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Lustrous Curcuma

#96a31b
Notes

Lustrous Curcuma (#96A31B) is a true yellow with a jewel character. It carries the deep, saturated richness of a gemstone. Authoritative and slightly formal, it works well for type and heavy UI elements. Its HSL profile (66°, 72%, 37%) places it in the balanced band at a mid lightness. It works across type, buttons, and borders, saturated enough to feel deliberate but balanced enough to not fight the rest of the palette. For a confident two-color system, pair it with its complementary blue. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#96a31b
RGB
rgb(150, 163, 27)
HSL
hsl(66, 72%, 37%)
HWB
hwb(66 11% 36%)
OKLCH
oklch(68.2% 0.148 115.5)
HSV
hsv(66, 83%, 64%)
LAB
lab(63.96% -20.63 61.78)
LCH
lch(63.96% 65.13 108.46)
CMYK
cmyk(8%, 0%, 83%, 36%)

Etymology

Lustrous
adjective

From the Latin lustrare, to illuminate — used as a color word since the seventeenth century for hues with the slight specular shine of polished metal or silk. Lustrous green, lustrous gold: the implication is moderate-to-high saturation combined with surface reflectivity. Sits at the bright-and-glossy corner alongside gleaming.

Curcuma
noun

The Linnaean genus name for turmeric — Curcuma longa — used in pigment vocabulary for the pure curcumin yellow extracted from the rhizome. Curcuma as a color refers specifically to the pigment isolated from C. longa: a saturated, slightly cool deep yellow with the matte finish of plant-derived pigment. The botanical-Latin cousin of haldi.

Closest matches

The nearest named color in three reference sources, ranked by perceptual distance (ΔE76 in CIELAB). ΔE < 1 is imperceptible to most viewers; ΔE > 10 is clearly different. When two sources point to the same hex they’re merged into one tile; click any to open that color’s page.

Variations

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Harmonies

Accessibility

Color-vision simulation

How this color appears to viewers with the four major color-vision-deficiency types. Computed via the Machado (2009) physiologically-based model. If a tile matches the original, the color reads the same to that viewer.

#96a31b
Original
#af9a00
Protanopia
#ae9c2a
Deuteranopia
#a0998b
Tritanopia
#969696
Achromatopsia
WCAG contrast

The color used as foreground text against pure white and pure black, with the contrast ratio and WCAG 2.1 grade. Aim for AA (4.5:1) for body text and AA Large (3:1) for 18 pt+ headlines; AAA (7:1) is the gold standard for long-form reading surfaces.

The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
Failon White
2.78:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAAon Black
7.55:1

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