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Refulgent Mocha

#dab524
Notes

Refulgent Mocha (#DAB524) 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 (48°, 72%, 50%) 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
#dab524
RGB
rgb(218, 181, 36)
HSL
hsl(48, 72%, 50%)
HWB
hwb(48 14% 15%)
OKLCH
oklch(78.4% 0.152 93.1)
HSV
hsv(48, 83%, 85%)
LAB
lab(74.88% 0.16 71.08)
LCH
lch(74.88% 71.08 89.87)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 17%, 83%, 15%)

Etymology

Refulgent
adjective

Latin refulgēns, shining-back — present-participle of refulgere, sharing root with fulgor (lightning). As a color modifier, refulgent implies a saturated-and-reflective-shining quality, the bright color of polished-bronze-and-armor reflective-surface mid-day-sun reflection. Sits at the bright-and-saturated end of the grid, parallel to effulgent and resplendent in usage.

Mocha
noun

A variety of agate from the Yemeni port of al-Mukhā — characterized by tree-like dendritic inclusions in a yellow-tan ground. Also the Yemeni coffee that gave its name to the chocolate-coffee drink. The color refers to a polished mocha-agate cabochon: a soft, slightly muted warm tan with the matte finish of cryptocrystalline silica.

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.

#dab524
Original
#cab200
Protanopia
#d3bd2f
Deuteranopia
#eca59b
Tritanopia
#b2b2b2
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
1.98:1
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
10.62:1

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