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Energetic Amarillo

#acb30a
Notes

Energetic Amarillo (#ACB30A) 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 (62°, 89%, 37%) 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
#acb30a
RGB
rgb(172, 179, 10)
HSL
hsl(62, 89%, 37%)
HWB
hwb(62 4% 30%)
OKLCH
oklch(73.6% 0.162 112.6)
HSV
hsv(62, 94%, 70%)
LAB
lab(70.20% -19.46 70.62)
LCH
lch(70.20% 73.25 105.40)
CMYK
cmyk(4%, 0%, 94%, 30%)

Etymology

Energetic
adjective

Greek energētikós, active — derived from energeia (activity). As a color modifier, energetic implies a saturated-and-kinetic-and-active quality where the hue carries visual vibration and movement-suggestion that engages the eye dynamically. Sits at the bright-and-active end of the grid, parallel to dynamic and spirited in usage.

Amarillo
noun

The Spanish word for yellow — and the Texas city named for the surrounding subsoil clay. The color refers to amarillo-dyed Spanish silk: a saturated, slightly red yellow with the satin finish of plant-and-mordant dye. The Spanish cousin of yellow.

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.

#acb30a
Original
#c2aa00
Protanopia
#c2ad24
Deuteranopia
#b9a798
Tritanopia
#a5a5a5
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
2.28:1
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
9.21:1

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