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Coruscating Aquarius Goldenrod

#dd9f15
Notes

Coruscating Aquarius Goldenrod (#DD9F15) 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 (41°, 83%, 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 azure. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#dd9f15
RGB
rgb(221, 159, 21)
HSL
hsl(41, 83%, 47%)
HWB
hwb(41 8% 13%)
OKLCH
oklch(74.3% 0.150 79.7)
HSV
hsv(41, 90%, 87%)
LAB
lab(69.63% 12.81 70.52)
LCH
lch(69.63% 71.67 79.70)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 28%, 90%, 13%)

Etymology

Coruscating
adjective

Latin coruscāns, flashing — present-participle of coruscāre. As a color modifier, coruscating implies a saturated-and-rapidly-flashing quality, the bright color of lightning-strike atmospheric-electrical-discharge against the night-sky. Sits at the bright-and-flashing end of the grid, parallel to flashing and flickering in usage.

Aquarius
modifier

Latin aquarius, water-bearer-of-the-zodiac. As a color modifier, aquarius implies a water-bearer-and-air-sign-and-Saturn-Uranus-ruled-fixed-air quality, the visual register of Hellenic-Aquarius-and-Ganymede-water-bearer hand-water-bearer-and-air-sign-and-Saturn-Uranus-ruled-fixed-air Hellenic-Aquarius-and-Ganymede-water-bearer-and-cup-bearer aquarius-and-water-bearer-and-air-sign surfaces under Hellenic-Aquarius-and-Ganymede-water-bearer-and-cup-bearer mid-winter-and-January-and-February fixed-air-sign-light. Sits at the modifier-and-zodiac end of the grid, parallel to pisces and capricorn 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

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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.

#dd9f15
Original
#b7a100
Protanopia
#c6b01f
Deuteranopia
#f18d88
Tritanopia
#a2a2a2
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

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