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#efdf8e

a light, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Khaki

RGB
239, 223, 142
HSL
50°, 75%, 75%
CMYK
0, 7, 41, 6
Luminance
0.7308

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #efdf8e is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#efdf8e
Hue
50°
yellow
Saturation
75%
electric
Lightness
75%
light
Brightness
94%
HSV value
Perceived
86%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7308
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
17/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
15.62:1
Closest name
Khaki
ΔE2000 2.5
Where it sits
Hue50° of 360°
Saturation75%
Lightness75%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool17% 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#efdf8e
RGBrgb(239, 223, 142)
HSLhsl(50, 75%, 75%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 7%, 41%, 6%)
LABlab(88.5 -5.7 41.6)
LCHlch(88.5 42.0 97.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.899 0.103 98.4)
Decimal15720334
Display P3color(display-p3 0.937 0.875 0.557)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #efdf8e;
background-color: #efdf8e;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#efdf8e] bg-[#efdf8e]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #efdf8e;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.937, green: 0.875, blue: 0.557)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#efdf8e")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFEFDF8E)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(142, 223, 239)

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 #efdf8e · 15.62:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.34:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 15.62:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #efdf8e as text scores 1.34:1 on white and 15.62:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#efdf8e on white: 1.34:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#efdf8e on black: 15.62:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #EEDB88
deuteranopia · #F2E191
tritanopia · #FDD4CB

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #efdf8e 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
#F9F6E7
#F4EDC8
#efdf8e
#EAD56C
#E3C73A
#D6B81E
#B39919
#8F7B14
#685A13
#41380C
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FCFAF3Darkest = 950 · #41380C
:root {
  --brand-50: #FCFAF3;
  --brand-100: #F9F6E7;
  --brand-200: #F4EDC8;
  --brand-300: #efdf8e;
  --brand-400: #EAD56C;
  --brand-500: #E3C73A;
  --brand-600: #D6B81E;
  --brand-700: #B39919;
  --brand-800: #8F7B14;
  --brand-900: #685A13;
  --brand-950: #41380C;
  --brand: #efdf8e;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #efdf8e

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#EDE5C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8E4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1558B7
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#706010
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCF9E9
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 #efdf8e

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#8E9EEF
Analogous left#EFAE8E
Analogous right#CEEF8E
Split-complement 1#8ECEEF
Split-complement 2#AE8EEF
Triadic 1#8EEFDF
Triadic 2#DF8EEF
Tetradic#8EEFAE

RGB percentages

Red93.7%
Green87.5%
Blue55.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta6.7%
Yellow40.6%
Key (black)6.3%

Color previews

#efdf8e text on a black background

contrast 15.62:1

Card sample

#efdf8e text on a white background

contrast 1.34:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #efdf8e;
Background color
Panel with #efdf8e background
background-color: #efdf8e;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #efdf8e;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(239, 223, 142, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(239, 223, 142, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #efdf8e;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #efdf8e, #BEEF8E);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #efdf8e

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.

#efdf8e 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.

#efdf8e, answered

What color is #efdf8e?

#efdf8e is a light electric yellow, closest to Khaki (ΔE2000 2.5). It sits at 50° on the hue wheel with 75% saturation and 75% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #efdf8e?

rgb(239, 223, 142) — 239 red, 223 green and 142 blue out of 255, or 93.7% / 87.5% / 55.7% by channel.

Is #efdf8e a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7308 and perceived brightness is 86%, so black text on it reaches 15.62:1.

Should I use black or white text on #efdf8e?

Black. It scores 15.62:1 against #efdf8e, versus 1.34:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #efdf8e?

#8E9EEF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #8ECEEF and #AE8EEF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #efdf8e?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE5C0 for borders, #9B8E4B for secondary text, #1558B7 as an accent and #706010 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EFAE8E and #CEEF8E stays calm, while #8E9EEF is the loudest partner.

What is #efdf8e in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 7%, 41%, 6%). 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 #efdf8e warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 17 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #EFC38E; nudged cooler, #DCF08D.

Work with #efdf8e in the Color Lab