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Phosphoric Spar Goldenrod

#d6bb19
Notes

Phosphoric Spar Goldenrod (#D6BB19) 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 (51°, 79%, 47%) 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
#d6bb19
RGB
rgb(214, 187, 25)
HSL
hsl(51, 79%, 47%)
HWB
hwb(51 10% 16%)
OKLCH
oklch(79.2% 0.159 98.3)
P3
color(display-p3 0.8217 0.7372 0.2632)
HSV
hsv(51, 88%, 84%)
LAB
lab(76.01% -4.96 74.37)
LCH
lch(76.01% 74.53 93.82)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 13%, 88%, 16%)

Etymology

Phosphoric
adjective

Greek phōsphóros, light-bringer — adjectival suffix -ic. As a color modifier, phosphoric implies a saturated-and-cool-glow quality, the bright color of match-tip-strike and firefly phosphorus-emission luminescence. Sits at the bright-and-cool end of the grid, parallel to phosphorescent and fluorescent in usage.

Spar
modifier

Old Norse sparri, long-pole. As a color modifier, spar implies a long-wooden-pole-for-sail quality, the visual register of Tall-Ship-and-Royal-Navy-spar hand-cut long-wooden-pole-and-spar-for-sail mast-and-yard-and-boom maritime-rigging surfaces under tall-ship-spar-and-yard maritime-rigging light. Sits at the modifier-and-nautical end of the grid, parallel to mast and boom 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.

#d6bb19
Original
#cfb600
Protanopia
#d6bf2a
Deuteranopia
#e8aca0
Tritanopia
#b5b5b5
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
1.91:1
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
10.98:1

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
##D6BB19
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.8217 0.7372 0.2632)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.159

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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