colors
Back to gallery

Glowy Mimosa

#fbbd4f
Notes

Glowy Mimosa (#FBBD4F) 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 (38°, 96%, 65%) 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
#fbbd4f
RGB
rgb(251, 189, 79)
HSL
hsl(38, 96%, 65%)
HWB
hwb(38 31% 2%)
OKLCH
oklch(83.6% 0.143 78.7)
HSV
hsv(38, 69%, 98%)
LAB
lab(80.45% 11.76 62.17)
LCH
lch(80.45% 63.27 79.29)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 25%, 69%, 2%)

Etymology

Glowy
adjective

Old English glōwan, to glow — adjectival suffix -y. As a color modifier, glowy implies a saturated-and-soft-emitting-and-warm quality, the bright color of fireside-and-candle-lit interior atmospheric-warmth surface emission. Sits at the bright-and-warm end of the grid, parallel to glowing and luminous in usage.

Mimosa
noun

Two unrelated yellow flowers share this name: the European Acacia dealbata (silver wattle), whose tiny yellow puffballs cover entire trees in late winter, and the cocktail of champagne and orange juice. The color refers to a wattle inflorescence at full bloom: a soft, slightly green-shifted yellow with the powdery finish of pollen-rich flowers. The same name covers the yellow of the brunch drink — a happy etymological coincidence.

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.

#fbbd4f
Original
#d5bf42
Protanopia
#e4ce53
Deuteranopia
#ffaba6
Tritanopia
#c2c2c2
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
1.68:1
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
12.49:1

Related Colors

Canvas