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Sparkling Ginkgo

#9fb93b
Notes

Sparkling Ginkgo (#9FB93B) is a true yellow with an earthy character. It leans grounded and natural, the kind of color that plays well with wood, clay, linen, and warm neutrals. Its HSL profile (72°, 52%, 48%) 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 indigo. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#9fb93b
RGB
rgb(159, 185, 59)
HSL
hsl(72, 52%, 48%)
HWB
hwb(72 23% 27%)
OKLCH
oklch(74.2% 0.152 120.3)
HSV
hsv(72, 68%, 73%)
LAB
lab(71.14% -26.17 58.20)
LCH
lch(71.14% 63.82 114.21)
CMYK
cmyk(14%, 0%, 68%, 27%)

Etymology

Sparkling
adjective

Old English spearca, spark — present-participle of sparkle. As a color modifier, sparkling implies a saturated-and-multi-point-reflective-and-effervescent quality, the bright color of Champagne-and-Prosecco effervescent-wine carbonation-bubble-light reflection. Sits at the bright-and-reflective end of the grid, parallel to glittering and fizzy in usage.

Ginkgo
noun

Ginkgo biloba, the Chinese tree species predating dinosaurs — a living fossil whose fan-shaped leaves turn brilliant yellow in autumn. Often called the maidenhair tree. The color refers to a Ginkgo canopy at peak autumn color: a saturated, slightly cool deep yellow with the satin finish of carotenoid-rich autumn leaves.

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 explore

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.

#9fb93b
Original
#c4ae28
Protanopia
#c1ae45
Deuteranopia
#a8afa0
Tritanopia
#aaaaaa
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
2.22:1
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
9.48:1

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