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Blazing Flash Goldenrod

#e9b135
Notes

Blazing Flash Goldenrod (#E9B135) 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 (41°, 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
#e9b135
RGB
rgb(233, 177, 53)
HSL
hsl(41, 80%, 56%)
HWB
hwb(41 21% 9%)
OKLCH
oklch(79.2% 0.147 82.7)
HSV
hsv(41, 77%, 91%)
LAB
lab(75.47% 9.29 66.88)
LCH
lch(75.47% 67.52 82.09)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 24%, 77%, 9%)

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.

Flash
modifier

Middle English flasshen, to-splash-or-burst. As a color modifier, flash implies a sudden-and-bursting-and-bright quality, the visual register of lightning-strike-and-camera-flash hand-sudden-and-bursting-and-bright lightning-strike-and-camera-flash-and-magnesium-powder flashed-and-sudden-and-bursting surfaces under lightning-strike-and-camera-flash-and-magnesium-powder split-second-burst storm-cloud-and-studio-light. Sits at the modifier-and-mood end of the grid, parallel to spark and blaze 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.

#e9b135
Original
#c8b21e
Protanopia
#d6c03b
Deuteranopia
#fda099
Tritanopia
#b4b4b4
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
1.94:1
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
10.80:1

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