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Loud Sphene

#e9981d
Notes

Loud Sphene (#E9981D) 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 (36°, 82%, 51%) 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
#e9981d
RGB
rgb(233, 152, 29)
HSL
hsl(36, 82%, 51%)
HWB
hwb(36 11% 9%)
OKLCH
oklch(74.4% 0.154 70.0)
P3
color(display-p3 0.8682 0.6102 0.2423)
HSV
hsv(36, 88%, 91%)
LAB
lab(69.38% 21.85 69.10)
LCH
lch(69.38% 72.47 72.45)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 35%, 88%, 9%)

Etymology

Loud
adjective

Old English hlūd, making noise — borrowed metaphorically as a color word since the nineteenth century. Loud red, loud yellow: a color so saturated it announces itself without needing surrounding context. Sits in the bright-bucket extreme alongside electric and striking. Carries a slightly pejorative implication of excess.

Sphene
noun

A calcium-titanium silicate gem — also called titanite — known for its high dispersion (more than diamond) and its yellow-to-greenish-yellow body color. Mined principally in Madagascar, Brazil, and Pakistan. The color refers to a faceted Madagascar sphene: a saturated, slightly cool yellow-green with the gem's signature internal fire.

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.

#e9981d
Original
#b39e00
Protanopia
#c6b122
Deuteranopia
#ff8482
Tritanopia
#a0a0a0
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
2.34:1
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
8.97:1

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
##E9981D
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.8682 0.6102 0.2423)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.154

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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