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#fdbe39

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

RGB
253, 190, 57
HSL
41°, 98%, 61%
CMYK
0, 25, 78, 1
Luminance
0.5800

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fdbe39 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fdbe39
Hue
41°
yellow
Saturation
98%
electric
Lightness
61%
balanced
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
79%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5800
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
9/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
12.60:1
Closest name
Goldenrod
ΔE2000 7.3
Where it sits
Hue41° of 360°
Saturation98%
Lightness61%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool9% 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#fdbe39
RGBrgb(253, 190, 57)
HSLhsl(41, 98%, 61%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 25%, 78%, 1%)
LABlab(80.7 11.1 71.1)
LCHlch(80.7 72.0 81.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.838 0.156 81.4)
Decimal16629305
Display P3color(display-p3 0.992 0.745 0.224)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fdbe39;
background-color: #fdbe39;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fdbe39] bg-[#fdbe39]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fdbe39;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.992, green: 0.745, blue: 0.224)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fdbe39")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFDBE39)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(57, 190, 253)

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 #fdbe39 · 12.60:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.67:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.60:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fdbe39 as text scores 1.67:1 on white and 12.60:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fdbe39 on white: 1.67:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fdbe39 on black: 12.60:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D8BF20
deuteranopia · #E6CF3F
tritanopia · #FFABA4

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fdbe39 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.

#FDFAF1
#FCF4E3
#FBE8C1
#FEDB90
#FDC858
#fdbe39
#F2A502
#CA8A02
#A26E02
#745106
#493304
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FDFAF1Darkest = 950 · #493304
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFAF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF4E3;
  --brand-200: #FBE8C1;
  --brand-300: #FEDB90;
  --brand-400: #FDC858;
  --brand-500: #fdbe39;
  --brand-600: #F2A502;
  --brand-700: #CA8A02;
  --brand-800: #A26E02;
  --brand-900: #745106;
  --brand-950: #493304;
  --brand: #fdbe39;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fdbe39

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#FAF8F4
Tinted page background
Border#EDDEC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B814B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0074CC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7E5601
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFF7E6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241F14
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 #fdbe39

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#3978FD
Analogous left#FD5C39
Analogous right#DAFD39
Split-complement 1#39DAFD
Split-complement 2#5C39FD
Triadic 1#39FDBE
Triadic 2#BE39FD
Tetradic#39FD5C

RGB percentages

Red99.2%
Green74.5%
Blue22.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta24.9%
Yellow77.5%
Key (black)0.8%

Color previews

#fdbe39 text on a black background

contrast 12.60:1

Card sample

#fdbe39 text on a white background

contrast 1.67:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fdbe39;
Background color
Panel with #fdbe39 background
background-color: #fdbe39;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fdbe39;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(253, 190, 57, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(253, 190, 57, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fdbe39;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fdbe39, #B9FD39);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fdbe39

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.

#fdbe39 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.

#fdbe39, answered

What color is #fdbe39?

#fdbe39 is a balanced electric yellow, closest to Goldenrod (ΔE2000 7.3). It sits at 41° on the hue wheel with 98% saturation and 61% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fdbe39?

rgb(253, 190, 57) — 253 red, 190 green and 57 blue out of 255, or 99.2% / 74.5% / 22.4% by channel.

Is #fdbe39 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5800 and perceived brightness is 79%, so black text on it reaches 12.60:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fdbe39?

Black. It scores 12.60:1 against #fdbe39, versus 1.67:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fdbe39?

#3978FD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #39DAFD and #5C39FD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fdbe39?

For interface work: #FAF8F4 as the surface, #EDDEC0 for borders, #9B814B for secondary text, #0074CC as an accent and #7E5601 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FD5C39 and #DAFD39 stays calm, while #3978FD is the loudest partner.

What is #fdbe39 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 25%, 78%, 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 #fdbe39 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 9 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FDA339; nudged cooler, #F6FF37.

Work with #fdbe39 in the Color Lab