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#cdcd4a

a balanced, vivid yellow · warm · closest name: Khaki

RGB
205, 205, 74
HSL
60°, 57%, 55%
CMYK
0, 0, 64, 20
Luminance
0.5714

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cdcd4a is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cdcd4a
Hue
60°
yellow
Saturation
57%
vivid
Lightness
55%
balanced
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
76%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5714
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
25/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
12.43:1
Closest name
Khaki
ΔE2000 8.7
Where it sits
Hue60° of 360°
Saturation57%
Lightness55%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool25% 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#cdcd4a
RGBrgb(205, 205, 74)
HSLhsl(60, 57%, 55%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 0%, 64%, 20%)
LABlab(80.3 -16.1 62.8)
LCHlch(80.3 64.8 104.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.824 0.150 109.3)
Decimal13487434
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.804 0.290)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cdcd4a;
background-color: #cdcd4a;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdcd4a] bg-[#cdcd4a]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdcd4a;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.804, blue: 0.290)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cdcd4a")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDCD4A)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(74, 205, 205)

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 #cdcd4a · 12.43:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.69:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.43:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdcd4a as text scores 1.69:1 on white and 12.43:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cdcd4a on white: 1.69:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdcd4a on black: 12.43:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #DDC539
deuteranopia · #DEC952
tritanopia · #DBC1B2

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cdcd4a 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.

#FBFBF4
#F6F6E9
#EEEECD
#E7E7A7
#DBDB7B
#cdcd4a
#C0C035
#A0A02C
#808023
#5D5D1D
#3A3A12
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FBFBF4Darkest = 950 · #3A3A12
:root {
  --brand-50: #FBFBF4;
  --brand-100: #F6F6E9;
  --brand-200: #EEEECD;
  --brand-300: #E7E7A7;
  --brand-400: #DBDB7B;
  --brand-500: #cdcd4a;
  --brand-600: #C0C035;
  --brand-700: #A0A02C;
  --brand-800: #808023;
  --brand-900: #5D5D1D;
  --brand-950: #3A3A12;
  --brand: #cdcd4a;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cdcd4a

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#EDEDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B9B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#4568D2
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#64641C
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F9F9EB
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242414
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 #cdcd4a

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#4A4ACD
Analogous left#CD8B4A
Analogous right#8BCD4A
Split-complement 1#4A8BCD
Split-complement 2#8B4ACD
Triadic 1#4ACDCD
Triadic 2#CD4ACD
Tetradic#4ACD8B

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green80.4%
Blue29.0%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow63.9%
Key (black)19.6%

Color previews

#cdcd4a text on a black background

contrast 12.43:1

Card sample

#cdcd4a text on a white background

contrast 1.69:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cdcd4a;
Background color
Panel with #cdcd4a background
background-color: #cdcd4a;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cdcd4a;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 205, 74, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 205, 74, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdcd4a;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdcd4a, #76CD4A);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdcd4a

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.

#cdcd4a 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

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#cdcd4a, answered

What color is #cdcd4a?

#cdcd4a is a balanced vivid yellow, closest to Khaki (ΔE2000 8.7). It sits at 60° on the hue wheel with 57% saturation and 55% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cdcd4a?

rgb(205, 205, 74) — 205 red, 205 green and 74 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 80.4% / 29% by channel.

Is #cdcd4a a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5714 and perceived brightness is 76%, so black text on it reaches 12.43:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdcd4a?

Black. It scores 12.43:1 against #cdcd4a, versus 1.69:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cdcd4a?

#4A4ACD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #4A8BCD and #8B4ACD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cdcd4a?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDEDC0 for borders, #9B9B4B for secondary text, #4568D2 as an accent and #64641C for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CD8B4A and #8BCD4A stays calm, while #4A4ACD is the loudest partner.

What is #cdcd4a in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 0%, 64%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cdcd4a warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 25 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CD9D4A; nudged cooler, #9ECF48.

Work with #cdcd4a in the Color Lab