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yellow · warm

#cfc99f

a light, soft yellow · warm · closest name: Pale Goldenrod

Token name suggestion: Meadow Straw

RGB
207, 201, 159
HSL
53°, 33%, 72%
CMYK
0, 3, 23, 19
Luminance
0.5754

#cfc99f is a light soft yellow, 53° on the wheel and 20/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (12.51:1). As text it scores 1.68:1 on white — use #7D753F instead. Nearest name is Pale Goldenrod, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(53 33% 72%)rgb(207 201 159)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cfc99f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cfc99f
Hue
53°
yellow
Saturation
33%
soft
Lightness
72%
light
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
78%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5754
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
20/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
12.51:1
Closest name
Pale Goldenrod
ΔE2000 8.2
Chroma
22.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.830
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 19.4
Web-safe
#CCCC99
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue53° of 360°
Saturation33%
Lightness72%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cfc99f.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool20% 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
Red23%
Green73%
Blue4%

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

Every format

HEX#cfc99f
HEX (8-digit)#cfc99fff
RGBrgb(207, 201, 159)
RGBArgba(207, 201, 159, 1)
HSLhsl(53, 33%, 72%)
HSV / HSBhsv(53, 23%, 81%)
HWBhwb(53 62% 19%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 3%, 23%, 19%)
LABlab(80.5 -4.7 21.8)
LCHlch(80.5 22.3 102.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.830 0.056 100.7)
XYZ (D65)xyz(52.88, 57.54, 41.12)
Decimal13617567
Display P3color(display-p3 0.812 0.788 0.624)
Web-safe#CCCC99

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cfc99f;
background-color: #cfc99f;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cfc99f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cfc99f] bg-[#cfc99f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cfc99f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.812, green: 0.788, blue: 0.624)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.812, green: 0.788, blue: 0.624, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CFC99F</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCFC99F)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCFC99F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(159, 201, 207)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(207, 201, 159)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(207, 201, 159)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 207, 201, 159)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8118f, 0.7882f, 0.6235f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{207,201,159}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cfc99f 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cfc99f 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#55502B, #EBE8D6);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cfc99f 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: #F9F9F5;
  --brand-100: #F4F3EC;
  --brand-200: #E8E5D4;
  --brand-300: #DAD5B4;
  --brand-400: #cfc99f;
  --brand-500: #B4AB69;
  --brand-600: #A39952;
  --brand-700: #887F44;
  --brand-800: #6D6636;
  --brand-900: #504B2A;
  --brand-950: #322F1B;
  --brand: #cfc99f;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF9F5;
  --brand-border: #E4E0C9;
  --brand-hover: #C3BC87;
  --brand-pressed: #B7AE70;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242214;
    --brand-ink: #EBE8D6;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F9F5',
        100: '#F4F3EC',
        200: '#E8E5D4',
        300: '#DAD5B4',
        400: '#cfc99f',
        500: '#B4AB69',
        600: '#A39952',
        700: '#887F44',
        800: '#6D6636',
        900: '#504B2A',
        950: '#322F1B',
        DEFAULT: '#cfc99f',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F9F5,
  '100': #F4F3EC,
  '200': #E8E5D4,
  '300': #DAD5B4,
  '400': #cfc99f,
  '500': #B4AB69,
  '600': #A39952,
  '700': #887F44,
  '800': #6D6636,
  '900': #504B2A,
  '950': #322F1B,
);
$brand-base: #cfc99f;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9F9F5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F4F3EC", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E8E5D4", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#DAD5B4", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#cfc99f", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#B4AB69", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#A39952", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#887F44", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#6D6636", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#504B2A", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#322F1B", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cfc99f · 12.51:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.68:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.51:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cfc99f as text scores 1.68:1 on white and 12.51:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #55502B at 4.87:1.

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
#7D753F · 4.68:1
AA on white−35% L
#7D753F
The quick fox
#5E592F · 7.13:1
AAA on white−44% L
#5E592F
The quick fox
#cfc99f · 12.51:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cfc99f
The quick fox
#cfc99f · 12.51:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cfc99f

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #9F9550 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
#cfc99f on white: 1.68:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cfc99f on black: 12.51:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cfc99f as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cfc99f.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.68:1AaAa
Slate 501.60:1AaAa
Slate 1001.53:1AaAa
Slate 2001.36:1AaAa
Slate 3001.13:1AaAa
Slate 4001.53:1AaAa
Slate 5002.83:1AaAa
Slate 6004.51:1AaAa
Slate 7006.17:1AaAa
Slate 8008.71:1AaAa
Slate 90010.63:1AaAa
Black12.51:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #D1C69C
deuteranopia · #D3C9A0
tritanopia · #D7C3BE

