Torrid Sphalerite
Torrid Sphalerite (#979A1B) 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 (61°, 70%, 35%) 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.
Etymology
Latin torridus, parched / scorching — sharing root with torrēre (to dry by heat). As a color modifier, torrid implies a saturated-and-tropical-hot quality, the bright color of equatorial-Saharan-and-Sonoran-desert mid-summer high-temperature surface-emission. Sits at the bright-and-warm end of the grid, parallel to scorching and fiery in usage.
A zinc sulfide mineral — both an important zinc ore and a high-dispersion gem with adamantine luster. The yellow variety is mined principally in Spain and Mexico. The color refers to a faceted yellow Spanish sphalerite: a saturated, slightly cool yellow-orange with the gem's signature internal fire (higher dispersion than diamond).
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
Click any swatch to exploreHarmonies
Accessibility
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.
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.