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Lively Jīnhuáng

#b5ab14
Notes

Lively Jīnhuáng (#B5AB14) 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 (56°, 80%, 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
#b5ab14
RGB
rgb(181, 171, 20)
HSL
hsl(56, 80%, 39%)
HWB
hwb(56 8% 29%)
OKLCH
oklch(72.7% 0.150 105.2)
HSV
hsv(56, 89%, 71%)
LAB
lab(68.75% -11.26 68.31)
LCH
lch(68.75% 69.23 99.36)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 6%, 89%, 29%)

Etymology

Lively
adjective

An adjectival form of life — used as a color word since the seventeenth century for hues that read as energetic. Lively coral, lively chartreuse: the implication is saturation combined with optical liveliness, the slight visual restlessness of a color that feels animated. Sits at the bright-bucket center.

Jīnhuáng
noun

Chinese for gold-yellow — combining jīn (gold) and huáng (yellow). Used in the imperial-yellow silks of late Qing dynasty court robes and the gilt-and-yellow lacquer of Buddhist altarpieces. The color refers to jīnhuáng-glazed Yongzheng-period porcelain: a saturated, slightly cool deep gold-yellow with the high gloss of fired glaze.

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.

#b5ab14
Original
#bba500
Protanopia
#bfaa25
Deuteranopia
#c39e92
Tritanopia
#a2a2a2
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
2.39:1
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
8.80:1

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