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#fdf6aa

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

RGB
253, 246, 170
HSL
55°, 95%, 83%
CMYK
0, 3, 33, 1
Luminance
0.8970

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fdf6aa is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fdf6aa
Hue
55°
yellow
Saturation
95%
electric
Lightness
83%
light
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
94%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.8970
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
21/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
18.94:1
Closest name
Pale Goldenrod
ΔE2000 3.9
Where it sits
Hue55° of 360°
Saturation95%
Lightness83%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool21% 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#fdf6aa
RGBrgb(253, 246, 170)
HSLhsl(55, 95%, 83%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 3%, 33%, 1%)
LABlab(95.9 -8.7 37.5)
LCHlch(95.9 38.5 103.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.961 0.096 103.6)
Decimal16643754
Display P3color(display-p3 0.992 0.965 0.667)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fdf6aa;
background-color: #fdf6aa;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fdf6aa] bg-[#fdf6aa]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fdf6aa;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.992, green: 0.965, blue: 0.667)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fdf6aa")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFDF6AA)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(170, 246, 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 #fdf6aa · 18.94:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.11:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 18.94:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fdf6aa as text scores 1.11:1 on white and 18.94:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fdf6aa on white: 1.11:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fdf6aa on black: 18.94:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #FFF1A5
deuteranopia · #FFF5AD
tritanopia · #FFECE2

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fdf6aa 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.

#FDFCF1
#FCFAE4
#fdf6aa
#FCF391
#FBED5B
#FAE824
#EFDB06
#C7B705
#9F9204
#736A07
#484205
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #FDFCF1Darkest = 950 · #484205
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDFCF1;
  --brand-100: #FCFAE4;
  --brand-200: #fdf6aa;
  --brand-300: #FCF391;
  --brand-400: #FBED5B;
  --brand-500: #FAE824;
  --brand-600: #EFDB06;
  --brand-700: #C7B705;
  --brand-800: #9F9204;
  --brand-900: #736A07;
  --brand-950: #484205;
  --brand: #fdf6aa;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fdf6aa

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#EDE9C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B944B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0044CC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7D7203
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FEFCE6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242314
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 #fdf6aa

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#AAB1FD
Analogous left#FDCCAA
Analogous right#DAFDAA
Split-complement 1#AADAFD
Split-complement 2#CCAAFD
Triadic 1#AAFDF6
Triadic 2#F6AAFD
Tetradic#AAFDCC

RGB percentages

Red99.2%
Green96.5%
Blue66.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta2.8%
Yellow32.8%
Key (black)0.8%

Color previews

#fdf6aa text on a black background

contrast 18.94:1

Card sample

#fdf6aa text on a white background

contrast 1.11:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fdf6aa;
Background color
Panel with #fdf6aa background
background-color: #fdf6aa;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fdf6aa;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(253, 246, 170, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(253, 246, 170, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fdf6aa;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fdf6aa, #CDFDAA);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fdf6aa

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.

#fdf6aa 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.

#fdf6aa, answered

What color is #fdf6aa?

#fdf6aa is a light electric yellow, closest to Pale Goldenrod (ΔE2000 3.9). It sits at 55° on the hue wheel with 95% saturation and 83% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fdf6aa?

rgb(253, 246, 170) — 253 red, 246 green and 170 blue out of 255, or 99.2% / 96.5% / 66.7% by channel.

Is #fdf6aa a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.8970 and perceived brightness is 94%, so black text on it reaches 18.94:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fdf6aa?

Black. It scores 18.94:1 against #fdf6aa, versus 1.11:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fdf6aa?

#AAB1FD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #AADAFD and #CCAAFD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fdf6aa?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDE9C0 for borders, #9B944B for secondary text, #0044CC as an accent and #7D7203 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FDCCAA and #DAFDAA stays calm, while #AAB1FD is the loudest partner.

What is #fdf6aa in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 3%, 33%, 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 #fdf6aa warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 21 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FDD8AA; nudged cooler, #E6FEA9.

Work with #fdf6aa in the Color Lab