colors
Back to gallery

Electric Sphene

#bf9a20
Notes

Electric Sphene (#BF9A20) 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 (46°, 71%, 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
#bf9a20
RGB
rgb(191, 154, 32)
HSL
hsl(46, 71%, 44%)
HWB
hwb(46 13% 25%)
OKLCH
oklch(70.1% 0.135 90.2)
P3
color(display-p3 0.7260 0.6095 0.2360)
HSV
hsv(46, 83%, 75%)
LAB
lab(65.20% 2.52 62.92)
LCH
lch(65.20% 62.97 87.71)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 19%, 83%, 25%)

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.

Sphene
noun

A calcium-titanium silicate gem — also called titanite — known for its high dispersion (more than diamond) and its yellow-to-greenish-yellow body color. Mined principally in Madagascar, Brazil, and Pakistan. The color refers to a faceted Madagascar sphene: a saturated, slightly cool yellow-green with the gem's signature internal fire.

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.

#bf9a20
Original
#ad9800
Protanopia
#b6a329
Deuteranopia
#cf8c84
Tritanopia
#999999
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
2.67:1
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
7.86:1

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
##BF9A20
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.7260 0.6095 0.2360)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.135

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.

Related Colors

Canvas