Color reference

#ADA542 color reference

Clear Light Yellow

This is a clear, light yellow under the deterministic OKLCH hue, lightness, and chroma ranges. Its closest standardized CSS named color is Dark Khaki (#BDB76B), measured with straight-line OKLab distance.

Descriptive label
Clear Light Yellow
Recommended text
Black · 8.24:1
Relative luminance
0.361879
Build a palette from #ADA542 in Palette Generator Convert #ADA542 in Color Converter
Formats UI preview Contrast 50–900 scale Harmonies Matches Related colors Color vision Exports

Copyable values

#ADA542 in common color formats

Values are calculated from the same opaque sRGB color. Display rounding does not alter the internal calculations.

Color conversions for #ADA542
Format Value Action
HEX #ADA542
RGB rgb(173 165 66)
HSL hsl(56 44.77% 46.86%)
HSV hsv(56 61.85% 67.84%)
HWB hwb(56 25.88% 32.16%)
XYZ D65 color(xyz-d65 0.31671 0.361883 0.104712)
LAB lab(66.9771% -6.19 50.707)
LCH lch(66.9771% 51.0834 96.9599)
OKLAB oklab(70.9293% -0.03051 0.116394)
OKLCH oklch(70.9293% 0.120326 104.6884)

Real-world test

Try #ADA542 on interface components

Preview the source as a primary action, subtle status, form treatment, and card surface. Persistent state controls help touch and keyboard users inspect the same normal, hover, and active colors.

Normal state uses #ADA542 with black text at 8.24:1.

Action

Primary button

Use the controls above or point to and press the button to inspect its visual states.

Status

Subtle alert badge

A 12% source tint over white provides the background; readable text is selected separately.

Ready for review

Form

Border and focus ring

Source ring on white: 2.55:1 · does not meet the 3:1 non-text threshold where applicable.

Surface

Card component

The selected state becomes the card surface with its strongest black-or-white text pairing.

Design system Color decision ready Review states and surrounding surfaces before shipping.

Accessibility diagnostics

WCAG contrast for exact color pairs

Each result applies only to the named foreground, background, text size, and requirement. It is not a complete accessibility or component-conformance claim.

Source #ADA542 Exact pair assessment Results for source text on white appear below.

On white

2.55:1

  • Fail AA normal text · 4.5:1
  • Fail AAA normal text · 7:1
  • Fail AA large text · 3:1
  • Fail UI/non-text where applicable · 3:1
Source #ADA542 Exact pair assessment Results for source text on black appear below.

On black

8.24:1

  • Pass AA normal text · 4.5:1
  • Pass AAA normal text · 7:1
  • Pass AA large text · 3:1
  • Pass UI/non-text where applicable · 3:1

Use guidance

What this color may be suitable for

Not recommended

Normal-sized text

#ADA542 does not reach 4.5:1 on white or Hue Codex paper, so it should not be used there for normal-sized text.

Needs a boundary

Controls and interface graphics

Against Hue Codex paper, the color reaches only 2.44:1. Use a contrasting border or another non-color boundary for meaningful controls and graphics.

Readable pairing available

Colored surface or button fill

Black text provides the stronger black/white pairing on #ADA542 at 8.24:1. This validates only that text pair, not hover, focus, disabled, or adjacent-color states.

Distinctive accent

Palette role

Its OKLCH chroma of 0.1203 gives it enough visual presence for an accent or primary role when the tested foreground and neighboring colors pass.

Pair available

Color used as foreground

The stronger black/white background is black at 8.24:1. Always retest against the actual rendered background and text size.

Tested backgrounds

Foreground pairing comparison

#ADA542 foreground contrast on tested backgrounds
Pair Background Contrast ratio
Black#000000 8.24:1
Hue Codex ink#10212B 6.46:1
White#FFFFFF 2.55:1
Hue Codex paper#FBFAF5 2.44:1
Soft neutral#F2EFE6 2.22:1
Check #ADA542 on another background in Contrast Checker

Design-system starting point

A perceptual 50–900 reference scale

The source color is preserved at the nearest lightness step. Other swatches keep its OKLCH hue, moderate chroma toward the extremes, and reduce chroma only when needed to remain in sRGB.

50
100
200
300 #ADA542 Source
400
500
600
700
800
900

This is a Hue Codex reference scale, not a claim that the values match Tailwind, Material, or another framework’s named palette.

Adjust the #ADA542 scale in Tints, Shades & Tones

Color relationships

Complementary, analogous, and triadic colors

Hue rotations use OKLCH while preserving lightness and requested chroma. When a rotated result falls outside sRGB, chroma is reduced deterministically and disclosed.

Complementary

Source #ADA542
Complement

Analogous

Source #ADA542
Analogous −30°
Analogous +30°

Triadic

Source #ADA542
Triad +120°
Triad +240°

Applied pairing

A small interface check

The source anchors the main action while the complement marks a secondary status. Contrast is selected separately for each fill.

Project color Clear Light Yellow
Complement
Explore #ADA542 in Color Harmonies

Distance matching

Closest standardized and framework colors

Matches use straight-line OKLab distance ×100. A smaller value means the coordinates are closer in this model; it is not a claim that two tokens are interchangeable in a design system.

