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Alit Hiwa

#9db214
Notes

Alit Hiwa (#9DB214) is a true yellow with a warm character. It leans warm, pulling light toward red, orange, and yellow. Naturally inviting, it suits editorial and hospitality contexts. Its HSL profile (68°, 80%, 39%) places it in the highly saturated band at a mid lightness. Best used in small doses, like logos, CTAs, focus rings, or highlight text, where its saturation becomes a feature rather than noise. 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
#9db214
RGB
rgb(157, 178, 20)
HSL
hsl(68, 80%, 39%)
HWB
hwb(68 8% 30%)
OKLCH
oklch(72.2% 0.164 118.0)
HSV
hsv(68, 89%, 70%)
LAB
lab(68.79% -25.24 67.54)
LCH
lch(68.79% 72.10 110.49)
CMYK
cmyk(12%, 0%, 89%, 30%)

Etymology

Alit
adjective

Old English ā-lihtan, to alight — past-participle of alight. As a color modifier, alit implies a saturated-and-just-illuminated quality, the bright color of evening-streetlamp and Christmas-tree-light freshly-switched-on emission. Sits at the bright-and-warm end of the grid, parallel to aflame and aglow in usage.

Hiwa
noun

The Japanese name for the Eurasian siskinSpinus spinus — and for the bright yellow-green of its plumage. Hiwa-iro refers to the saturated yellow-green color used in kosode kimono linings and woodblock prints. The color refers to a freshly molted siskin: a saturated, slightly green-shifted yellow with the matte finish of carotenoid feathers.

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.

#9db214
Original
#bfa800
Protanopia
#bca929
Deuteranopia
#a7a797
Tritanopia
#a2a2a2
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
2.38:1
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
8.81:1

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