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Defined Huáng

#ab7b29
Notes

Defined Huáng (#AB7B29) is a true amber 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 (38°, 61%, 42%) 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 azure. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#ab7b29
RGB
rgb(171, 123, 41)
HSL
hsl(38, 61%, 42%)
HWB
hwb(38 16% 33%)
OKLCH
oklch(61.7% 0.113 76.7)
HSV
hsv(38, 76%, 67%)
LAB
lab(55.06% 10.97 49.69)
LCH
lch(55.06% 50.89 77.55)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 28%, 76%, 33%)

Etymology

Defined
adjective

Latin dēfīnīre, to set bounds — past-participle of define. As a color modifier, defined implies a clear-and-edge-distinct-and-precise quality where the hue carries the visual register of sharp-bounded-and-clearly-delimited surface. Sits at the crisp-and-clear end of the grid, parallel to crisp and sharp in usage.

Huáng
noun

The Chinese word for yellow — the imperial color of the Ming and Qing dynasties, reserved for the emperor's robes and the glazed-tile roofs of the Forbidden City. Huáng is also one of the five Chinese cardinal colors, corresponding to the center, late summer, and the dragon. The color refers to huánglóngpáo (yellow imperial dragon robe) silk: a saturated, slightly cool deep gold-yellow with the satin finish of dyed silk.

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.

#ab7b29
Original
#8d7d1d
Protanopia
#98892c
Deuteranopia
#ba6e6b
Tritanopia
#7f7f7f
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).
AA Largeon White
3.75:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAon Black
5.60:1

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