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Glittering Tǔ

#e9b711
Notes

Glittering Tǔ (#E9B711) is a true amber with a neon character. It sits at the high-saturation edge of its family. Use it sparingly, as signage, accent, or highlight against darker surfaces. Its HSL profile (46°, 86%, 49%) 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 blue. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#e9b711
RGB
rgb(233, 183, 17)
HSL
hsl(46, 86%, 49%)
HWB
hwb(46 7% 9%)
OKLCH
oklch(80.2% 0.161 88.4)
P3
color(display-p3 0.8830 0.7253 0.2560)
HSV
hsv(46, 93%, 91%)
LAB
lab(76.82% 5.26 77.14)
LCH
lch(76.82% 77.32 86.10)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 21%, 93%, 9%)

Etymology

Glittering
adjective

Old Norse glitra, to shine — present-participle of glitter. As a color modifier, glittering implies a saturated-and-multi-point-reflective quality, the bright color of sequined-and-rhinestone fabric-and-gem-decoration surfaces. Sits at the bright-and-reflective end of the grid, parallel to sparkling and glistening in usage.

noun

The Chinese word for earth — the warm yellow-tan of loess soils that defined the cradle of Chinese civilization in the Yellow River valley. Tǔhuáng (earth-yellow) refers specifically to the loess deposits visible in the soil profile of Shaanxi and Gansu. The color refers to fresh loess in late-autumn light: a soft, slightly muted warm yellow-tan with the matte finish of fine wind-blown sediment.

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.

#e9b711
Original
#cfb600
Protanopia
#dbc322
Deuteranopia
#fda59c
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
1.87:1
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
11.25:1

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
##E9B711
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.8830 0.7253 0.2560)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.161

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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