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#eee39b

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

RGB
238, 227, 155
HSL
52°, 71%, 77%
CMYK
0, 5, 35, 7
Luminance
0.7548

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #eee39b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#eee39b
Hue
52°
yellow
Saturation
71%
vivid
Lightness
77%
light
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
88%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7548
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
18/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
16.10:1
Closest name
Pale Goldenrod
ΔE2000 2.7
Where it sits
Hue52° of 360°
Saturation71%
Lightness77%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool18% 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#eee39b
RGBrgb(238, 227, 155)
HSLhsl(52, 71%, 77%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 5%, 35%, 7%)
LABlab(89.6 -6.7 36.6)
LCHlch(89.6 37.2 100.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.908 0.092 100.6)
Decimal15655835
Display P3color(display-p3 0.933 0.890 0.608)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #eee39b;
background-color: #eee39b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#eee39b] bg-[#eee39b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #eee39b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.933, green: 0.890, blue: 0.608)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#eee39b")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFEEE39B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(155, 227, 238)

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 #eee39b · 16.10:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.30:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 16.10:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #eee39b as text scores 1.30:1 on white and 16.10:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#eee39b on white: 1.30:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#eee39b on black: 16.10:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #F0DF96
deuteranopia · #F3E39E
tritanopia · #FAD9D1

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #eee39b 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.

#FCFAF3
#F8F6E7
#F3EDC9
#eee39b
#E7D76F
#DEC93F
#D1BA24
#AE9B1E
#8B7C18
#655A15
#3F390D
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FCFAF3Darkest = 950 · #3F390D
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFAF3;
  --brand-100: #F8F6E7;
  --brand-200: #F3EDC9;
  --brand-300: #eee39b;
  --brand-400: #E7D76F;
  --brand-500: #DEC93F;
  --brand-600: #D1BA24;
  --brand-700: #AE9B1E;
  --brand-800: #8B7C18;
  --brand-900: #655A15;
  --brand-950: #3F390D;
  --brand: #eee39b;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #eee39b

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#EDE7C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B904B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1A54B2
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6D6113
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FBF9E9
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 #eee39b

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

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#9BA6EE
Analogous left#EEBA9B
Analogous right#D0EE9B
Split-complement 1#9BD0EE
Split-complement 2#BA9BEE
Triadic 1#9BEEE3
Triadic 2#E39BEE
Tetradic#9BEEBA

RGB percentages

Red93.3%
Green89.0%
Blue60.8%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta4.6%
Yellow34.9%
Key (black)6.7%

Color previews

#eee39b text on a black background

contrast 16.10:1

Card sample

#eee39b text on a white background

contrast 1.30:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #eee39b;
Background color
Panel with #eee39b background
background-color: #eee39b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #eee39b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(238, 227, 155, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(238, 227, 155, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #eee39b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #eee39b, #C2EE9B);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #eee39b

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.

#eee39b 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

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#eee39b, answered

What color is #eee39b?

#eee39b is a light vivid yellow, closest to Pale Goldenrod (ΔE2000 2.7). It sits at 52° on the hue wheel with 71% saturation and 77% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #eee39b?

rgb(238, 227, 155) — 238 red, 227 green and 155 blue out of 255, or 93.3% / 89% / 60.8% by channel.

Is #eee39b a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7548 and perceived brightness is 88%, so black text on it reaches 16.10:1.

Should I use black or white text on #eee39b?

Black. It scores 16.10:1 against #eee39b, versus 1.30:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #eee39b?

#9BA6EE sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9BD0EE and #BA9BEE, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #eee39b?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDE7C0 for borders, #9B904B for secondary text, #1A54B2 as an accent and #6D6113 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EEBA9B and #D0EE9B stays calm, while #9BA6EE is the loudest partner.

What is #eee39b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 5%, 35%, 7%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #eee39b warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 18 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #EEC89B; nudged cooler, #DBEF9A.

Work with #eee39b in the Color Lab