Phosphorescent Brass
Phosphorescent Brass (#E9A630) 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 (38°, 81%, 55%) 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.
Etymology
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.
The alloy of copper and zinc — softer than bronze, more golden, and easier to cast into the hardware that fills any nineteenth-century parlor: candlesticks, doorknobs, instrument bells. The color refers to polished raw brass: a warm, slightly green-shifted gold with the satin finish of cast metal. The defining color of trumpets, trombones, and the door fittings of London townhouses.
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 exploreHarmonies
Accessibility
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.
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.