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Refulgent Bog Goldenrod

#ddb12a
Notes

Refulgent Bog Goldenrod (#DDB12A) 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°, 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 blue. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#ddb12a
RGB
rgb(221, 177, 42)
HSL
hsl(45, 72%, 52%)
HWB
hwb(45 16% 13%)
OKLCH
oklch(77.9% 0.148 89.1)
HSV
hsv(45, 81%, 87%)
LAB
lab(74.18% 3.74 68.89)
LCH
lch(74.18% 68.99 86.89)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 20%, 81%, 13%)

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.

Bog
modifier

Irish bog, soft-and-wet. As a color modifier, bog implies a peat-soaked-and-soft quality, the visual register of Connemara-and-Yorkshire-Moors peat-bog blanket-bog-and-cotton-grass wet-and-sphagnum-moss surfaces under wet West-of-Ireland atmospheric overcast. Sits at the modifier-and-place end of the grid, parallel to fen and moor 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.

#ddb12a
Original
#c7af01
Protanopia
#d1bb33
Deuteranopia
#f0a198
Tritanopia
#b1b1b1
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
2.02:1
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
10.40:1

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