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Frenetic Curcuma

#c8c548
Notes

Frenetic Curcuma (#C8C548) 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 (59°, 54%, 53%) 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
#c8c548
RGB
rgb(200, 197, 72)
HSL
hsl(59, 54%, 53%)
HWB
hwb(59 28% 22%)
OKLCH
oklch(80.3% 0.144 107.9)
HSV
hsv(59, 64%, 78%)
LAB
lab(77.69% -14.25 60.75)
LCH
lch(77.69% 62.40 103.20)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 1%, 64%, 22%)

Etymology

Frenetic
adjective

Greek phrenitikós, frenzied — adjectival suffix -ic, derived from phrēn (mind). As a color modifier, frenetic implies a saturated-and-frenzied-and-active quality, the bright color of Hyper-Color-and-Memphis-Group 1980s-design saturated-and-active visual-rhythm. Sits at the bright-and-active end of the grid, parallel to frantic and manic in usage.

Curcuma
noun

The Linnaean genus name for turmeric — Curcuma longa — used in pigment vocabulary for the pure curcumin yellow extracted from the rhizome. Curcuma as a color refers specifically to the pigment isolated from C. longa: a saturated, slightly cool deep yellow with the matte finish of plant-derived pigment. The botanical-Latin cousin of haldi.

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.

#c8c548
Original
#d5bd38
Protanopia
#d7c250
Deuteranopia
#d6b9ab
Tritanopia
#bdbdbd
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
1.82:1
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
11.54:1

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