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#f2c739

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

RGB
242, 199, 57
HSL
46°, 88%, 59%
CMYK
0, 18, 76, 5
Luminance
0.6002

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #f2c739 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#f2c739
Hue
46°
yellow
Saturation
88%
electric
Lightness
59%
balanced
Brightness
95%
HSV value
Perceived
80%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6002
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
13/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
13.00:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 5.2
Where it sits
Hue46° of 360°
Saturation88%
Lightness59%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool13% 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#f2c739
RGBrgb(242, 199, 57)
HSLhsl(46, 88%, 59%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 18%, 76%, 5%)
LABlab(81.8 1.8 71.7)
LCHlch(81.8 71.8 88.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.844 0.157 91.0)
Decimal15910713
Display P3color(display-p3 0.949 0.780 0.224)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #f2c739;
background-color: #f2c739;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#f2c739] bg-[#f2c739]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #f2c739;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.949, green: 0.780, blue: 0.224)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#f2c739")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFF2C739)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(57, 199, 242)

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 #f2c739 · 13.00:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.61:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.00:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #f2c739 as text scores 1.61:1 on white and 13.00:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#f2c739 on white: 1.61:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#f2c739 on black: 13.00:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #DEC41D
deuteranopia · #E8D142
tritanopia · #FFB6AC

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #f2c739 is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FDFAF2
#FAF5E5
#F8ECC4
#F8E196
#F5D261
#f2c739
#E6B40F
#BF960D
#99780A
#6F580C
#453707
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FDFAF2Darkest = 950 · #453707
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFAF2;
  --brand-100: #FAF5E5;
  --brand-200: #F8ECC4;
  --brand-300: #F8E196;
  --brand-400: #F5D261;
  --brand-500: #f2c739;
  --brand-600: #E6B40F;
  --brand-700: #BF960D;
  --brand-800: #99780A;
  --brand-900: #6F580C;
  --brand-950: #453707;
  --brand: #f2c739;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #f2c739

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#EDE2C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B884B
Captions on the surface
Accent#3592F6
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#785E08
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 #f2c739

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#3964F2
Analogous left#F26B39
Analogous right#C0F239
Split-complement 1#39C0F2
Split-complement 2#6B39F2
Triadic 1#39F2C7
Triadic 2#C739F2
Tetradic#39F26B

RGB percentages

Red94.9%
Green78.0%
Blue22.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta17.8%
Yellow76.4%
Key (black)5.1%

Color previews

#f2c739 text on a black background

contrast 13.00:1

Card sample

#f2c739 text on a white background

contrast 1.61:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #f2c739;
Background color
Panel with #f2c739 background
background-color: #f2c739;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #f2c739;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(242, 199, 57, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(242, 199, 57, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #f2c739;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f2c739, #A1F239);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #f2c739

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.

#f2c739 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.

#f2c739, answered

What color is #f2c739?

#f2c739 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 5.2). It sits at 46° on the hue wheel with 88% saturation and 59% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #f2c739?

rgb(242, 199, 57) — 242 red, 199 green and 57 blue out of 255, or 94.9% / 78% / 22.4% by channel.

Is #f2c739 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6002 and perceived brightness is 80%, so black text on it reaches 13.00:1.

Should I use black or white text on #f2c739?

Black. It scores 13.00:1 against #f2c739, versus 1.61:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #f2c739?

#3964F2 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #39C0F2 and #6B39F2, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #f2c739?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE2C0 for borders, #9B884B for secondary text, #3592F6 as an accent and #785E08 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #F26B39 and #C0F239 stays calm, while #3964F2 is the loudest partner.

What is #f2c739 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 18%, 76%, 5%). 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 #f2c739 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 13 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #F2A439; nudged cooler, #DBF437.

Work with #f2c739 in the Color Lab