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Effervescent Atlas Goldenrod

#cf9914
Notes

Effervescent Atlas Goldenrod (#CF9914) 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 (43°, 82%, 45%) 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 azure. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#cf9914
RGB
rgb(207, 153, 20)
HSL
hsl(43, 82%, 45%)
HWB
hwb(43 8% 19%)
OKLCH
oklch(71.6% 0.143 82.4)
P3
color(display-p3 0.7795 0.6086 0.2212)
HSV
hsv(43, 90%, 81%)
LAB
lab(66.60% 9.89 67.73)
LCH
lch(66.60% 68.45 81.69)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 26%, 90%, 19%)

Etymology

Effervescent
adjective

Latin effervēscēns, boiling-out — present-participle of effervesce, sharing root with fervere (to boil). As a color modifier, effervescent implies a saturated-and-bubbling-and-active quality, the bright color of Champagne-and-Prosecco effervescent-wine carbonation-bubble-light reflection. Sits at the bright-and-effervescent end of the grid, parallel to fizzy and sparkling in usage.

Atlas
modifier

Greek Ἄτλας, Titan-bearing-the-heavens. As a color modifier, atlas implies a Titan-bearing-heaven-and-globe-bearer quality, the visual register of Farnese-Atlas-and-Titanomachy-Atlas hand-Titan-bearing-heaven-and-globe-bearer Farnese-Atlas-and-Titanomachy-Atlas-and-Hellenistic-marble atlas-and-Titan-bearing-heaven surfaces under Farnese-Atlas-and-Titanomachy-Atlas-and-Hellenistic-marble Naples-museum-and-celestial-globe globe-bearer-light. Sits at the modifier-and-myth end of the grid, parallel to titan and zeus 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.

#cf9914
Original
#af9a00
Protanopia
#bca81e
Deuteranopia
#e28983
Tritanopia
#9b9b9b
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
2.55:1
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
8.22:1

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
##CF9914
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.7795 0.6086 0.2212)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.143

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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