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#ffec73

a light, electric yellow · warm · closest name: Khaki

RGB
255, 236, 115
HSL
52°, 100%, 73%
CMYK
0, 8, 55, 0
Luminance
0.8249

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ffec73 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ffec73
Hue
52°
yellow
Saturation
100%
electric
Lightness
73%
light
Brightness
100%
HSV value
Perceived
91%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.8249
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
18/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
17.50:1
Closest name
Khaki
ΔE2000 5
Where it sits
Hue52° of 360°
Saturation100%
Lightness73%
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#ffec73
RGBrgb(255, 236, 115)
HSLhsl(52, 100%, 73%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 8%, 55%, 0%)
LABlab(92.8 -8.3 60.0)
LCHlch(92.8 60.6 97.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.935 0.143 100.5)
Decimal16772211
Display P3color(display-p3 1.000 0.925 0.451)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ffec73;
background-color: #ffec73;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ffec73] bg-[#ffec73]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ffec73;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 1.000, green: 0.925, blue: 0.451)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ffec73")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFFEC73)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(115, 236, 255)

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 #ffec73 · 17.50:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.20:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 17.50:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ffec73 as text scores 1.20:1 on white and 17.50:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ffec73 on white: 1.20:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ffec73 on black: 17.50:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #FFE667
deuteranopia · #FFEE79
tritanopia · #FFDED1

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ffec73 is pinned to step 300; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FEFCF1
#FCF9E3
#FCF4C0
#ffec73
#FFE857
#FFE11F
#F5D400
#CCB000
#A38D00
#766605
#494003
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FEFCF1Darkest = 950 · #494003
:root {
  --brand-50: #FEFCF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF9E3;
  --brand-200: #FCF4C0;
  --brand-300: #ffec73;
  --brand-400: #FFE857;
  --brand-500: #FFE11F;
  --brand-600: #F5D400;
  --brand-700: #CCB000;
  --brand-800: #A38D00;
  --brand-900: #766605;
  --brand-950: #494003;
  --brand: #ffec73;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ffec73

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#EDE7C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B904B
Captions on the surface
Accent#004FCC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#806E00
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFFCE5
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 #ffec73

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#7386FF
Analogous left#FFA673
Analogous right#CCFF73
Split-complement 1#73CCFF
Split-complement 2#A673FF
Triadic 1#73FFEC
Triadic 2#EC73FF
Tetradic#73FFA6

RGB percentages

Red100.0%
Green92.5%
Blue45.1%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta7.5%
Yellow54.9%
Key (black)0.0%

Color previews

#ffec73 text on a black background

contrast 17.50:1

Card sample

#ffec73 text on a white background

contrast 1.20:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ffec73;
Background color
Panel with #ffec73 background
background-color: #ffec73;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ffec73;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(255, 236, 115, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(255, 236, 115, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ffec73;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ffec73, #B4FF73);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ffec73

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.

#ffec73 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.

#ffec73, answered

What color is #ffec73?

#ffec73 is a light electric yellow, closest to Khaki (ΔE2000 5). It sits at 52° on the hue wheel with 100% saturation and 73% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ffec73?

rgb(255, 236, 115) — 255 red, 236 green and 115 blue out of 255, or 100% / 92.5% / 45.1% by channel.

Is #ffec73 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.8249 and perceived brightness is 91%, so black text on it reaches 17.50:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ffec73?

Black. It scores 17.50:1 against #ffec73, versus 1.20:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ffec73?

#7386FF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #73CCFF and #A673FF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ffec73?

For interface work: #FAFAF4 as the surface, #EDE7C0 for borders, #9B904B for secondary text, #004FCC as an accent and #806E00 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FFA673 and #CCFF73 stays calm, while #7386FF is the loudest partner.

What is #ffec73 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 8%, 55%, 0%). 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 #ffec73 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 #FFC573; nudged cooler, #DFFF73.

Work with #ffec73 in the Color Lab