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#ebbc4d

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

RGB
235, 188, 77
HSL
42°, 80%, 61%
CMYK
0, 20, 67, 8
Luminance
0.5416

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ebbc4d is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ebbc4d
Hue
42°
yellow
Saturation
80%
electric
Lightness
61%
balanced
Brightness
92%
HSV value
Perceived
76%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5416
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
10/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
11.83:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 6.2
Where it sits
Hue42° of 360°
Saturation80%
Lightness61%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool10% 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#ebbc4d
RGBrgb(235, 188, 77)
HSLhsl(42, 80%, 61%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 20%, 67%, 8%)
LABlab(78.6 5.5 60.5)
LCHlch(78.6 60.8 84.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.817 0.137 85.6)
Decimal15449165
Display P3color(display-p3 0.922 0.737 0.302)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ebbc4d;
background-color: #ebbc4d;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ebbc4d] bg-[#ebbc4d]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ebbc4d;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.922, green: 0.737, blue: 0.302)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ebbc4d")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFEBBC4D)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(77, 188, 235)

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 #ebbc4d · 11.83:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.77:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.83:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ebbc4d as text scores 1.77:1 on white and 11.83:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ebbc4d on white: 1.77:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ebbc4d on black: 11.83:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D1BB40
deuteranopia · #DDC852
tritanopia · #FEACA5

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ebbc4d 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.

#FCF9F3
#F9F4E6
#F5E7C7
#F4D99A
#EEC668
#ebbc4d
#DCA219
#B78715
#936C10
#6A4F10
#42320A
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FCF9F3Darkest = 950 · #42320A
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCF9F3;
  --brand-100: #F9F4E6;
  --brand-200: #F5E7C7;
  --brand-300: #F4D99A;
  --brand-400: #EEC668;
  --brand-500: #ebbc4d;
  --brand-600: #DCA219;
  --brand-700: #B78715;
  --brand-800: #936C10;
  --brand-900: #6A4F10;
  --brand-950: #42320A;
  --brand: #ebbc4d;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ebbc4d

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#EDDFC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B834B
Captions on the surface
Accent#116EBB
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#73540D
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCF6E8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241F14
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 #ebbc4d

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#4D7CEB
Analogous left#EB6D4D
Analogous right#CBEB4D
Split-complement 1#4DCBEB
Split-complement 2#6D4DEB
Triadic 1#4DEBBC
Triadic 2#BC4DEB
Tetradic#4DEB6D

RGB percentages

Red92.2%
Green73.7%
Blue30.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta20.0%
Yellow67.2%
Key (black)7.8%

Color previews

#ebbc4d text on a black background

contrast 11.83:1

Card sample

#ebbc4d text on a white background

contrast 1.77:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ebbc4d;
Background color
Panel with #ebbc4d background
background-color: #ebbc4d;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ebbc4d;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(235, 188, 77, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(235, 188, 77, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ebbc4d;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ebbc4d, #B1EB4D);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ebbc4d

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.

#ebbc4d 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.

#ebbc4d, answered

What color is #ebbc4d?

#ebbc4d is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 6.2). It sits at 42° on the hue wheel with 80% saturation and 61% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ebbc4d?

rgb(235, 188, 77) — 235 red, 188 green and 77 blue out of 255, or 92.2% / 73.7% / 30.2% by channel.

Is #ebbc4d a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5416 and perceived brightness is 76%, so black text on it reaches 11.83:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ebbc4d?

Black. It scores 11.83:1 against #ebbc4d, versus 1.77:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ebbc4d?

#4D7CEB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #4DCBEB and #6D4DEB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ebbc4d?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDDFC0 for borders, #9B834B for secondary text, #116EBB as an accent and #73540D for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EB6D4D and #CBEB4D stays calm, while #4D7CEB is the loudest partner.

What is #ebbc4d in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 20%, 67%, 8%). 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 #ebbc4d warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 10 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #EBA24D; nudged cooler, #E2ED4B.

Work with #ebbc4d in the Color Lab