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yellow · warm

#f9f1df

a pale, vivid yellow · warm · closest name: Old Lace

Token name suggestion: Mist Straw

RGB
249, 241, 223
HSL
42°, 68%, 93%
CMYK
0, 3, 10, 2
Luminance
0.8838

#f9f1df is a pale vivid yellow, 42° on the wheel and 10/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (18.68:1). As text it scores 1.12:1 on white — use #946F1C instead. Nearest name is Old Lace, nearest Tailwind family is yellow.

hsl(42 68% 93%)rgb(249 241 223)Base step 100AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #f9f1df is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#f9f1df
Hue
42°
yellow
Saturation
68%
vivid
Lightness
93%
pale
Brightness
98%
HSV value
Perceived
95%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.8838
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
10/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
18.68:1
Closest name
Old Lace
ΔE2000 1.5
Chroma
9.6
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.960
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
yellow
500 · ΔE 26.4
Web-safe
#FFFFCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue42° of 360°
Saturation68%
Lightness93%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #f9f1df.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool10% cool

Reads warm. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Luminance by channel
Red23%
Green71%
Blue6%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#f9f1df
HEX (8-digit)#f9f1dfff
RGBrgb(249, 241, 223)
RGBArgba(249, 241, 223, 1)
HSLhsl(42, 68%, 93%)
HSV / HSBhsv(42, 10%, 98%)
HWBhwb(42 87% 2%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 3%, 10%, 2%)
LABlab(95.3 -0.3 9.6)
LCHlch(95.3 9.6 91.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.960 0.025 86.9)
XYZ (D65)xyz(83.84, 88.38, 82.44)
Decimal16380383
Display P3color(display-p3 0.976 0.945 0.875)
Web-safe#FFFFCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #f9f1df;
background-color: #f9f1df;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #f9f1df;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#f9f1df] bg-[#f9f1df]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #f9f1df;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.976, green: 0.945, blue: 0.875)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.976, green: 0.945, blue: 0.875, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#F9F1DF</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFF9F1DF)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFF9F1DF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 241, 249)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(249, 241, 223)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(249, 241, 223)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 249, 241, 223)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.9765f, 0.9451f, 0.8745f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{249,241,223}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #f9f1df 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #f9f1df 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#6B5014, #EEE6D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #f9f1df h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #FBF9F3;
  --brand-100: #f9f1df;
  --brand-200: #F2E5CA;
  --brand-300: #EDD6A1;
  --brand-400: #E4C171;
  --brand-500: #DCAC42;
  --brand-600: #CE9A27;
  --brand-700: #AC8120;
  --brand-800: #89671A;
  --brand-900: #644C17;
  --brand-950: #3E2F0E;
  --brand: #f9f1df;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF9F4;
  --brand-border: #EDDFC0;
  --brand-hover: #F3E4C1;
  --brand-pressed: #EED7A3;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241F14;
    --brand-ink: #EEE6D3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FBF9F3',
        100: '#f9f1df',
        200: '#F2E5CA',
        300: '#EDD6A1',
        400: '#E4C171',
        500: '#DCAC42',
        600: '#CE9A27',
        700: '#AC8120',
        800: '#89671A',
        900: '#644C17',
        950: '#3E2F0E',
        DEFAULT: '#f9f1df',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FBF9F3,
  '100': #f9f1df,
  '200': #F2E5CA,
  '300': #EDD6A1,
  '400': #E4C171,
  '500': #DCAC42,
  '600': #CE9A27,
  '700': #AC8120,
  '800': #89671A,
  '900': #644C17,
  '950': #3E2F0E,
);
$brand-base: #f9f1df;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FBF9F3", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#f9f1df", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#F2E5CA", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#EDD6A1", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#E4C171", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#DCAC42", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#CE9A27", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#AC8120", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#89671A", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#644C17", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#3E2F0E", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

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 #f9f1df · 18.68:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.12:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 18.68:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #f9f1df as text scores 1.12:1 on white and 18.68:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #6B5014 at 6.71:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#946F1C · 4.62:1
AA on white−58% L
#946F1C
The quick fox
#6E5215 · 7.29:1
AAA on white−67% L
#6E5215
The quick fox
#f9f1df · 18.68:1
AA on blackalready passes
#f9f1df
The quick fox
#f9f1df · 18.68:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#f9f1df

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #BB8C23 is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#f9f1df on white: 1.12:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#f9f1df on black: 18.68:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #f9f1df as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #f9f1df.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.12:1AaAa
Slate 501.07:1AaAa
Slate 1001.03:1AaAa
Slate 2001.10:1AaAa
Slate 3001.32:1AaAa
Slate 4002.28:1AaAa
Slate 5004.23:1AaAa
Slate 6006.74:1AaAa
Slate 7009.21:1AaAa
Slate 80013.01:1AaAa
Slate 90015.88:1AaAa
Black18.68:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #F6F0DE
deuteranopia · #F8F2DF
tritanopia · #FEEEEC

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #f9f1df is pinned to step 100; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FBF9F3
#f9f1df
#F2E5CA
#EDD6A1
#E4C171
#DCAC42
#CE9A27
#AC8120
#89671A
#644C17
#3E2F0E
Base = 100Lightest = 50 · #FBF9F3Darkest = 950 · #3E2F0EText step on white = 800
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.006 86.9);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.010 86.9);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.015 86.9);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.020 86.9);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.023 86.9);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.025 86.9);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.025 86.9);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.024 86.9);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.021 86.9);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.018 86.9);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.014 86.9);
}

Colors that work with #f9f1df

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#EDDFC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B824B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1B6BB1
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6B5014
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FBF6EA
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241F14
Dark-mode background
Hover#F3E4C1
One step down in lightness
Pressed#EED7A3
Two steps down
Disabled#F7F6F3
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#FBF1DB
Offset from the fill so it reads
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

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #f9f1df

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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #6B5014
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #BB8C23

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

optimisticalertcheap-and-cheerfulvisible

The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail.

