Skip to content

#fcfbc3

a pale, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Lemon Chiffon

RGB
252, 251, 195
HSL
59°, 91%, 88%
CMYK
0, 0, 23, 1
Luminance
0.9363

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fcfbc3 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fcfbc3
Hue
59°
yellow
Saturation
91%
electric
Lightness
88%
pale
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
96%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.9363
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
24/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
19.73:1
Closest name
Lemon Chiffon
ΔE2000 2.9
Where it sits
Hue59° of 360°
Saturation91%
Lightness88%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool24% 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#fcfbc3
RGBrgb(252, 251, 195)
HSLhsl(59, 91%, 88%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 0%, 23%, 1%)
LABlab(97.5 -8.4 27.1)
LCHlch(97.5 28.3 107.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.975 0.072 106.8)
Decimal16579523
Display P3color(display-p3 0.988 0.984 0.765)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fcfbc3;
background-color: #fcfbc3;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fcfbc3] bg-[#fcfbc3]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fcfbc3;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.988, green: 0.984, blue: 0.765)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fcfbc3")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFCFBC3)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(195, 251, 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 #fcfbc3 · 19.73:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.06:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 19.73:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fcfbc3 as text scores 1.06:1 on white and 19.73:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fcfbc3 on white: 1.06:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fcfbc3 on black: 19.73:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #FFF6BF
deuteranopia · #FFF9C5
tritanopia · #FFF4EC

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fcfbc3 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
#FBFAE5
#fcfbc3
#FAF894
#F7F45F
#F4F129
#E9E50C
#C2BF0A
#9B9908
#706E0A
#464506
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #FDFDF2Darkest = 950 · #464506
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFDF2;
  --brand-100: #FBFAE5;
  --brand-200: #fcfbc3;
  --brand-300: #FAF894;
  --brand-400: #F7F45F;
  --brand-500: #F4F129;
  --brand-600: #E9E50C;
  --brand-700: #C2BF0A;
  --brand-800: #9B9908;
  --brand-900: #706E0A;
  --brand-950: #464506;
  --brand: #fcfbc3;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fcfbc3

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#EDECC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B994B
Captions on the surface
Accent#063DC6
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#797706
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEFDE7
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 #fcfbc3

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#C3C4FC
Analogous left#FCDEC3
Analogous right#E0FCC3
Split-complement 1#C3E0FC
Split-complement 2#DEC3FC
Triadic 1#C3FCFB
Triadic 2#FBC3FC
Tetradic#C3FCDE

RGB percentages

Red98.8%
Green98.4%
Blue76.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta0.4%
Yellow22.6%
Key (black)1.2%

Color previews

#fcfbc3 text on a black background

contrast 19.73:1

Card sample

#fcfbc3 text on a white background

contrast 1.06:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fcfbc3;
Background color
Panel with #fcfbc3 background
background-color: #fcfbc3;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fcfbc3;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(252, 251, 195, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(252, 251, 195, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fcfbc3;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fcfbc3, #D7FCC3);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fcfbc3

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.

#fcfbc3 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.

#fcfbc3, answered

What color is #fcfbc3?

#fcfbc3 is a pale electric yellow, closest to Lemon Chiffon (ΔE2000 2.9). It sits at 59° on the hue wheel with 91% saturation and 88% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fcfbc3?

rgb(252, 251, 195) — 252 red, 251 green and 195 blue out of 255, or 98.8% / 98.4% / 76.5% by channel.

Is #fcfbc3 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.9363 and perceived brightness is 96%, so black text on it reaches 19.73:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fcfbc3?

Black. It scores 19.73:1 against #fcfbc3, versus 1.06:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fcfbc3?

#C3C4FC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #C3E0FC and #DEC3FC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fcfbc3?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDECC0 for borders, #9B994B for secondary text, #063DC6 as an accent and #797706 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FCDEC3 and #E0FCC3 stays calm, while #C3C4FC is the loudest partner.

What is #fcfbc3 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 0%, 23%, 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 #fcfbc3 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 24 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FCE6C3; nudged cooler, #E8FDC2.

Work with #fcfbc3 in the Color Lab