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. #cfc99f is pinned to step 400; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F9F9F5
#F4F3EC
#E8E5D4
#DAD5B4
#cfc99f
#B4AB69
#A39952
#887F44
#6D6636
#504B2A
#322F1B
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9F9F5Darkest = 950 · #322F1BText step on white = 800
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 0.014 100.7);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.023 100.7);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.034 100.7);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.044 100.7);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.052 100.7);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.056 100.7);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.056 100.7);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.053 100.7);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.047 100.7);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.039 100.7);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.031 100.7);
}

Colors that work with #cfc99f

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#FAF9F5
Tinted page background
Border#E4E0C9
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#998F4D
Captions on the surface
Accent#405C8C
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#55502B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6F5EE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242214
Dark-mode background
Hover#C3BC87
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B7AE70
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F2EC
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#DCD5A7
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 #cfc99f

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • 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 #55502B
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #9F9550

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.

The muted chroma softens the association — it reads considered rather than loud, which suits long-form and data-heavy screens. 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
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight28/100
  • 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#9FA5CF
Analogous left#CFB19F
Analogous right#BDCF9F
Split-complement 1#9FBDCF
Split-complement 2#B19FCF
Triadic 1#9FCFC9
Triadic 2#C99FCF
Tetradic#9FCFB1
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°53°

#cfc99f sits at 53°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red81.2%
Green78.8%
Blue62.4%
R · 0–255
207
0xcf
G · 0–255
201
0xc9
B · 0–255
159
0x9f

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta2.9%
Yellow23.2%
Key (black)18.8%

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

Color previews

#cfc99f text on a black background

contrast 12.51:1

Card sample

#cfc99f text on a white background

contrast 1.68:1

Card sample

#cfc99f on grey

1.53:1

#cfc99f on its own surface

1.59:1

#cfc99f on its dark surface

9.52:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cfc99f;
Background color
Panel with #cfc99f background
background-color: #cfc99f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cfc99f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(207, 201, 159, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(207, 201, 159, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cfc99f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cfc99f, #B5CF9F);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cfc99f, #A9CF9F);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cfc99f;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cfc99f;
caret-color: #cfc99f;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cfc99f;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F6F5EE;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cfc99f;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cfc99f 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cfc99f 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(207, 201, 159, 0.5)
rgb(207 201 159 / 50%)
#cfc99f80
hsl(53 33% 72% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cfc99f 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cfc99f1a#FAFAF5
20%#cfc99f33#F5F4EC
40%#cfc99f66#ECE9D9
60%#cfc99f99#E2DFC5
80%#cfc99fcc#D9D4B2

Gradients from #cfc99f

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, #E3E0C8, #cfc99f 45%, #55502B);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cfc99f, #A1C58B);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cfc99f, #9FA5CF);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #EEEBDC 0%, #cfc99f 45%, #55502B 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF9F5, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #E0CAC1 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #C8D9B4 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #55502B 0%, transparent 65%), #cfc99f;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cfc99f

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.

#cfc99f 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

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

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 12.51:1.

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.

#cfc99f, answered

What color is #cfc99f?

#cfc99f is a light soft yellow, closest to Pale Goldenrod (ΔE2000 8.2). It sits at 53° on the hue wheel with 33% saturation and 72% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cfc99f?

rgb(207, 201, 159) — 207 red, 201 green and 159 blue out of 255, or 81.2% / 78.8% / 62.4% by channel.

What is #cfc99f in HSL and HSV?

hsl(53, 33%, 72%) and hsv(53, 23%, 81%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cfc99f a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5754 and perceived brightness is 78%, so black text on it reaches 12.51:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cfc99f?

Black. It scores 12.51:1 against #cfc99f, versus 1.68:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cfc99f accessible on a white background?

#cfc99f on white scores 1.68:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #7D753F to reach 4.5:1, or #5E592F for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cfc99f?

#9FA5CF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9FBDCF and #B19FCF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cfc99f?

For interface work: #FAF9F5 as the surface, #E4E0C9 for borders, #998F4D for secondary text, #405C8C as an accent and #55502B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CFB19F and #BDCF9F stays calm, while #9FA5CF is the loudest partner.

What is #cfc99f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 3%, 23%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cfc99f warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 20 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CFB79F; nudged cooler, #C4D09E.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cfc99f?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 19.4 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cfc99f as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cfc99f in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cfc99f] or text-[#cfc99f], 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 #cfc99f with 50% opacity?

rgba(207, 201, 159, 0.5), or #cfc99f80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E7E4CF; over black, #686550.

Is #cfc99f a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCC99, ΔE2000 3.1 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cfc99f 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 moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #cfc99f?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E3E0C8, #cfc99f 45%, #55502B). For more colour, a short hue run to #A1C58B keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cfc99f in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cfc99f at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.