colors
Back to gallery

Prismatic Curcuma

#b1a016
Notes

Prismatic Curcuma (#B1A016) 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 (53°, 78%, 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
#b1a016
RGB
rgb(177, 160, 22)
HSL
hsl(53, 78%, 39%)
HWB
hwb(53 9% 31%)
OKLCH
oklch(69.9% 0.141 101.4)
HSV
hsv(53, 88%, 69%)
LAB
lab(65.40% -7.23 65.07)
LCH
lch(65.40% 65.47 96.34)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 10%, 88%, 31%)

Etymology

Prismatic
adjective

Greek prísma, prism — adjectival suffix -ic. As a color modifier, prismatic implies a saturated-and-multi-spectrum-decomposed quality, the bright color of crystal-prism and cut-glass-chandelier light-refraction-spectrum decomposition. Sits at the bright-and-shifting end of the grid, parallel to iridescent and spectral in usage.

Curcuma
noun

The Linnaean genus name for turmeric — Curcuma longa — used in pigment vocabulary for the pure curcumin yellow extracted from the rhizome. Curcuma as a color refers specifically to the pigment isolated from C. longa: a saturated, slightly cool deep yellow with the matte finish of plant-derived pigment. The botanical-Latin cousin of haldi.

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.

#b1a016
Original
#b09b00
Protanopia
#b5a224
Deuteranopia
#bf9388
Tritanopia
#9a9a9a
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
2.66:1
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
7.91:1

Related Colors

Canvas