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#f2cd00

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

RGB
242, 205, 0
HSL
51°, 100%, 48%
CMYK
0, 15, 100, 5
Luminance
0.6254

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #f2cd00 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#f2cd00
Hue
51°
yellow
Saturation
100%
electric
Lightness
48%
balanced
Brightness
95%
HSV value
Perceived
81%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6254
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
17/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
13.51:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 2.6
Where it sits
Hue51° of 360°
Saturation100%
Lightness48%
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#f2cd00
RGBrgb(242, 205, 0)
HSLhsl(51, 100%, 48%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 15%, 100%, 5%)
LABlab(83.2 -2.4 83.9)
LCHlch(83.2 84.0 91.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.855 0.176 95.8)
Decimal15912192
Display P3color(display-p3 0.949 0.804 0.000)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #f2cd00;
background-color: #f2cd00;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#f2cd00] bg-[#f2cd00]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #f2cd00;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.949, green: 0.804, blue: 0.000)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#f2cd00")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFF2CD00)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(0, 205, 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 #f2cd00 · 13.51:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.55:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.51:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #f2cd00 as text scores 1.55:1 on white and 13.51:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#f2cd00 on white: 1.55:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#f2cd00 on black: 13.51:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #E4C900
deuteranopia · #EED422
tritanopia · #FFBBAF

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #f2cd00 is pinned to step 600; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FEFCF1
#FCF8E3
#FCF3C0
#FFEE8F
#FFE557
#FFDD1F
#f2cd00
#CCAD00
#A38A00
#766405
#493F03
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FEFCF1Darkest = 950 · #493F03
:root {
  --brand-50: #FEFCF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF8E3;
  --brand-200: #FCF3C0;
  --brand-300: #FFEE8F;
  --brand-400: #FFE557;
  --brand-500: #FFDD1F;
  --brand-600: #f2cd00;
  --brand-700: #CCAD00;
  --brand-800: #A38A00;
  --brand-900: #766405;
  --brand-950: #493F03;
  --brand: #f2cd00;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #f2cd00

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#EDE6C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8F4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0062F2
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#806C00
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFFBE5
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 #f2cd00

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#0025F2
Analogous left#F25400
Analogous right#9EF200
Split-complement 1#009EF2
Split-complement 2#5400F2
Triadic 1#00F2CD
Triadic 2#CD00F2
Tetradic#00F254

RGB percentages

Red94.9%
Green80.4%
Blue0.0%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta15.3%
Yellow100.0%
Key (black)5.1%

Color previews

#f2cd00 text on a black background

contrast 13.51:1

Card sample

#f2cd00 text on a white background

contrast 1.55:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #f2cd00;
Background color
Panel with #f2cd00 background
background-color: #f2cd00;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #f2cd00;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(242, 205, 0, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(242, 205, 0, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #f2cd00;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f2cd00, #76F200);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #f2cd00

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.

#f2cd00 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.

#f2cd00, answered

What color is #f2cd00?

#f2cd00 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 2.6). It sits at 51° on the hue wheel with 100% saturation and 48% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #f2cd00?

rgb(242, 205, 0) — 242 red, 205 green and 0 blue out of 255, or 94.9% / 80.4% / 0% by channel.

Is #f2cd00 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6254 and perceived brightness is 81%, so black text on it reaches 13.51:1.

Should I use black or white text on #f2cd00?

Black. It scores 13.51:1 against #f2cd00, versus 1.55:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #f2cd00?

#0025F2 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #009EF2 and #5400F2, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #f2cd00?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE6C0 for borders, #9B8F4B for secondary text, #0062F2 as an accent and #806C00 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #F25400 and #9EF200 stays calm, while #0025F2 is the loudest partner.

What is #f2cd00 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 15%, 100%, 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 #f2cd00 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 #F29B00; nudged cooler, #BFF200.

Work with #f2cd00 in the Color Lab