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#eee9aa

a light, vivid yellow · warm · “Pale Goldenrod”

RGB
238, 233, 170
HSL
56°, 67%, 80%
CMYK
0, 2, 29, 7
Luminance
0.7936

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #eee9aa is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#eee9aa
Hue
56°
yellow
Saturation
67%
vivid
Lightness
80%
light
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
90%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7936
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
21/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
16.87:1
Closest name
Pale Goldenrod
ΔE2000 0.4
Where it sits
Hue56° of 360°
Saturation67%
Lightness80%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool21% 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#eee9aa
RGBrgb(238, 233, 170)
HSLhsl(56, 67%, 80%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 2%, 29%, 7%)
LABlab(91.4 -7.8 31.3)
LCHlch(91.4 32.3 104.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.923 0.081 104.0)
Decimal15657386
Display P3color(display-p3 0.933 0.914 0.667)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #eee9aa;
background-color: #eee9aa;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#eee9aa] bg-[#eee9aa]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #eee9aa;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.933, green: 0.914, blue: 0.667)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#eee9aa")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFEEE9AA)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(170, 233, 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 #eee9aa · 16.87:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.24:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 16.87:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #eee9aa as text scores 1.24:1 on white and 16.87:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#eee9aa on white: 1.24:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#eee9aa on black: 16.87:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #F4E4A6
deuteranopia · #F6E8AC
tritanopia · #F8E1D8

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #eee9aa 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.

#FBFBF3
#F8F6E8
#F1EECA
#eee9aa
#E3DB73
#DACF44
#CCC029
#AAA022
#88801B
#635D18
#3E3A0F
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FBFBF3Darkest = 950 · #3E3A0F
:root {
  --brand-50: #FBFBF3;
  --brand-100: #F8F6E8;
  --brand-200: #F1EECA;
  --brand-300: #eee9aa;
  --brand-400: #E3DB73;
  --brand-500: #DACF44;
  --brand-600: #CCC029;
  --brand-700: #AAA022;
  --brand-800: #88801B;
  --brand-900: #635D18;
  --brand-950: #3E3A0F;
  --brand: #eee9aa;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #eee9aa

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#EDE9C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B954B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1E4CAE
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6A6415
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FBFAEA
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242314
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 #eee9aa

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#AAAFEE
Analogous left#EEC7AA
Analogous right#D1EEAA
Split-complement 1#AAD1EE
Split-complement 2#C7AAEE
Triadic 1#AAEEE9
Triadic 2#E9AAEE
Tetradic#AAEEC7

RGB percentages

Red93.3%
Green91.4%
Blue66.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta2.1%
Yellow28.6%
Key (black)6.7%

Color previews

#eee9aa text on a black background

contrast 16.87:1

Card sample

#eee9aa text on a white background

contrast 1.24:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #eee9aa;
Background color
Panel with #eee9aa background
background-color: #eee9aa;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #eee9aa;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(238, 233, 170, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(238, 233, 170, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #eee9aa;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #eee9aa, #C6EEAA);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #eee9aa

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.

#eee9aa 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.

#eee9aa, answered

What color is #eee9aa?

#eee9aa is a light vivid yellow — the CSS keyword Pale Goldenrod. It sits at 56° on the hue wheel with 67% saturation and 80% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #eee9aa?

rgb(238, 233, 170) — 238 red, 233 green and 170 blue out of 255, or 93.3% / 91.4% / 66.7% by channel.

Is #eee9aa a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7936 and perceived brightness is 90%, so black text on it reaches 16.87:1.

Should I use black or white text on #eee9aa?

Black. It scores 16.87:1 against #eee9aa, versus 1.24:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #eee9aa?

#AAAFEE sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #AAD1EE and #C7AAEE, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #eee9aa?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDE9C0 for borders, #9B954B for secondary text, #1E4CAE as an accent and #6A6415 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EEC7AA and #D1EEAA stays calm, while #AAAFEE is the loudest partner.

What is #eee9aa in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 2%, 29%, 7%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #eee9aa warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 21 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #EED0AA; nudged cooler, #DAEFA9.

Work with #eee9aa in the Color Lab