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yellow · warm

#ecf7ab

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

Token name suggestion: Meadow Brass

RGB
236, 247, 171
HSL
69°, 83%, 82%
CMYK
5, 0, 31, 3
Luminance
0.8729

#ecf7ab is a light electric yellow, 69° on the wheel and 32/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (18.46:1). As text it scores 1.14:1 on white — use #6D7E0C instead. Nearest name is Pale Goldenrod, nearest Tailwind family is lime.

hsl(69 83% 82%)rgb(236 247 171)Base step 300AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ecf7ab is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ecf7ab
Hue
69°
yellow
Saturation
83%
electric
Lightness
82%
light
Brightness
97%
HSV value
Perceived
93%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.8729
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
32/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
18.46:1
Closest name
Pale Goldenrod
ΔE2000 5.6
Chroma
38.6
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.950
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
lime
500 · ΔE 18.7
Web-safe
#FFFF99
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue69° of 360°
Saturation83%
Lightness82%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #ecf7ab.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool32% 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
Red20%
Green76%
Blue3%

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

Every format

HEX#ecf7ab
HEX (8-digit)#ecf7abff
RGBrgb(236, 247, 171)
RGBArgba(236, 247, 171, 1)
HSLhsl(69, 83%, 82%)
HSV / HSBhsv(69, 31%, 97%)
HWBhwb(69 67% 3%)
CMYKcmyk(5%, 0%, 31%, 3%)
LABlab(94.9 -15.4 35.4)
LCHlch(94.9 38.6 113.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.950 0.097 115.0)
XYZ (D65)xyz(75.20, 87.30, 51.41)
Decimal15529899
Display P3color(display-p3 0.925 0.969 0.671)
Web-safe#FFFF99

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #ecf7ab;
background-color: #ecf7ab;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #ecf7ab;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ecf7ab] bg-[#ecf7ab]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ecf7ab;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.925, green: 0.969, blue: 0.671)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.925, green: 0.969, blue: 0.671, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#ECF7AB</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFECF7AB)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFECF7AB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(171, 247, 236)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(236, 247, 171)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(236, 247, 171)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 236, 247, 171)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.9255f, 0.9686f, 0.6706f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{236,247,171}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #ecf7ab 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #ecf7ab 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#65740B, #EAEED3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #ecf7ab 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: #FBFCF2;
  --brand-100: #F7FAE6;
  --brand-200: #EFF6C6;
  --brand-300: #ecf7ab;
  --brand-400: #DCF065;
  --brand-500: #D1EB32;
  --brand-600: #C2E015;
  --brand-700: #A2BA12;
  --brand-800: #81950E;
  --brand-900: #5E6C0F;
  --brand-950: #3B4309;
  --brand: #ecf7ab;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAFAF4;
  --brand-border: #E6EDC0;
  --brand-hover: #E5F48B;
  --brand-pressed: #DDF16A;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #222414;
    --brand-ink: #EAEED3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FBFCF2',
        100: '#F7FAE6',
        200: '#EFF6C6',
        300: '#ecf7ab',
        400: '#DCF065',
        500: '#D1EB32',
        600: '#C2E015',
        700: '#A2BA12',
        800: '#81950E',
        900: '#5E6C0F',
        950: '#3B4309',
        DEFAULT: '#ecf7ab',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FBFCF2,
  '100': #F7FAE6,
  '200': #EFF6C6,
  '300': #ecf7ab,
  '400': #DCF065,
  '500': #D1EB32,
  '600': #C2E015,
  '700': #A2BA12,
  '800': #81950E,
  '900': #5E6C0F,
  '950': #3B4309,
);
$brand-base: #ecf7ab;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FBFCF2", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F7FAE6", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#EFF6C6", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#ecf7ab", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#DCF065", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#D1EB32", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#C2E015", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#A2BA12", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#81950E", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#5E6C0F", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#3B4309", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #ecf7ab · 18.46:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.14:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 18.46:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ecf7ab as text scores 1.14:1 on white and 18.46:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #65740B at 4.55:1.

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
#6D7E0C · 4.53:1
AA on white−55% L
#6D7E0C
The quick fox
#515D09 · 7.19:1
AAA on white−62% L
#515D09
The quick fox
#ecf7ab · 18.46:1
AA on blackalready passes
#ecf7ab
The quick fox
#ecf7ab · 18.46:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#ecf7ab

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #8A9E0F 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
#ecf7ab on white: 1.14:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ecf7ab on black: 18.46:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #ecf7ab as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #ecf7ab.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.14:1AaAa
Slate 501.09:1AaAa
Slate 1001.04:1AaAa
Slate 2001.08:1AaAa
Slate 3001.31:1AaAa
Slate 4002.25:1AaAa
Slate 5004.18:1AaAa
Slate 6006.66:1AaAa
Slate 7009.10:1AaAa
Slate 80012.86:1AaAa
Slate 90015.69:1AaAa
Black18.46:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #FFF0A6
deuteranopia · #FFF1AE
tritanopia · #F5EFE3

