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#c59310

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

RGB
197, 147, 16
HSL
43°, 85%, 42%
CMYK
0, 25, 92, 23
Luminance
0.3278

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c59310 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c59310
Hue
43°
yellow
Saturation
85%
electric
Lightness
42%
dark
Brightness
77%
HSV value
Perceived
61%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3278
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
11/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
7.56:1
Closest name
Dark Goldenrod
ΔE2000 4.3
Where it sits
Hue43° of 360°
Saturation85%
Lightness42%
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#c59310
RGBrgb(197, 147, 16)
HSLhsl(43, 85%, 42%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 25%, 92%, 23%)
LABlab(64.0 8.6 66.0)
LCHlch(64.0 66.6 82.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.693 0.139 83.6)
Decimal12948240
Display P3color(display-p3 0.773 0.576 0.063)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #c59310;
background-color: #c59310;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c59310] bg-[#c59310]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c59310;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.773, green: 0.576, blue: 0.063)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#c59310")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC59310)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(16, 147, 197)

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 #c59310 · 7.56:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.78:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 7.56:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c59310 as text scores 2.78:1 on white and 7.56:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#c59310 on white: 2.78:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c59310 on black: 7.56:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #A89300
deuteranopia · #B4A01B
tritanopia · #D7837D

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #c59310 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.

#FCFAF2
#FAF4E5
#F7E9C5
#F7DC97
#F2CB63
#EEB92F
#E2A912
#c59310
#97710C
#6D530D
#443408
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FCFAF2Darkest = 950 · #443408
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFAF2;
  --brand-100: #FAF4E5;
  --brand-200: #F7E9C5;
  --brand-300: #F7DC97;
  --brand-400: #F2CB63;
  --brand-500: #EEB92F;
  --brand-600: #E2A912;
  --brand-700: #c59310;
  --brand-800: #97710C;
  --brand-900: #6D530D;
  --brand-950: #443408;
  --brand: #c59310;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #c59310

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#9B854B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0C70C9
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#76580A
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDF7E7
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 #c59310

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
  • Headers, footers and dark-mode surfaces
  • 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
  • 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#1042C5
Analogous left#C53810
Analogous right#9DC510
Split-complement 1#109DC5
Split-complement 2#3810C5
Triadic 1#10C593
Triadic 2#9310C5
Tetradic#10C538

RGB percentages

Red77.3%
Green57.6%
Blue6.3%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta25.4%
Yellow91.9%
Key (black)22.7%

Color previews

#c59310 text on a black background

contrast 7.56:1

Card sample

#c59310 text on a white background

contrast 2.78:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c59310;
Background color
Panel with #c59310 background
background-color: #c59310;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c59310;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(197, 147, 16, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(197, 147, 16, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c59310;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c59310, #7FC510);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c59310

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.

#c59310 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.

#c59310, answered

What color is #c59310?

#c59310 is a dark electric yellow, closest to Dark Goldenrod (ΔE2000 4.3). It sits at 43° on the hue wheel with 85% saturation and 42% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #c59310?

rgb(197, 147, 16) — 197 red, 147 green and 16 blue out of 255, or 77.3% / 57.6% / 6.3% by channel.

Is #c59310 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3278 and perceived brightness is 61%, so black text on it reaches 7.56:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c59310?

Black. It scores 7.56:1 against #c59310, versus 2.78:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #c59310?

#1042C5 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #109DC5 and #3810C5, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c59310?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE0C0 for borders, #9B854B for secondary text, #0C70C9 as an accent and #76580A for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C53810 and #9DC510 stays calm, while #1042C5 is the loudest partner.

What is #c59310 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 25%, 92%, 23%). 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 #c59310 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 #C57510; nudged cooler, #B7C70E.

Work with #c59310 in the Color Lab