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Phosphorescent Prowl Goldenrod

#d1a41b
Notes

Phosphorescent Prowl Goldenrod (#D1A41B) 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 (45°, 77%, 46%) 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
#d1a41b
RGB
rgb(209, 164, 27)
HSL
hsl(45, 77%, 46%)
HWB
hwb(45 11% 18%)
OKLCH
oklch(74.0% 0.146 87.9)
P3
color(display-p3 0.7920 0.6500 0.2420)
HSV
hsv(45, 87%, 82%)
LAB
lab(69.60% 5.00 68.64)
LCH
lch(69.60% 68.82 85.84)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 22%, 87%, 18%)

Etymology

Phosphorescent
adjective

Greek phōsphóros, light-bringer — adjectival suffix -escent. As a color modifier, phosphorescent implies a saturated-and-cool-glow-after-stimulation quality, the bright cool-green-blue color of Cu-doped-ZnS glow-in-the-dark photoluminescent surfaces. Sits at the bright-and-cool end of the grid, parallel to fluorescent and luminous in usage.

Prowl
modifier

Middle English prollen, to-roam-and-search. As a color modifier, prowl implies a stalking-and-hunting-and-watchful quality, the visual register of panther-and-tiger-prowl hand-stalking-and-hunting-and-watchful panther-and-tiger-and-leopard prowled-and-stalking-and-hunting-and-watchful surfaces under panther-and-tiger-and-leopard jungle-and-savanna-and-night-forest big-cat-light. Sits at the modifier-and-mood end of the grid, parallel to stalk and lurk 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.

#d1a41b
Original
#b9a300
Protanopia
#c4af26
Deuteranopia
#e3948c
Tritanopia
#a4a4a4
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
2.32:1
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
9.04:1

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
##D1A41B
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.7920 0.6500 0.2420)
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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