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Glittering Plasma Goldenrod

#c99e09
Notes

Glittering Plasma Goldenrod (#C99E09) 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 (47°, 91%, 41%) 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
#c99e09
RGB
rgb(201, 158, 9)
HSL
hsl(47, 91%, 41%)
HWB
hwb(47 4% 21%)
OKLCH
oklch(71.9% 0.145 88.8)
P3
color(display-p3 0.7618 0.6262 0.2128)
HSV
hsv(47, 96%, 79%)
LAB
lab(67.20% 4.38 69.67)
LCH
lch(67.20% 69.81 86.41)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 21%, 96%, 21%)

Etymology

Glittering
adjective

Old Norse glitra, to shine — present-participle of glitter. As a color modifier, glittering implies a saturated-and-multi-point-reflective quality, the bright color of sequined-and-rhinestone fabric-and-gem-decoration surfaces. Sits at the bright-and-reflective end of the grid, parallel to sparkling and glistening in usage.

Plasma
modifier

Greek πλάσμα, something-molded-or-formed. As a color modifier, plasma implies an ionized-and-fourth-state-and-stellar-glow quality, the visual register of solar-corona-and-fluorescent-plasma hand-ionized-and-fourth-state-and-stellar-glow solar-corona-and-fluorescent-and-neon-tube plasma-and-ionized-and-fourth-state surfaces under solar-corona-and-fluorescent-and-neon-tube laboratory-and-stellar-and-aurora ionized-glow-light. Sits at the modifier-and-cosmic end of the grid, parallel to corona and nova in usage.

Goldenrod
noun

Solidago, the late-summer wildflower of North American meadows whose tall sprays of small yellow flowers signal the end of the growing season. The color refers to the flower head at full bloom: a warm, slightly muted yellow-orange with the matte finish of small clustered florets. Cooler than mustard, deeper than dandelion. The state flower of Kentucky and Nebraska, a pollinator magnet, and the original native dye for early American homespun.

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.

#c99e09
Original
#b39d00
Protanopia
#bda81a
Deuteranopia
#db8f86
Tritanopia
#9c9c9c
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
2.51:1
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
8.38:1

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
##C99E09
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.7618 0.6262 0.2128)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.145

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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