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#f9fcb2

a light, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Pale Goldenrod

RGB
249, 252, 178
HSL
62°, 93%, 84%
CMYK
1, 0, 29, 1
Luminance
0.9297

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #f9fcb2 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#f9fcb2
Hue
62°
yellow
Saturation
93%
electric
Lightness
84%
light
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
96%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.9297
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
27/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
19.59:1
Closest name
Pale Goldenrod
ΔE2000 4.9
Where it sits
Hue62° of 360°
Saturation93%
Lightness84%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool27% 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#f9fcb2
RGBrgb(249, 252, 178)
HSLhsl(62, 93%, 84%)
CMYKcmyk(1%, 0%, 29%, 1%)
LABlab(97.2 -12.2 35.2)
LCHlch(97.2 37.3 109.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.972 0.093 110.0)
Decimal16383154
Display P3color(display-p3 0.976 0.988 0.698)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #f9fcb2;
background-color: #f9fcb2;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#f9fcb2] bg-[#f9fcb2]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #f9fcb2;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.976, green: 0.988, blue: 0.698)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#f9fcb2")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFF9FCB2)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(178, 252, 249)

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 #f9fcb2 · 19.59:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.07:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 19.59:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #f9fcb2 as text scores 1.07:1 on white and 19.59:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#f9fcb2 on white: 1.07:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#f9fcb2 on black: 19.59:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #FFF6AD
deuteranopia · #FFF8B5
tritanopia · #FFF3E9

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #f9fcb2 is pinned to step 200; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FDFDF2
#FAFBE4
#f9fcb2
#F7FB93
#F2F95D
#EEF727
#E3EC09
#BDC408
#979D06
#6D7109
#444706
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #FDFDF2Darkest = 950 · #444706
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFDF2;
  --brand-100: #FAFBE4;
  --brand-200: #f9fcb2;
  --brand-300: #F7FB93;
  --brand-400: #F2F95D;
  --brand-500: #EEF727;
  --brand-600: #E3EC09;
  --brand-700: #BDC408;
  --brand-800: #979D06;
  --brand-900: #6D7109;
  --brand-950: #444706;
  --brand: #f9fcb2;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #f9fcb2

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#EBEDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#989B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#032EC9
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#767B05
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDFEE6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242414
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 #f9fcb2

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#B5B2FC
Analogous left#FCDAB2
Analogous right#D4FCB2
Split-complement 1#B2D4FC
Split-complement 2#DAB2FC
Triadic 1#B2F9FC
Triadic 2#FCB2F9
Tetradic#B2FCDA

RGB percentages

Red97.6%
Green98.8%
Blue69.8%

CMYK percentages

Cyan1.2%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow29.4%
Key (black)1.2%

Color previews

#f9fcb2 text on a black background

contrast 19.59:1

Card sample

#f9fcb2 text on a white background

contrast 1.07:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #f9fcb2;
Background color
Panel with #f9fcb2 background
background-color: #f9fcb2;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #f9fcb2;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(249, 252, 178, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(249, 252, 178, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #f9fcb2;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f9fcb2, #C8FCB2);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #f9fcb2

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.

#f9fcb2 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.

#f9fcb2, answered

What color is #f9fcb2?

#f9fcb2 is a light electric yellow, closest to Pale Goldenrod (ΔE2000 4.9). It sits at 62° on the hue wheel with 93% saturation and 84% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #f9fcb2?

rgb(249, 252, 178) — 249 red, 252 green and 178 blue out of 255, or 97.6% / 98.8% / 69.8% by channel.

Is #f9fcb2 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.9297 and perceived brightness is 96%, so black text on it reaches 19.59:1.

Should I use black or white text on #f9fcb2?

Black. It scores 19.59:1 against #f9fcb2, versus 1.07:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #f9fcb2?

#B5B2FC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #B2D4FC and #DAB2FC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #f9fcb2?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EBEDC0 for borders, #989B4B for secondary text, #032EC9 as an accent and #767B05 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FCDAB2 and #D4FCB2 stays calm, while #B5B2FC is the loudest partner.

What is #f9fcb2 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(1%, 0%, 29%, 1%). 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 #f9fcb2 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 27 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FCE4B2; nudged cooler, #DEFDB1.

Work with #f9fcb2 in the Color Lab