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Dynamic Daffodil

#cac255
Notes

Dynamic Daffodil (#CAC255) 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 (56°, 52%, 56%) 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
#cac255
RGB
rgb(202, 194, 85)
HSL
hsl(56, 52%, 56%)
HWB
hwb(56 33% 21%)
OKLCH
oklch(79.9% 0.131 105.1)
HSV
hsv(56, 58%, 79%)
LAB
lab(77.16% -11.02 54.63)
LCH
lch(77.16% 55.73 101.40)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 4%, 58%, 21%)

Etymology

Dynamic
adjective

From the Greek dynamis, power — used as a color modifier since the late nineteenth century for hues that read as energetic and active. Dynamic red, dynamic orange: the implication is saturation combined with optical motion. Sits at the bright-bucket center alongside vibrant and lively.

Daffodil
noun

Narcissus pseudonarcissus, the wild daffodil of British and European woodland. The color is the trumpet-shaped corona of a fully open daffodil at peak spring: a saturated, slightly orange-shifted yellow with the satiny finish of waxy petal tissue. Warmer than lemon, brighter than buttercup, with the seasonal weight of a flower that arrives before the trees have leaves.

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.

#cac255
Original
#d1bc49
Protanopia
#d4c15b
Deuteranopia
#d8b6aa
Tritanopia
#bcbcbc
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
1.85:1
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
11.36:1

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