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#fcdf35

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

RGB
252, 223, 53
HSL
51°, 97%, 60%
CMYK
0, 12, 79, 1
Luminance
0.7373

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fcdf35 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fcdf35
Hue
51°
yellow
Saturation
97%
electric
Lightness
60%
balanced
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
86%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7373
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
18/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
15.75:1
Closest name
Gold
ΔE2000 3.3
Where it sits
Hue51° of 360°
Saturation97%
Lightness60%
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#fcdf35
RGBrgb(252, 223, 53)
HSLhsl(51, 97%, 60%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 12%, 79%, 1%)
LABlab(88.8 -6.3 79.6)
LCHlch(88.8 79.8 94.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.901 0.174 98.8)
Decimal16572213
Display P3color(display-p3 0.988 0.875 0.208)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fcdf35;
background-color: #fcdf35;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fcdf35] bg-[#fcdf35]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fcdf35;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.988, green: 0.875, blue: 0.208)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fcdf35")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFCDF35)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(53, 223, 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 #fcdf35 · 15.75:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.33:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 15.75:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fcdf35 as text scores 1.33:1 on white and 15.75:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fcdf35 on white: 1.33:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fcdf35 on black: 15.75:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #F6D900
deuteranopia · #FDE342
tritanopia · #FFCEC0

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fcdf35 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
#FDEE90
#FDE559
#fcdf35
#F1CF04
#C9AC03
#A18A02
#746407
#483F04
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FDFCF1Darkest = 950 · #483F04
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFCF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF8E4;
  --brand-200: #FBF2C1;
  --brand-300: #FDEE90;
  --brand-400: #FDE559;
  --brand-500: #fcdf35;
  --brand-600: #F1CF04;
  --brand-700: #C9AC03;
  --brand-800: #A18A02;
  --brand-900: #746407;
  --brand-950: #483F04;
  --brand: #fcdf35;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fcdf35

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#EDE6C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8F4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#3283FF
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7E6C02
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 #fcdf35

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#3552FC
Analogous left#FC7C35
Analogous right#B5FC35
Split-complement 1#35B5FC
Split-complement 2#7C35FC
Triadic 1#35FCDF
Triadic 2#DF35FC
Tetradic#35FC7C

RGB percentages

Red98.8%
Green87.5%
Blue20.8%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta11.5%
Yellow79.0%
Key (black)1.2%

Color previews

#fcdf35 text on a black background

contrast 15.75:1

Card sample

#fcdf35 text on a white background

contrast 1.33:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fcdf35;
Background color
Panel with #fcdf35 background
background-color: #fcdf35;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fcdf35;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(252, 223, 53, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(252, 223, 53, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fcdf35;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fcdf35, #94FC35);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fcdf35

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.

#fcdf35 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.

#fcdf35, answered

What color is #fcdf35?

#fcdf35 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Gold (ΔE2000 3.3). It sits at 51° on the hue wheel with 97% saturation and 60% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fcdf35?

rgb(252, 223, 53) — 252 red, 223 green and 53 blue out of 255, or 98.8% / 87.5% / 20.8% by channel.

Is #fcdf35 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7373 and perceived brightness is 86%, so black text on it reaches 15.75:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fcdf35?

Black. It scores 15.75:1 against #fcdf35, versus 1.33:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fcdf35?

#3552FC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #35B5FC and #7C35FC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fcdf35?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDE6C0 for borders, #9B8F4B for secondary text, #3283FF as an accent and #7E6C02 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FC7C35 and #B5FC35 stays calm, while #3552FC is the loudest partner.

What is #fcdf35 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 12%, 79%, 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 #fcdf35 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 #FCB135; nudged cooler, #D1FE33.

Work with #fcdf35 in the Color Lab