CSS named color

Dark Khaki

#BDB76B

OKLab distance ×100: 6.23

Tailwind v4 default

yellow-600

oklch(68.1% 0.162 75.834)

OKLab distance ×100: 8.59 · sRGB preview #D08700

Print boundary

Pantone match not estimated

Reliable print matching needs licensed reference data plus a defined ink, paper, profile, and viewing condition.

Read the print methodology

Color-vision screening

Approximate color-vision-deficiency views

These encoded-sRGB matrix previews are screening approximations. They help reveal possible color-only distinctions but do not reproduce every person’s vision or establish accessibility conformance.

Original#ADA542
Approx.

Protanopia

Red-vision deficiency approximation

Original#ADA542
Approx.

Deuteranopia

Green-vision deficiency approximation

Original#ADA542
Approx.

Tritanopia

Blue-yellow deficiency approximation

Original#ADA542
Approx.#9C9C9C

Achromatopsia

Monochromatic-vision approximation

Test #ADA542 with a complete palette in the CVD Simulator

Ready to use

Copy framework-ready color tokens

Exports preserve the source, readable foreground, and generated 50–900 scale. Tailwind v4 CSS-first and Tailwind v3 JavaScript-config formats are labeled separately.

CSS custom properties

Semantic aliases and the complete 50–900 scale.

:root {
  --color-primary: #ADA542;
  --color-on-primary: #000000;
  --color-primary-oklch: oklch(70.9293% 0.120326 104.6884);
  --color-primary-50: #FCF9C1;
  --color-primary-100: #E6E2A0;
  --color-primary-200: #CEC87A;
  --color-primary-300: #ADA542;
  --color-primary-400: #9E9634;
  --color-primary-500: #857D1A;
  --color-primary-600: #6D6600;
  --color-primary-700: #554F00;
  --color-primary-800: #3E3900;
  --color-primary-900: #282500;
}

Tailwind v4 CSS-first theme

Current @theme syntax for bg-brand, text-brand, and scale utilities.

@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --color-brand: #ADA542;
  --color-brand-foreground: #000000;
  --color-brand-50: #FCF9C1;
  --color-brand-100: #E6E2A0;
  --color-brand-200: #CEC87A;
  --color-brand-300: #ADA542;
  --color-brand-400: #9E9634;
  --color-brand-500: #857D1A;
  --color-brand-600: #6D6600;
  --color-brand-700: #554F00;
  --color-brand-800: #3E3900;
  --color-brand-900: #282500;
}

Tailwind v3 / legacy config

CommonJS theme.extend.colors for JavaScript-config projects.

module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        brand: {
          '50': '#FCF9C1',
          '100': '#E6E2A0',
          '200': '#CEC87A',
          '300': '#ADA542',
          '400': '#9E9634',
          '500': '#857D1A',
          '600': '#6D6600',
          '700': '#554F00',
          '800': '#3E3900',
          '900': '#282500',
          DEFAULT: '#ADA542',
          foreground: '#000000',
        },
      },
    },
  },
};

Sass variables

Semantic source, foreground, OKLCH, and scale variables.

$color-primary: #ADA542;
$color-on-primary: #000000;
$color-primary-oklch: oklch(70.9293% 0.120326 104.6884);
$color-primary-50: #FCF9C1;
$color-primary-100: #E6E2A0;
$color-primary-200: #CEC87A;
$color-primary-300: #ADA542;
$color-primary-400: #9E9634;
$color-primary-500: #857D1A;
$color-primary-600: #6D6600;
$color-primary-700: #554F00;
$color-primary-800: #3E3900;
$color-primary-900: #282500;

Modern color-mix()

Static fallbacks followed by OKLab tint and shade declarations.

:root {
  --color-primary: #ADA542;
  --color-primary-tint: #CEC87A;
  --color-primary-tint: color-mix(in oklab, var(--color-primary) 72%, white);
  --color-primary-shade: #554F00;
  --color-primary-shade: color-mix(in oklab, var(--color-primary) 82%, black);
}

JSON design data

Source formats, readable text, and the generated scale.

{
    "name": "Clear Light Yellow",
    "hex": "#ADA542",
    "rgb": "rgb(173 165 66)",
    "oklch": "oklch(70.9293% 0.120326 104.6884)",
    "recommendedText": "#000000",
    "scale": {
        "50": "#FCF9C1",
        "100": "#E6E2A0",
        "200": "#CEC87A",
        "300": "#ADA542",
        "400": "#9E9634",
        "500": "#857D1A",
        "600": "#6D6600",
        "700": "#554F00",
        "800": "#3E3900",
        "900": "#282500"
    }
}

Continue the decision

Use #ADA542 in a complete workflow

Reference values are a starting point. Test the color in its real role, background, states, typography, and surrounding palette before shipping.

Adjust #ADA542 in Color PickerStart with this exact color and white as the working background for role and accessibility decisions. Build a palette from #ADA542 in Palette GeneratorUse this exact HEX as the seed for a deterministic, role-based palette. Check #ADA542 on white in Contrast CheckerStart with this color as the foreground and white as the background, then test the real pair.