colors
Back to gallery

Glowy Unda Goldenrod

#ddac2d
Notes

Glowy Unda Goldenrod (#DDAC2D) 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 (43°, 72%, 52%) 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 azure. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#ddac2d
RGB
rgb(221, 172, 45)
HSL
hsl(43, 72%, 52%)
HWB
hwb(43 18% 13%)
OKLCH
oklch(76.9% 0.145 85.8)
HSV
hsv(43, 80%, 87%)
LAB
lab(72.94% 6.48 66.84)
LCH
lch(72.94% 67.15 84.46)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 22%, 80%, 13%)

Etymology

Glowy
adjective

Old English glōwan, to glow — adjectival suffix -y. As a color modifier, glowy implies a saturated-and-soft-emitting-and-warm quality, the bright color of fireside-and-candle-lit interior atmospheric-warmth surface emission. Sits at the bright-and-warm end of the grid, parallel to glowing and luminous in usage.

Unda
modifier

Latin unda, wave-or-water. As a color modifier, unda implies a Latin-wave-and-water-and-Roman-aqueduct quality, the visual register of Roman-aqueduct-and-Pontine-marsh-unda hand-Latin-wave-and-water-and-Roman-aqueduct Roman-aqueduct-and-Pontine-marsh-unda-and-Tiber-flow unda-and-Latin-wave-and-water surfaces under Roman-aqueduct-and-Pontine-marsh-unda-and-Tiber-flow Aqua-Claudia-and-Aqua-Marcia Roman-water-light. Sits at the modifier-and-Latin end of the grid, parallel to via and arbor 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.

#ddac2d
Original
#c2ab0f
Protanopia
#ceb834
Deuteranopia
#f09c94
Tritanopia
#adadad
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
2.10:1
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
10.01:1

Related Colors

Canvas