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yellow · warm

#fdfcf9

a pale, vivid yellow · warm · closest name: White

Token name suggestion: Frost Citron

RGB
253, 252, 249
HSL
45°, 50%, 98%
CMYK
0, 0, 2, 1
Luminance
0.9734

#fdfcf9 is a pale vivid yellow, 45° on the wheel and 13/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (20.47:1). As text it scores 1.03:1 on white — use #8B742E instead. Nearest name is White, nearest Tailwind family is cyan.

hsl(45 50% 98%)rgb(253 252 249)Base step 50AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fdfcf9 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fdfcf9
Hue
45°
yellow
Saturation
50%
vivid
Lightness
98%
pale
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
99%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.9734
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
13/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
20.47:1
Closest name
White
ΔE2000 1.6
Chroma
1.6
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.991
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
cyan
500 · ΔE 31
Web-safe
#FFFFFF
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue45° of 360°
Saturation50%
Lightness98%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #fdfcf9.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool13% cool

Reads warm. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Luminance by channel
Red21%
Green72%
Blue7%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#fdfcf9
HEX (8-digit)#fdfcf9ff
RGBrgb(253, 252, 249)
RGBArgba(253, 252, 249, 1)
HSLhsl(45, 50%, 98%)
HSV / HSBhsv(45, 2%, 99%)
HWBhwb(45 98% 1%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 0%, 2%, 1%)
LABlab(99.0 -0.2 1.6)
LCHlch(99.0 1.6 97.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.991 0.004 91.4)
XYZ (D65)xyz(92.41, 97.34, 103.52)
Decimal16645369
Display P3color(display-p3 0.992 0.988 0.976)
Web-safe#FFFFFF

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #fdfcf9;
background-color: #fdfcf9;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #fdfcf9;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fdfcf9] bg-[#fdfcf9]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fdfcf9;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.992, green: 0.988, blue: 0.976)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.992, green: 0.988, blue: 0.976, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#FDFCF9</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFFDFCF9)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFDFCF9)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(249, 252, 253)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(253, 252, 249)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(253, 252, 249)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 253, 252, 249)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.9922f, 0.9882f, 0.9765f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{253,252,249}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #fdfcf9 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #fdfcf9 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#605020, #EEE7D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #fdfcf9 h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #fdfcf9;
  --brand-100: #F6F3EA;
  --brand-200: #ECE5CF;
  --brand-300: #E3D5AB;
  --brand-400: #D5C081;
  --brand-500: #C7AB57;
  --brand-600: #B8993D;
  --brand-700: #998033;
  --brand-800: #7A6629;
  --brand-900: #594B21;
  --brand-950: #382F15;
  --brand: #fdfcf9;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF9F4;
  --brand-border: #EBE0C2;
  --brand-hover: #F4EFDE;
  --brand-pressed: #EBE1C3;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #242014;
    --brand-ink: #EEE7D3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#fdfcf9',
        100: '#F6F3EA',
        200: '#ECE5CF',
        300: '#E3D5AB',
        400: '#D5C081',
        500: '#C7AB57',
        600: '#B8993D',
        700: '#998033',
        800: '#7A6629',
        900: '#594B21',
        950: '#382F15',
        DEFAULT: '#fdfcf9',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #fdfcf9,
  '100': #F6F3EA,
  '200': #ECE5CF,
  '300': #E3D5AB,
  '400': #D5C081,
  '500': #C7AB57,
  '600': #B8993D,
  '700': #998033,
  '800': #7A6629,
  '900': #594B21,
  '950': #382F15,
);
$brand-base: #fdfcf9;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#fdfcf9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F6F3EA", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#ECE5CF", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#E3D5AB", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#D5C081", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#C7AB57", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#B8993D", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#998033", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#7A6629", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#594B21", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#382F15", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

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 #fdfcf9 · 20.47:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.03:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 20.47:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #fdfcf9 as text scores 1.03:1 on white and 20.47:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #605020 at 7.68:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#8B742E · 4.53:1
AA on white−62% L
#8B742E
The quick fox
#695723 · 7.03:1
AAA on white−71% L
#695723
The quick fox
#fdfcf9 · 20.47:1
AA on blackalready passes
#fdfcf9
The quick fox
#fdfcf9 · 20.47:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#fdfcf9

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #AE913A is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fdfcf9 on white: 1.03:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fdfcf9 on black: 20.47:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #fdfcf9 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #fdfcf9.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.03:1AaAa
Slate 501.02:1AaAa
Slate 1001.07:1AaAa
Slate 2001.20:1AaAa
Slate 3001.45:1AaAa
Slate 4002.50:1AaAa
Slate 5004.64:1AaAa
Slate 6007.39:1AaAa
Slate 70010.09:1AaAa
Slate 80014.26:1AaAa
Slate 90017.40:1AaAa
Black20.47:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #FDFCF9
deuteranopia · #FDFCF9
tritanopia · #FEFBFB

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fdfcf9 is pinned to step 50; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#fdfcf9
#F6F3EA
#ECE5CF
#E3D5AB
#D5C081
#C7AB57
#B8993D
#998033
#7A6629
#594B21
#382F15
Base = 50Lightest = 50 · #fdfcf9Darkest = 950 · #382F15Text step on white = 800
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.001 91.4);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.002 91.4);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.002 91.4);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.003 91.4);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.004 91.4);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.004 91.4);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.004 91.4);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.004 91.4);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.003 91.4);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.003 91.4);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.002 91.4);
}

Colors that work with #fdfcf9

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#EBE0C2
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B874B
Captions on the surface
Accent#336699
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#605020
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F9F5EC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#242014
Dark-mode background
Hover#F4EFDE
One step down in lightness
Pressed#EBE1C3
Two steps down
Disabled#F7F6F3
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#F7F1DE
Offset from the fill so it reads
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

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #fdfcf9

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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #605020
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #AE913A

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

optimisticalertcheap-and-cheerfulvisible

The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail.

