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Glowing Mead

#f18e1b
Notes

Glowing Mead (#F18E1B) is a true orange 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 (32°, 88%, 53%) 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
#f18e1b
RGB
rgb(241, 142, 27)
HSL
hsl(32, 88%, 53%)
HWB
hwb(32 11% 5%)
OKLCH
oklch(73.6% 0.163 61.7)
HSV
hsv(32, 89%, 95%)
LAB
lab(68.12% 30.42 69.06)
LCH
lch(68.12% 75.47 66.23)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 41%, 89%, 5%)

Etymology

Glowing
adjective

The progressive participle of glow, to emit light — used as a color word since the medieval period for hues that read as if they were luminous from within. Glowing amber, glowing rose: the implication is moderate saturation combined with the optical impression of internal light. Sits in the bright-bucket alongside radiant.

Mead
noun

Honey wine — fermented honey-and-water, one of the oldest known alcoholic beverages, central to Norse and Anglo-Saxon halls. The color refers to a young Polish miód pitny: a soft, slightly cool warm gold-yellow with the optical clarity of honey-derived alcohol. Warmer than champagne, lighter than whiskey.

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

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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.

#f18e1b
Original
#ad9800
Protanopia
#c4af1c
Deuteranopia
#ff777a
Tritanopia
#9b9b9b
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
2.43:1
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
8.63:1

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