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Glittering Ginkgo

#a9b80e
Notes

Glittering Ginkgo (#A9B80E) 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 (65°, 86%, 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
#a9b80e
RGB
rgb(169, 184, 14)
HSL
hsl(65, 86%, 39%)
HWB
hwb(65 5% 28%)
OKLCH
oklch(74.5% 0.167 115.5)
P3
color(display-p3 0.6737 0.7197 0.2361)
HSV
hsv(65, 92%, 72%)
LAB
lab(71.38% -23.18 70.93)
LCH
lch(71.38% 74.62 108.09)
CMYK
cmyk(8%, 0%, 92%, 28%)

Etymology

Glittering
adjective

Old Norse glitra, to shine — present-participle of glitter. As a color modifier, glittering implies a saturated-and-multi-point-reflective quality, the bright color of sequined-and-rhinestone fabric-and-gem-decoration surfaces. Sits at the bright-and-reflective end of the grid, parallel to sparkling and glistening 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.

#a9b80e
Original
#c6ae00
Protanopia
#c5b027
Deuteranopia
#b5ad9c
Tritanopia
#a9a9a9
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
2.20:1
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
9.55:1

Wide gamut

Display P3 representation

The CSS Color 4 wide-gamut form of this color. Both swatches render the same color on every display — the P3 form only diverges from sRGB when a designer pushes channels outside sRGB's reach.

sRGB hex
sRGB hex
##A9B80E
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.6737 0.7197 0.2361)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.167

Moderately saturated colors gain a small bump in P3 — the difference is usually visible side-by-side on wide-gamut hardware but won't change the character of the color.

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