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Flamboyant Nova Goldenrod

#cf9c0d
Notes

Flamboyant Nova Goldenrod (#CF9C0D) 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 (44°, 88%, 43%) 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
#cf9c0d
RGB
rgb(207, 156, 13)
HSL
hsl(44, 88%, 43%)
HWB
hwb(44 5% 19%)
OKLCH
oklch(72.1% 0.146 84.6)
P3
color(display-p3 0.7811 0.6198 0.2162)
HSV
hsv(44, 94%, 81%)
LAB
lab(67.33% 8.16 69.52)
LCH
lch(67.33% 69.99 83.30)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 25%, 94%, 19%)

Etymology

Flamboyant
adjective

French flamboyant, flaming — present-participle of flamboyer, derived from flambe (flame). As a color modifier, flamboyant implies a saturated-and-attention-grabbing-and-elaborate quality, the bright color of Late-Gothic-and-Rococo highly-decorative-architectural ornament. Sits at the bright-and-flamboyant end of the grid, parallel to showy and ostentatious in usage.

Nova
modifier

Latin nova, new-or-newly-bright-star. As a color modifier, nova implies a sudden-bright-and-newly-erupted-and-flaring quality, the visual register of Tycho-Brahe-and-Kepler-supernova-nova hand-sudden-bright-and-newly-erupted Tycho-Brahe-and-Kepler-and-Cassiopeia-A nova-and-sudden-bright-and-flaring surfaces under Tycho-Brahe-and-Kepler-and-Cassiopeia-A late-Renaissance-observatory-and-naked-eye sudden-stellar-light. Sits at the modifier-and-cosmic end of the grid, parallel to flare and spark 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.

#cf9c0d
Original
#b29c00
Protanopia
#bea91b
Deuteranopia
#e28c85
Tritanopia
#9d9d9d
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
2.50:1
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
8.41:1

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
##CF9C0D
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.7811 0.6198 0.2162)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.146

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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