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. #ecf7ab is pinned to step 300; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FBFCF2
#F7FAE6
#EFF6C6
#ecf7ab
#DCF065
#D1EB32
#C2E015
#A2BA12
#81950E
#5E6C0F
#3B4309
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FBFCF2Darkest = 950 · #3B4309Text step on white = 900
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 0.024 115.0);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.039 115.0);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.058 115.0);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.076 115.0);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.090 115.0);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.097 115.0);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.097 115.0);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.092 115.0);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.082 115.0);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.068 115.0);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.054 115.0);
}

Colors that work with #ecf7ab

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#E6EDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8F9B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0D21BF
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#65740B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FAFDE8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#222414
Dark-mode background
Hover#E5F48B
One step down in lightness
Pressed#DDF16A
Two steps down
Disabled#F6F7F3
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#F3FCBA
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 #ecf7ab

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
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • 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
  • 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 #65740B
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #8A9E0F

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.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. 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
  • FormalityLow
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight18/100
  • 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#B6ABF7
Analogous left#F7DCAB
Analogous right#C6F7AB
Split-complement 1#ABC6F7
Split-complement 2#DCABF7
Triadic 1#ABECF7
Triadic 2#F7ABEC
Tetradic#ABF7DC
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°69°

#ecf7ab sits at 69°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red92.5%
Green96.9%
Blue67.1%
R · 0–255
236
0xec
G · 0–255
247
0xf7
B · 0–255
171
0xab

CMYK percentages

Cyan4.5%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow30.8%
Key (black)3.1%

Total ink coverage is 38%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#ecf7ab text on a black background

contrast 18.46:1

Card sample

#ecf7ab text on a white background

contrast 1.14:1

Card sample

#ecf7ab on grey

1.04:1

#ecf7ab on its own surface

1.09:1

#ecf7ab on its dark surface

13.87:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ecf7ab;
Background color
Panel with #ecf7ab background
background-color: #ecf7ab;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ecf7ab;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(236, 247, 171, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(236, 247, 171, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ecf7ab;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ecf7ab, #B9F7AB);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ecf7ab, #ABF7B0);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #ecf7ab;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #ecf7ab;
caret-color: #ecf7ab;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #ecf7ab;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FAFDE8;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #ecf7ab;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#ecf7ab 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #ecf7ab 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(236, 247, 171, 0.5)
rgb(236 247 171 / 50%)
#ecf7ab80
hsl(69 83% 82% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #ecf7ab 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#ecf7ab1a#FDFEF7
20%#ecf7ab33#FBFDEE
40%#ecf7ab66#F7FCDD
60%#ecf7ab99#F4FACD
80%#ecf7abcc#F0F9BC

Gradients from #ecf7ab

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, #F9FCE3, #ecf7ab 45%, #65740B);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #ecf7ab, #9AF48F);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ecf7ab, #B6ABF7);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #FCFEF1 0%, #ecf7ab 45%, #65740B 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAFAF4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #FBEDDA 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D5FAC7 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #65740B 0%, transparent 65%), #ecf7ab;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ecf7ab

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.

#ecf7ab 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

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

On screens

Very light values are indistinguishable from white on a dim phone screen outdoors. Give it a border if the boundary matters.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 18.46:1.

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.

#ecf7ab, answered

What color is #ecf7ab?

#ecf7ab is a light electric yellow, closest to Pale Goldenrod (ΔE2000 5.6). It sits at 69° on the hue wheel with 83% saturation and 82% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ecf7ab?

rgb(236, 247, 171) — 236 red, 247 green and 171 blue out of 255, or 92.5% / 96.9% / 67.1% by channel.

What is #ecf7ab in HSL and HSV?

hsl(69, 83%, 82%) and hsv(69, 31%, 97%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #ecf7ab a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.8729 and perceived brightness is 93%, so black text on it reaches 18.46:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ecf7ab?

Black. It scores 18.46:1 against #ecf7ab, versus 1.14:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #ecf7ab accessible on a white background?

#ecf7ab on white scores 1.14:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #6D7E0C to reach 4.5:1, or #515D09 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #ecf7ab?

#B6ABF7 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #ABC6F7 and #DCABF7, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ecf7ab?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #E6EDC0 for borders, #8F9B4B for secondary text, #0D21BF as an accent and #65740B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #F7DCAB and #C6F7AB stays calm, while #B6ABF7 is the loudest partner.

What is #ecf7ab in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(5%, 0%, 31%, 3%). 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 #ecf7ab warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 32 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #F7E6AB; nudged cooler, #D0F8AA.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #ecf7ab?

The lime family — its 500 step is #84cc16, ΔE2000 18.7 away. That is a visible difference, so define #ecf7ab as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #ecf7ab in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#ecf7ab] or text-[#ecf7ab], 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 #ecf7ab with 50% opacity?

rgba(236, 247, 171, 0.5), or #ecf7ab80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #F6FBD5; over black, #767C56.

Is #ecf7ab a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #FFFF99, ΔE2000 5.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #ecf7ab 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 chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #ecf7ab?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #F9FCE3, #ecf7ab 45%, #65740B). For more colour, a short hue run to #9AF48F keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #ecf7ab in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #ecf7ab at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.