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#dfd52a

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

RGB
223, 213, 42
HSL
57°, 74%, 52%
CMYK
0, 5, 81, 13
Luminance
0.6344

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dfd52a is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dfd52a
Hue
57°
yellow
Saturation
74%
vivid
Lightness
52%
balanced
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
80%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6344
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
22/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
13.69:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 7.6
Where it sits
Hue57° of 360°
Saturation74%
Lightness52%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool22% 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#dfd52a
RGBrgb(223, 213, 42)
HSLhsl(57, 74%, 52%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 5%, 81%, 13%)
LABlab(83.7 -13.9 77.2)
LCHlch(83.7 78.4 100.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.855 0.173 105.9)
Decimal14669098
Display P3color(display-p3 0.875 0.835 0.165)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #dfd52a;
background-color: #dfd52a;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dfd52a] bg-[#dfd52a]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dfd52a;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.875, green: 0.835, blue: 0.165)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dfd52a")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDFD52A)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(42, 213, 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 #dfd52a · 13.69:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.53:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.69:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dfd52a as text scores 1.53:1 on white and 13.69:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dfd52a on white: 1.53:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dfd52a on black: 13.69:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #E8CD00
deuteranopia · #ECD43A
tritanopia · #F0C6B6

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dfd52a 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.

#FCFBF3
#F9F8E7
#F3F1C8
#F0EC9D
#E9E26D
#dfd52a
#D5CB20
#B1A91B
#8E8715
#676214
#403D0C
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FCFBF3Darkest = 950 · #403D0C
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFBF3;
  --brand-100: #F9F8E7;
  --brand-200: #F3F1C8;
  --brand-300: #F0EC9D;
  --brand-400: #E9E26D;
  --brand-500: #dfd52a;
  --brand-600: #D5CB20;
  --brand-700: #B1A91B;
  --brand-800: #8E8715;
  --brand-900: #676214;
  --brand-950: #403D0C;
  --brand: #dfd52a;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #dfd52a

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#EDEAC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B964B
Captions on the surface
Accent#255FE4
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6F6A11
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCFBE9
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 #dfd52a

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#2A34DF
Analogous left#DF7B2A
Analogous right#8FDF2A
Split-complement 1#2A8FDF
Split-complement 2#7B2ADF
Triadic 1#2ADFD5
Triadic 2#D52ADF
Tetradic#2ADF7B

RGB percentages

Red87.5%
Green83.5%
Blue16.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta4.5%
Yellow81.2%
Key (black)12.5%

Color previews

#dfd52a text on a black background

contrast 13.69:1

Card sample

#dfd52a text on a white background

contrast 1.53:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dfd52a;
Background color
Panel with #dfd52a background
background-color: #dfd52a;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dfd52a;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(223, 213, 42, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(223, 213, 42, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dfd52a;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dfd52a, #70DF2A);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dfd52a

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.

#dfd52a 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.

#dfd52a, answered

What color is #dfd52a?

#dfd52a is a balanced vivid yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 7.6). It sits at 57° on the hue wheel with 74% saturation and 52% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dfd52a?

rgb(223, 213, 42) — 223 red, 213 green and 42 blue out of 255, or 87.5% / 83.5% / 16.5% by channel.

Is #dfd52a a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6344 and perceived brightness is 80%, so black text on it reaches 13.69:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dfd52a?

Black. It scores 13.69:1 against #dfd52a, versus 1.53:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #dfd52a?

#2A34DF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #2A8FDF and #7B2ADF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dfd52a?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDEAC0 for borders, #9B964B for secondary text, #255FE4 as an accent and #6F6A11 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DF7B2A and #8FDF2A stays calm, while #2A34DF is the loudest partner.

What is #dfd52a in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 5%, 81%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dfd52a warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 22 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DFA02A; nudged cooler, #A8E228.

Work with #dfd52a in the Color Lab