This is a confident chroma: strong enough to lead a brand, restrained enough to live in an interface all day. The high lightness makes it recede — a surface colour rather than a statement.

Worth knowing

Almost never passes contrast against white. Treat it as a surface or a marker, not as text.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium-high
  • Weight2/100
  • TemperatureWarm
  • ApproachabilityHigh

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

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#F9FAFD
Analogous left#FDFAF9
Analogous right#FCFDF9
Split-complement 1#F9FCFD
Split-complement 2#FAF9FD
Triadic 1#F9FDFC
Triadic 2#FCF9FD
Tetradic#F9FDFA
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°45°

#fdfcf9 sits at 45°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red99.2%
Green98.8%
Blue97.6%
R · 0–255
253
0xfd
G · 0–255
252
0xfc
B · 0–255
249
0xf9

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta0.4%
Yellow1.6%
Key (black)0.8%

Total ink coverage is 3%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#fdfcf9 text on a black background

contrast 20.47:1

Card sample

#fdfcf9 text on a white background

contrast 1.03:1

Card sample

#fdfcf9 on grey

1.07:1

#fdfcf9 on its own surface

1.03:1

#fdfcf9 on its dark surface

15.85:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fdfcf9;
Background color
Panel with #fdfcf9 background
background-color: #fdfcf9;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fdfcf9;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(253, 252, 249, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(253, 252, 249, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fdfcf9;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fdfcf9, #FBFDF9);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #fdfcf9, #FAFDF9);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #fdfcf9;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #fdfcf9;
caret-color: #fdfcf9;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #fdfcf9;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F9F5EC;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #fdfcf9;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#fdfcf9 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #fdfcf9 over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(253, 252, 249, 0.5)
rgb(253 252 249 / 50%)
#fdfcf980
hsl(45 50% 98% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #fdfcf9 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#fdfcf91a#FFFFFE
20%#fdfcf933#FFFEFE
40%#fdfcf966#FEFEFD
60%#fdfcf999#FEFDFB
80%#fdfcf9cc#FDFDFA

Gradients from #fdfcf9

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #FAF7F0, #fdfcf9 45%, #605020);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #fdfcf9, #ECF5E2);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #fdfcf9, #F9FAFD);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #FBF9F4 0%, #fdfcf9 45%, #605020 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF9F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #FFFFFF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #FFFFFF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #605020 0%, transparent 65%), #fdfcf9;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fdfcf9

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

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.

#fdfcf9 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

Very light tints can drop out on uncoated stock; check it at 100% size before signing off.

On screens

Very light values are indistinguishable from white on a dim phone screen outdoors. Give it a border if the boundary matters.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 20.47:1.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#fdfcf9, answered

What color is #fdfcf9?

#fdfcf9 is a pale vivid yellow, closest to White (ΔE2000 1.6). It sits at 45° on the hue wheel with 50% saturation and 98% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fdfcf9?

rgb(253, 252, 249) — 253 red, 252 green and 249 blue out of 255, or 99.2% / 98.8% / 97.6% by channel.

What is #fdfcf9 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(45, 50%, 98%) and hsv(45, 2%, 99%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #fdfcf9 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.9734 and perceived brightness is 99%, so black text on it reaches 20.47:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fdfcf9?

Black. It scores 20.47:1 against #fdfcf9, versus 1.03:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #fdfcf9 accessible on a white background?

#fdfcf9 on white scores 1.03:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #8B742E to reach 4.5:1, or #695723 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #fdfcf9?

#F9FAFD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #F9FCFD and #FAF9FD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fdfcf9?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EBE0C2 for borders, #9B874B for secondary text, #336699 as an accent and #605020 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FDFAF9 and #FCFDF9 stays calm, while #F9FAFD is the loudest partner.

What is #fdfcf9 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 0%, 2%, 1%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #fdfcf9 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 13 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FBF7F4; nudged cooler, #FAFBF3.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #fdfcf9?

The cyan family — its 500 step is #06b6d4, ΔE2000 31 away. That is a visible difference, so define #fdfcf9 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #fdfcf9 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#fdfcf9] or text-[#fdfcf9], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #fdfcf9 with 50% opacity?

rgba(253, 252, 249, 0.5), or #fdfcf980 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #FEFEFC; over black, #7F7E7D.

Is #fdfcf9 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #FFFFFF, ΔE2000 1.6 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #fdfcf9 mean?

As a yellow, it reads optimistic, alert, cheap-and-cheerful. The most visible hue at low light levels, which is why it owns warnings, hazard tape and value retail. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #fdfcf9?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #FAF7F0, #fdfcf9 45%, #605020). For more colour, a short hue run to #ECF5E2 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #fdfcf9 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #fdfcf9 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.