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Electric Apatite

#b99c27
Notes

Electric Apatite (#B99C27) is a true amber with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (48°, 65%, 44%) 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
#b99c27
RGB
rgb(185, 156, 39)
HSL
hsl(48, 65%, 44%)
HWB
hwb(48 15% 27%)
OKLCH
oklch(69.9% 0.132 94.2)
P3
color(display-p3 0.7070 0.6160 0.2499)
HSV
hsv(48, 79%, 73%)
LAB
lab(65.15% -1.00 60.46)
LCH
lch(65.15% 60.47 90.95)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 16%, 79%, 27%)

Etymology

Electric
adjective

From the Greek elektron, amber — the substance whose static-electric properties were observed by Thales of Miletus. Used as a color modifier since the late nineteenth century after electric light made certain saturated colors feel attention-demanding. Electric blue, electric pink: the implication is hot luminance combined with optical impact. Sits at the bright-bucket extreme.

Apatite
noun

A calcium phosphate mineral — known to mineralogists as the source rock for fertilizer and to gem traders as a yellow-to-green-to-blue gem. The yellow variety is mined principally in Madagascar and Brazil. The color refers to a faceted yellow apatite: a saturated, slightly cool yellow with the gem's signature internal warmth.

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.

#b99c27
Original
#ad990b
Protanopia
#b5a22f
Deuteranopia
#c88f86
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
2.68:1
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
7.85:1

Wide gamut

Display P3 representation

The CSS Color 4 wide-gamut form of this color. Both swatches render the same color on every display — the P3 form only diverges from sRGB when a designer pushes channels outside sRGB's reach.

sRGB hex
sRGB hex
##B99C27
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.7070 0.6160 0.2499)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.132

Moderately saturated colors gain a small bump in P3 — the difference is usually visible side-by-side on wide-gamut hardware but won't change the character of the color.

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