Skip to content

#ffec89

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

RGB
255, 236, 137
HSL
50°, 100%, 77%
CMYK
0, 8, 46, 0
Luminance
0.8306

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ffec89 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ffec89
Hue
50°
yellow
Saturation
100%
electric
Lightness
77%
light
Brightness
100%
HSV value
Perceived
91%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.8306
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
17/100 cool
Color family
Yellow
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
17.61:1
Closest name
Khaki
ΔE2000 3.1
Where it sits
Hue50° of 360°
Saturation100%
Lightness77%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool17% 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#ffec89
RGBrgb(255, 236, 137)
HSLhsl(50, 100%, 77%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 8%, 46%, 0%)
LABlab(93.0 -6.4 50.1)
LCHlch(93.0 50.5 97.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.938 0.122 98.7)
Decimal16772233
Display P3color(display-p3 1.000 0.925 0.537)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ffec89;
background-color: #ffec89;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ffec89] bg-[#ffec89]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ffec89;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 1.000, green: 0.925, blue: 0.537)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ffec89")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFFEC89)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(137, 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 #ffec89 · 17.61:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.19:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 17.61:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ffec89 as text scores 1.19:1 on white and 17.61:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ffec89 on white: 1.19:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ffec89 on black: 17.61:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #FDE781
deuteranopia · #FFEE8D
tritanopia · #FFDFD4

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ffec89 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
#FCF8E3
#FCF2C0
#ffec89
#FFE457
#FFDB1F
#F5CD00
#CCAB00
#A38900
#766305
#493E03
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #FEFCF1Darkest = 950 · #493E03
:root {
  --brand-50: #FEFCF1;
  --brand-100: #FCF8E3;
  --brand-200: #FCF2C0;
  --brand-300: #ffec89;
  --brand-400: #FFE457;
  --brand-500: #FFDB1F;
  --brand-600: #F5CD00;
  --brand-700: #CCAB00;
  --brand-800: #A38900;
  --brand-900: #766305;
  --brand-950: #493E03;
  --brand: #ffec89;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ffec89

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#EDE5C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B8E4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#0055CC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#806B00
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFFBE5
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 #ffec89

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#899CFF
Analogous left#FFB189
Analogous right#D7FF89
Split-complement 1#89D7FF
Split-complement 2#B189FF
Triadic 1#89FFEC
Triadic 2#EC89FF
Tetradic#89FFB1

RGB percentages

Red100.0%
Green92.5%
Blue53.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta7.5%
Yellow46.3%
Key (black)0.0%

Color previews

#ffec89 text on a black background

contrast 17.61:1

Card sample

#ffec89 text on a white background

contrast 1.19:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ffec89;
Background color
Panel with #ffec89 background
background-color: #ffec89;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ffec89;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(255, 236, 137, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(255, 236, 137, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ffec89;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ffec89, #C4FF89);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ffec89

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.

#ffec89 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.

#ffec89, answered

What color is #ffec89?

#ffec89 is a light electric yellow, closest to Khaki (ΔE2000 3.1). It sits at 50° on the hue wheel with 100% saturation and 77% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ffec89?

rgb(255, 236, 137) — 255 red, 236 green and 137 blue out of 255, or 100% / 92.5% / 53.7% by channel.

Is #ffec89 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.8306 and perceived brightness is 91%, so black text on it reaches 17.61:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ffec89?

Black. It scores 17.61:1 against #ffec89, versus 1.19:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ffec89?

#899CFF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #89D7FF and #B189FF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ffec89?

For interface work: #FAF9F4 as the surface, #EDE5C0 for borders, #9B8E4B for secondary text, #0055CC as an accent and #806B00 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FFB189 and #D7FF89 stays calm, while #899CFF is the loudest partner.

What is #ffec89 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 8%, 46%, 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 #ffec89 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 17 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FFCC89; nudged cooler, #E7FF89.

Work with #ffec89 in the Color Lab