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Buzzed Zest Goldenrod

#e0a213
Notes

Buzzed Zest Goldenrod (#E0A213) 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 (42°, 84%, 48%) 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
#e0a213
RGB
rgb(224, 162, 19)
HSL
hsl(42, 84%, 48%)
HWB
hwb(42 7% 12%)
OKLCH
oklch(75.2% 0.152 80.3)
P3
color(display-p3 0.8419 0.6453 0.2343)
HSV
hsv(42, 92%, 88%)
LAB
lab(70.69% 12.48 71.84)
LCH
lch(70.69% 72.92 80.14)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 28%, 92%, 12%)

Etymology

Buzzed
adjective

Imitative-onomatopoeic origin — past-participle of buzz, evoking the sound of bee-hum. As a color modifier, buzzed implies a saturated-and-vibrating-and-active quality, the bright color of insect-pollinator and neon-lamp low-amplitude-buzz visual-vibration. Sits at the bright-and-active end of the grid, parallel to jazzed and wired in usage.

Zest
modifier

French zeste, citrus-peel-and-bright-tang. As a color modifier, zest implies a bright-citrus-peel-and-aromatic-oil quality, the visual register of Provençal-and-Sicilian-citrus-zest hand-bright-citrus-peel-and-aromatic-oil Provençal-and-Sicilian-citrus-zest-and-Mediterranean-bergamot zest-and-bright-citrus-peel surfaces under Provençal-and-Sicilian-citrus-zest-and-Mediterranean-bergamot Menton-and-Sicily-and-Calabria-citrus-grove citrus-grove-light. Sits at the modifier-and-flavor end of the grid, parallel to tang and bergamot 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.

#e0a213
Original
#baa400
Protanopia
#c9b31e
Deuteranopia
#f4908a
Tritanopia
#a5a5a5
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
2.25:1
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
9.35:1

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
##E0A213
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.8419 0.6453 0.2343)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.152

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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