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Brilliant Beeswax

#c9b537
Notes

Brilliant Beeswax (#C9B537) is a true amber 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 (52°, 57%, 50%) 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
#c9b537
RGB
rgb(201, 181, 55)
HSL
hsl(52, 57%, 50%)
HWB
hwb(52 22% 21%)
OKLCH
oklch(76.8% 0.142 100.0)
HSV
hsv(52, 73%, 79%)
LAB
lab(73.38% -6.53 63.07)
LCH
lch(73.38% 63.41 95.91)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 10%, 73%, 21%)

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.

#c9b537
Original
#c6b022
Protanopia
#ccb73f
Deuteranopia
#d9a89c
Tritanopia
#b0b0b0
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
2.07:1
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
10.15:1

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