This is a confident chroma: strong enough to lead a brand, restrained enough to live in an interface all day. The high lightness makes it recede — a surface colour rather than a statement.

Worth knowing

Almost never passes contrast against white. Treat it as a surface or a marker, not as text.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium-high
  • Weight8/100
  • TemperatureWarm
  • ApproachabilityHigh

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

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#DFE7F9
Analogous left#F9E4DF
Analogous right#F4F9DF
Split-complement 1#DFF4F9
Split-complement 2#E4DFF9
Triadic 1#DFF9F1
Triadic 2#F1DFF9
Tetradic#DFF9E4
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°42°

#f9f1df sits at 42°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red97.6%
Green94.5%
Blue87.5%
R · 0–255
249
0xf9
G · 0–255
241
0xf1
B · 0–255
223
0xdf

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta3.2%
Yellow10.4%
Key (black)2.4%

Total ink coverage is 16%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#f9f1df text on a black background

contrast 18.68:1

Card sample

#f9f1df text on a white background

contrast 1.12:1

Card sample

#f9f1df on grey

1.03:1

#f9f1df on its own surface

1.07:1

#f9f1df on its dark surface

14.58:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #f9f1df;
Background color
Panel with #f9f1df background
background-color: #f9f1df;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #f9f1df;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(249, 241, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(249, 241, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #f9f1df;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f9f1df, #F0F9DF);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #f9f1df, #E9F9DF);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #f9f1df;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #f9f1df;
caret-color: #f9f1df;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #f9f1df;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FBF6EA;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #f9f1df;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#f9f1df 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #f9f1df over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(249, 241, 223, 0.5)
rgb(249 241 223 / 50%)
#f9f1df80
hsl(42 68% 93% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #f9f1df 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#f9f1df1a#FEFEFC
20%#f9f1df33#FEFCF9
40%#f9f1df66#FDF9F2
60%#f9f1df99#FBF7EC
80%#f9f1dfcc#FAF4E5

Gradients from #f9f1df

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #FCF7EE, #f9f1df 45%, #6B5014);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #f9f1df, #DFF4C5);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #f9f1df, #DFE7F9);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #FDF9F2 0%, #f9f1df 45%, #6B5014 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF9F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #FFFFFF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #FCFEF9 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #6B5014 0%, transparent 65%), #f9f1df;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #f9f1df

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

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.

#f9f1df 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

Very light tints can drop out on uncoated stock; check it at 100% size before signing off.

On screens

Very light values are indistinguishable from white on a dim phone screen outdoors. Give it a border if the boundary matters.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 18.68:1.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#f9f1df, answered

What color is #f9f1df?

#f9f1df is a pale vivid yellow, closest to Old Lace (ΔE2000 1.5). It sits at 42° on the hue wheel with 68% saturation and 93% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #f9f1df?

rgb(249, 241, 223) — 249 red, 241 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 97.6% / 94.5% / 87.5% by channel.

What is #f9f1df in HSL and HSV?

hsl(42, 68%, 93%) and hsv(42, 10%, 98%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #f9f1df a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.8838 and perceived brightness is 95%, so black text on it reaches 18.68:1.

Should I use black or white text on #f9f1df?

Black. It scores 18.68:1 against #f9f1df, versus 1.12:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #f9f1df accessible on a white background?

#f9f1df on white scores 1.12:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #946F1C to reach 4.5:1, or #6E5215 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #f9f1df?

#DFE7F9 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DFF4F9 and #E4DFF9, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #f9f1df?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDDFC0 for borders, #9B824B for secondary text, #1B6BB1 as an accent and #6B5014 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #F9E4DF and #F4F9DF stays calm, while #DFE7F9 is the loudest partner.

What is #f9f1df in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 3%, 10%, 2%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #f9f1df warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 10 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #F9EBDF; nudged cooler, #F8F9DE.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #f9f1df?

The yellow family — its 500 step is #eab308, ΔE2000 26.4 away. That is a visible difference, so define #f9f1df as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #f9f1df in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#f9f1df] or text-[#f9f1df], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #f9f1df with 50% opacity?

rgba(249, 241, 223, 0.5), or #f9f1df80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #FCF8EF; over black, #7D7970.

Is #f9f1df a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #FFFFCC, ΔE2000 10.9 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #f9f1df mean?

As a yellow, it reads optimistic, alert, cheap-and-cheerful. The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #f9f1df?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #FCF7EE, #f9f1df 45%, #6B5014). For more colour, a short hue run to #DFF4C5 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #f9f1df in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #f9f1df at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.