Skip to content

#dfbc0f

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

RGB
223, 188, 15
HSL
50°, 87%, 47%
CMYK
0, 16, 93, 13
Luminance
0.5169

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dfbc0f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dfbc0f
Hue
50°
yellow
Saturation
87%
electric
Lightness
47%
balanced
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
74%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5169
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
17/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
11.34:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 7
Where it sits
Hue50° of 360°
Saturation87%
Lightness47%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool17% 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#dfbc0f
RGBrgb(223, 188, 15)
HSLhsl(50, 87%, 47%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 16%, 93%, 13%)
LABlab(77.1 -1.7 77.2)
LCHlch(77.1 77.2 91.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.802 0.163 95.2)
Decimal14662671
Display P3color(display-p3 0.875 0.737 0.059)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #dfbc0f;
background-color: #dfbc0f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dfbc0f] bg-[#dfbc0f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dfbc0f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.875, green: 0.737, blue: 0.059)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dfbc0f")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDFBC0F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(15, 188, 223)

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 #dfbc0f · 11.34:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.85:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.34:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dfbc0f as text scores 1.85:1 on white and 11.34:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dfbc0f on white: 1.85:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dfbc0f on black: 11.34:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D1B800
deuteranopia · #DAC324
tritanopia · #F2ACA0

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dfbc0f is pinned to step 600; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FDFBF2
#FAF7E5
#F8EFC4
#F8E796
#F4DC61
#F1D02D
#dfbc0f
#BFA10D
#99810A
#6E5E0C
#453B07
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FDFBF2Darkest = 950 · #453B07
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFBF2;
  --brand-100: #FAF7E5;
  --brand-200: #F8EFC4;
  --brand-300: #F8E796;
  --brand-400: #F4DC61;
  --brand-500: #F1D02D;
  --brand-600: #dfbc0f;
  --brand-700: #BFA10D;
  --brand-800: #99810A;
  --brand-900: #6E5E0C;
  --brand-950: #453B07;
  --brand: #dfbc0f;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #dfbc0f

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#EDE5C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8D4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0A65E4
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#776508
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDFAE7
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242214
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 #dfbc0f

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#0F32DF
Analogous left#DF540F
Analogous right#9ADF0F
Split-complement 1#0F9ADF
Split-complement 2#540FDF
Triadic 1#0FDFBC
Triadic 2#BC0FDF
Tetradic#0FDF54

RGB percentages

Red87.5%
Green73.7%
Blue5.9%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta15.7%
Yellow93.3%
Key (black)12.5%

Color previews

#dfbc0f text on a black background

contrast 11.34:1

Card sample

#dfbc0f text on a white background

contrast 1.85:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dfbc0f;
Background color
Panel with #dfbc0f background
background-color: #dfbc0f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dfbc0f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(223, 188, 15, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(223, 188, 15, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dfbc0f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dfbc0f, #77DF0F);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dfbc0f

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.

#dfbc0f 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.

#dfbc0f, answered

What color is #dfbc0f?

#dfbc0f is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 7). It sits at 50° on the hue wheel with 87% saturation and 47% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dfbc0f?

rgb(223, 188, 15) — 223 red, 188 green and 15 blue out of 255, or 87.5% / 73.7% / 5.9% by channel.

Is #dfbc0f a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5169 and perceived brightness is 74%, so black text on it reaches 11.34:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dfbc0f?

Black. It scores 11.34:1 against #dfbc0f, versus 1.85:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #dfbc0f?

#0F32DF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #0F9ADF and #540FDF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dfbc0f?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE5C0 for borders, #9B8D4B for secondary text, #0A65E4 as an accent and #776508 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DF540F and #9ADF0F stays calm, while #0F32DF is the loudest partner.

What is #dfbc0f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 16%, 93%, 13%). 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 #dfbc0f warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 17 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DF8F0F; nudged cooler, #B7E20D.

Work with #dfbc0f in the Color Lab