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#fcdc2d

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

RGB
252, 220, 45
HSL
51°, 97%, 58%
CMYK
0, 13, 82, 1
Luminance
0.7207

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fcdc2d is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fcdc2d
Hue
51°
yellow
Saturation
97%
electric
Lightness
58%
balanced
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
86%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7207
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
17/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
15.41:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 2.3
Where it sits
Hue51° of 360°
Saturation97%
Lightness58%
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#fcdc2d
RGBrgb(252, 220, 45)
HSLhsl(51, 97%, 58%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 13%, 82%, 1%)
LABlab(88.0 -5.0 81.1)
LCHlch(88.0 81.2 93.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.895 0.175 97.8)
Decimal16571437
Display P3color(display-p3 0.988 0.863 0.176)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fcdc2d;
background-color: #fcdc2d;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fcdc2d] bg-[#fcdc2d]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fcdc2d;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.988, green: 0.863, blue: 0.176)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fcdc2d")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFCDC2D)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(45, 220, 252)

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 #fcdc2d · 15.41:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.36:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 15.41:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fcdc2d as text scores 1.36:1 on white and 15.41:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fcdc2d on white: 1.36:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fcdc2d on black: 15.41:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #F3D700
deuteranopia · #FBE13C
tritanopia · #FFCABD

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fcdc2d 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.

#FDFCF1
#FCF8E4
#FBF2C1
#FDED90
#FDE359
#fcdc2d
#F1CC03
#C9AA03
#A18802
#746306
#483E04
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FDFCF1Darkest = 950 · #483E04
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFCF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF8E4;
  --brand-200: #FBF2C1;
  --brand-300: #FDED90;
  --brand-400: #FDE359;
  --brand-500: #fcdc2d;
  --brand-600: #F1CC03;
  --brand-700: #C9AA03;
  --brand-800: #A18802;
  --brand-900: #746306;
  --brand-950: #483E04;
  --brand: #fcdc2d;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fcdc2d

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#9B8E4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#2A80FF
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7E6B02
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFFBE6
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 #fcdc2d

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#2D4DFC
Analogous left#FC742D
Analogous right#B5FC2D
Split-complement 1#2DB5FC
Split-complement 2#742DFC
Triadic 1#2DFCDC
Triadic 2#DC2DFC
Tetradic#2DFC74

RGB percentages

Red98.8%
Green86.3%
Blue17.6%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta12.7%
Yellow82.1%
Key (black)1.2%

Color previews

#fcdc2d text on a black background

contrast 15.41:1

Card sample

#fcdc2d text on a white background

contrast 1.36:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fcdc2d;
Background color
Panel with #fcdc2d background
background-color: #fcdc2d;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fcdc2d;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(252, 220, 45, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(252, 220, 45, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fcdc2d;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fcdc2d, #92FC2D);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fcdc2d

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.

#fcdc2d 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.

#fcdc2d, answered

What color is #fcdc2d?

#fcdc2d is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 2.3). It sits at 51° on the hue wheel with 97% saturation and 58% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fcdc2d?

rgb(252, 220, 45) — 252 red, 220 green and 45 blue out of 255, or 98.8% / 86.3% / 17.6% by channel.

Is #fcdc2d a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7207 and perceived brightness is 86%, so black text on it reaches 15.41:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fcdc2d?

Black. It scores 15.41:1 against #fcdc2d, versus 1.36:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fcdc2d?

#2D4DFC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #2DB5FC and #742DFC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fcdc2d?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE6C0 for borders, #9B8E4B for secondary text, #2A80FF as an accent and #7E6B02 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FC742D and #B5FC2D stays calm, while #2D4DFC is the loudest partner.

What is #fcdc2d in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 13%, 82%, 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 #fcdc2d 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 #FCAE2D; nudged cooler, #D1FE2B.

Work with #fcdc2d in the Color Lab