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Blazing Tan

#e5a500
Notes

Blazing Tan (#E5A500) is a true amber with a neon character. It sits at the high-saturation edge of its family. Use it sparingly, as signage, accent, or highlight against darker surfaces. Its HSL profile (43°, 100%, 45%) 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
#e5a500
RGB
rgb(229, 165, 0)
HSL
hsl(43, 100%, 45%)
HWB
hwb(43 0% 10%)
OKLCH
oklch(76.3% 0.158 80.6)
HSV
hsv(43, 100%, 90%)
LAB
lab(71.94% 12.85 75.52)
LCH
lch(71.94% 76.60 80.34)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 28%, 100%, 10%)

Etymology

Blazing
adjective

Old English blǣse, flame — present-participle of blaze. As a color modifier, blazing implies a saturated-and-bright-flaming quality, the bright color of Yule-log and Bonfire-Night large-flame fire-emission. Sits at the bright-and-warm end of the grid, parallel to flaming and scorching in usage.

Tan
noun

From the Latin tannum, oak bark — the source of the tannins used in vegetable leather tanning since antiquity. The color refers to vegetable-tanned leather before it darkens with use: a warm, slightly golden brown with the matte finish of unfinished hide. The color of saddles, English riding boots, and the eponymous slacks. Warmer than khaki, lighter than walnut.

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.

#e5a500
Original
#bea700
Protanopia
#cdb714
Deuteranopia
#fa928c
Tritanopia
#a7a7a7
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
2.16:1
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
9.71:1

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