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Charged Amber

#c59705
Notes

Charged Amber (#C59705) 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°, 95%, 40%) 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
#c59705
RGB
rgb(197, 151, 5)
HSL
hsl(46, 95%, 40%)
HWB
hwb(46 2% 23%)
OKLCH
oklch(70.0% 0.142 86.6)
HSV
hsv(46, 97%, 77%)
LAB
lab(64.98% 6.33 68.42)
LCH
lch(64.98% 68.71 84.72)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 23%, 97%, 23%)

Etymology

Charged
adjective

Old French chargier, to load — past-participle of charge, sharing root with cargo. As a color modifier, charged implies a saturated-and-electrically-loaded quality where the hue carries visual potential-energy. Sits at the bright-and-active end of the grid, parallel to electrified and energetic in usage.

Amber
noun

Fossilized tree resin — pine and conifer sap that flowed sixty million years ago and slowly polymerized in Baltic and Dominican forests. The color refers to a polished cabochon of true Baltic amber: a warm, slightly translucent gold-orange with the depth of resin and the occasional inclusion of trapped insects. Softer than honey, deeper than topaz, with the mineral light of a fossil that still feels organic.

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.

#c59705
Original
#ac9700
Protanopia
#b7a316
Deuteranopia
#d78880
Tritanopia
#969696
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
2.69:1
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
7.80:1

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