-color: #a97f13;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #a97f13;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(169, 127, 19, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(169, 127, 19, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #a97f13;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #a97f13, #6FA913);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #a97f13

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.

#a97f13 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.

#a97f13, answered

What color is #a97f13?

#a97f13 is a dark electric yellow, closest to Dark Goldenrod (ΔE2000 3.7). It sits at 43° on the hue wheel with 80% saturation and 37% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #a97f13?

rgb(169, 127, 19) — 169 red, 127 green and 19 blue out of 255, or 66.3% / 49.8% / 7.5% by channel.

Is #a97f13 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2366 and perceived brightness is 53%, so black text on it reaches 5.73:1.

Should I use black or white text on #a97f13?

Black. It scores 5.73:1 against #a97f13, versus 3.66:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #a97f13?

#133DA9 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #1388A9 and #3413A9, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #a97f13?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE0C0 for borders, #9B844B for secondary text, #0F63AD as an accent and #73560D for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #A93413 and #88A913 stays calm, while #133DA9 is the loudest partner.

What is #a97f13 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 25%, 89%, 34%). 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 #a97f13 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 #A96413; nudged cooler, #9EAB11.

Work with #a97f13 in the Color Lab