colors
Back to gallery

Aglow Gloam Goldenrod

#e8b435
Notes

Aglow Gloam Goldenrod (#E8B435) 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°, 80%, 56%) 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
#e8b435
RGB
rgb(232, 180, 53)
HSL
hsl(43, 80%, 56%)
HWB
hwb(43 21% 9%)
OKLCH
oklch(79.7% 0.148 84.9)
HSV
hsv(43, 77%, 91%)
LAB
lab(76.11% 7.28 67.43)
LCH
lch(76.11% 67.82 83.84)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 22%, 77%, 9%)

Etymology

Aglow
adjective

Old English on-glōwan, on-glow — sharing root with glow and gleam. As a color modifier, aglow implies a saturated-and-lit-from-within quality, the bright color of fireplace-and-jack-o-lantern interior-glow-lit warm-light emission against ambient darkness. Sits at the bright-and-warm end of the grid, parallel to glowing and aflame in usage.

Gloam
modifier

Old English glōm, twilight-or-dusk. As a color modifier, gloam implies a twilight-and-half-light-and-fading quality, the visual register of Scottish-Border-and-Hebridean-gloam hand-twilight-and-half-light-and-fading Scottish-Border-and-Hebridean-and-Orkney gloamed-and-twilight-and-fading surfaces under Scottish-Border-and-Hebridean-and-Orkney long-northern-twilight-and-blue-hour gloaming-and-twilight light. Sits at the modifier-and-mood end of the grid, parallel to dusk and shade 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.

#e8b435
Original
#cbb41d
Protanopia
#d7c13c
Deuteranopia
#fca39c
Tritanopia
#b6b6b6
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
1.91:1
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
11.01:1

Related Colors

Canvas