colors
Back to gallery

Ignited Mullein

#b3b221
Notes

Ignited Mullein (#B3B221) is a true yellow with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (60°, 69%, 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 blue. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#b3b221
RGB
rgb(179, 178, 33)
HSL
hsl(60, 69%, 42%)
HWB
hwb(60 13% 30%)
OKLCH
oklch(74.1% 0.153 109.2)
HSV
hsv(60, 82%, 70%)
LAB
lab(70.55% -15.41 66.79)
LCH
lch(70.55% 68.55 102.99)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 1%, 82%, 30%)

Etymology

Ignited
adjective

Latin ignīre, to set on fire — past-participle of ignite. As a color modifier, ignited implies a saturated-and-just-started-burning quality, the bright color of match-strike-and-flint-spark initial-combustion emission. Sits at the bright-and-warm end of the grid, parallel to kindled and aflame in usage.

Mullein
noun

Verbascum thapsus, the European biennial whose tall yellow flower spikes appear in second-year growth. Used in classical antiquity as a torch (oiled flower spikes) and as a medicinal cough treatment. The color refers to a fresh Mullein flower spike at midsummer: a saturated, slightly cool yellow with the matte finish of small five-petaled flowers along a tall stem.

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.

#b3b221
Original
#c1aa00
Protanopia
#c3af2f
Deuteranopia
#c0a698
Tritanopia
#a8a8a8
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
2.26:1
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
9.31:1

Related Colors

Canvas