Skip to content

#ecbc13

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

RGB
236, 188, 19
HSL
47°, 85%, 50%
CMYK
0, 20, 92, 8
Luminance
0.5385

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ecbc13 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ecbc13
Hue
47°
yellow
Saturation
85%
electric
Lightness
50%
balanced
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
76%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5385
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
14/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
11.77:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 6.7
Where it sits
Hue47° of 360°
Saturation85%
Lightness50%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool14% 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#ecbc13
RGBrgb(236, 188, 19)
HSLhsl(47, 85%, 50%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 20%, 92%, 8%)
LABlab(78.4 4.0 78.1)
LCHlch(78.4 78.2 87.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.815 0.164 89.7)
Decimal15514643
Display P3color(display-p3 0.925 0.737 0.075)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ecbc13;
background-color: #ecbc13;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ecbc13] bg-[#ecbc13]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ecbc13;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.925, green: 0.737, blue: 0.075)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ecbc13")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFECBC13)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(19, 188, 236)

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 #ecbc13 · 11.77:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.78:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.77:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ecbc13 as text scores 1.78:1 on white and 11.77:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ecbc13 on white: 1.78:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ecbc13 on black: 11.77:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D4BA00
deuteranopia · #DFC724
tritanopia · #FFAAA0

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ecbc13 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.

#FCFAF2
#FAF5E5
#F7ECC5
#F7E197
#F2D363
#EEC42F
#ecbc13
#BD960F
#97780C
#6D580D
#443708
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FCFAF2Darkest = 950 · #443708
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFAF2;
  --brand-100: #FAF5E5;
  --brand-200: #F7ECC5;
  --brand-300: #F7E197;
  --brand-400: #F2D363;
  --brand-500: #EEC42F;
  --brand-600: #ecbc13;
  --brand-700: #BD960F;
  --brand-800: #97780C;
  --brand-900: #6D580D;
  --brand-950: #443708;
  --brand: #ecbc13;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ecbc13

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#EDE3C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B894B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0E79F1
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#765E09
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDF8E7
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242114
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 #ecbc13

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#1343EC
Analogous left#EC4F13
Analogous right#B0EC13
Split-complement 1#13B0EC
Split-complement 2#4F13EC
Triadic 1#13ECBC
Triadic 2#BC13EC
Tetradic#13EC4F

RGB percentages

Red92.5%
Green73.7%
Blue7.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta20.3%
Yellow91.9%
Key (black)7.5%

Color previews

#ecbc13 text on a black background

contrast 11.77:1

Card sample

#ecbc13 text on a white background

contrast 1.78:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ecbc13;
Background color
Panel with #ecbc13 background
background-color: #ecbc13;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ecbc13;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(236, 188, 19, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(236, 188, 19, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ecbc13;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ecbc13, #8BEC13);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ecbc13

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.

#ecbc13 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.

#ecbc13, answered

What color is #ecbc13?

#ecbc13 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 6.7). It sits at 47° on the hue wheel with 85% saturation and 50% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ecbc13?

rgb(236, 188, 19) — 236 red, 188 green and 19 blue out of 255, or 92.5% / 73.7% / 7.5% by channel.

Is #ecbc13 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5385 and perceived brightness is 76%, so black text on it reaches 11.77:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ecbc13?

Black. It scores 11.77:1 against #ecbc13, versus 1.78:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ecbc13?

#1343EC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #13B0EC and #4F13EC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ecbc13?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE3C0 for borders, #9B894B for secondary text, #0E79F1 as an accent and #765E09 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EC4F13 and #B0EC13 stays calm, while #1343EC is the loudest partner.

What is #ecbc13 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 20%, 92%, 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 #ecbc13 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 14 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #EC9413; nudged cooler, #CEEF10.

Work with #ecbc13 in the Color Lab