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Frantic Canvas

#bb9d20
Notes

Frantic Canvas (#BB9D20) 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°, 71%, 43%) 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
#bb9d20
RGB
rgb(187, 157, 32)
HSL
hsl(48, 71%, 43%)
HWB
hwb(48 13% 27%)
OKLCH
oklch(70.3% 0.136 94.2)
HSV
hsv(48, 83%, 73%)
LAB
lab(65.58% -0.88 63.09)
LCH
lch(65.58% 63.10 90.80)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 16%, 83%, 27%)

Etymology

Frantic
adjective

Greek phrenitikós, frenzied — adjectival suffix, sharing root with phrenitis (delirium). As a color modifier, frantic implies a saturated-and-rushed-and-overactive quality, the bright color of Memphis-Group 1980s-design over-the-top saturated visual-rhythm. Sits at the bright-and-active end of the grid, parallel to frenetic and manic in usage.

Canvas
noun

A heavyweight plain-weave cotton or linen fabric — used for ship sails (the original meaning), painter's canvas, and military tent construction. The color refers to undyed natural cotton canvas: a soft, slightly cool pale tan with the textured matte finish of plant-fiber weave.

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.

#bb9d20
Original
#af9a00
Protanopia
#b6a329
Deuteranopia
#cb9086
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
2.64:1
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
7.96:1

Related Colors

Canvas