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Phosphorescent Skiff Goldenrod

#e5b227
Notes

Phosphorescent Skiff Goldenrod (#E5B227) 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 (44°, 79%, 53%) 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
#e5b227
RGB
rgb(229, 178, 39)
HSL
hsl(44, 79%, 53%)
HWB
hwb(44 15% 10%)
OKLCH
oklch(78.9% 0.152 86.3)
P3
color(display-p3 0.8669 0.7059 0.2808)
HSV
hsv(44, 83%, 90%)
LAB
lab(75.23% 6.59 70.99)
LCH
lch(75.23% 71.30 84.70)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 22%, 83%, 10%)

Etymology

Phosphorescent
adjective

Greek phōsphóros, light-bringer — adjectival suffix -escent. As a color modifier, phosphorescent implies a saturated-and-cool-glow-after-stimulation quality, the bright cool-green-blue color of Cu-doped-ZnS glow-in-the-dark photoluminescent surfaces. Sits at the bright-and-cool end of the grid, parallel to fluorescent and luminous in usage.

Skiff
modifier

Italian schifo, small-boat. As a color modifier, skiff implies a small-flat-bottomed-rowing-boat quality, the visual register of Cornish-and-Mediterranean-skiff hand-built small-flat-bottomed-rowing-and-sailing skiff-and-dinghy-and-rowboat maritime-architecture surfaces under Cornish-and-Mediterranean small-skiff-and-dinghy harbor-and-fishing light. Sits at the modifier-and-nautical end of the grid, parallel to sloop and hull 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.

#e5b227
Original
#c9b100
Protanopia
#d5bf30
Deuteranopia
#f9a199
Tritanopia
#b3b3b3
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
1.96:1
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
10.73:1

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
##E5B227
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.8669 0.7059 0.2808)
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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