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#f3d511

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

RGB
243, 213, 17
HSL
52°, 90%, 51%
CMYK
0, 12, 93, 5
Luminance
0.6668

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #f3d511 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#f3d511
Hue
52°
yellow
Saturation
90%
electric
Lightness
51%
balanced
Brightness
95%
HSV value
Perceived
83%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6668
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
18/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
14.34:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 2.6
Where it sits
Hue52° of 360°
Saturation90%
Lightness51%
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#f3d511
RGBrgb(243, 213, 17)
HSLhsl(52, 90%, 51%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 12%, 93%, 5%)
LABlab(85.3 -5.9 83.9)
LCHlch(85.3 84.1 94.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.872 0.178 98.7)
Decimal15979793
Display P3color(display-p3 0.953 0.835 0.067)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #f3d511;
background-color: #f3d511;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#f3d511] bg-[#f3d511]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #f3d511;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.953, green: 0.835, blue: 0.067)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#f3d511")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFF3D511)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(17, 213, 243)

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 #f3d511 · 14.34:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.46:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.34:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #f3d511 as text scores 1.46:1 on white and 14.34:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#f3d511 on white: 1.46:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#f3d511 on black: 14.34:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #ECCF00
deuteranopia · #F4DA2A
tritanopia · #FFC4B6

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #f3d511 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.

#FDFBF2
#FBF8E5
#F9F1C3
#FAEC94
#F7E35F
#F4D929
#f3d511
#C2AA0A
#9B8808
#70630A
#463E06
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FDFBF2Darkest = 950 · #463E06
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFBF2;
  --brand-100: #FBF8E5;
  --brand-200: #F9F1C3;
  --brand-300: #FAEC94;
  --brand-400: #F7E35F;
  --brand-500: #F4D929;
  --brand-600: #f3d511;
  --brand-700: #C2AA0A;
  --brand-800: #9B8808;
  --brand-900: #70630A;
  --brand-950: #463E06;
  --brand: #f3d511;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #f3d511

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#0C67F8
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#796A06
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEFBE7
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 #f3d511

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#112FF3
Analogous left#F36411
Analogous right#A0F311
Split-complement 1#11A0F3
Split-complement 2#6411F3
Triadic 1#11F3D5
Triadic 2#D511F3
Tetradic#11F364

RGB percentages

Red95.3%
Green83.5%
Blue6.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta12.3%
Yellow93.0%
Key (black)4.7%

Color previews

#f3d511 text on a black background

contrast 14.34:1

Card sample

#f3d511 text on a white background

contrast 1.46:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #f3d511;
Background color
Panel with #f3d511 background
background-color: #f3d511;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #f3d511;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(243, 213, 17, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(243, 213, 17, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #f3d511;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f3d511, #7BF311);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #f3d511

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.

#f3d511 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.

#f3d511, answered

What color is #f3d511?

#f3d511 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 2.6). It sits at 52° on the hue wheel with 90% saturation and 51% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #f3d511?

rgb(243, 213, 17) — 243 red, 213 green and 17 blue out of 255, or 95.3% / 83.5% / 6.7% by channel.

Is #f3d511 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6668 and perceived brightness is 83%, so black text on it reaches 14.34:1.

Should I use black or white text on #f3d511?

Black. It scores 14.34:1 against #f3d511, versus 1.46:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #f3d511?

#112FF3 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #11A0F3 and #6411F3, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #f3d511?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDE7C0 for borders, #9B904B for secondary text, #0C67F8 as an accent and #796A06 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #F36411 and #A0F311 stays calm, while #112FF3 is the loudest partner.

What is #f3d511 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 12%, 93%, 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 #f3d511 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 #F3A211; nudged cooler, #C0F60F.

Work with #f3d511 in the Color Lab