Yellow color · XKCD survey name

Lemon Yellow Color Code: #FDFF38

Lemon Yellow is a medium-light, vivid yellow color with the hexadecimal value #FDFF38. In RGB it is 253, 255, 56 and in HSL it is 61°, 100%, 61%. Black text reads best on it (19.53:1 contrast).

Lemon Yellow color values

HEX #FDFF38
RGB rgb(253, 255, 56)
HSL hsl(61, 100%, 61%)
HSV 61, 78%, 100%
HWB hwb(61 22% 0%)
CMYK 1%, 0%, 78%, 0%
Decimal 16645944
61%HSL lightness (medium-light)
100%HSL saturation (vivid)
61°Hue angle (yellow)
0.927Relative luminance

CMYK is a standard screen-to-print conversion. Printed results depend on inks, paper and color profiles.

What is Lemon Yellow?

“Lemon Yellow” is a crowd-sourced name from the XKCD Color Survey, in which participants typed names for colors they were shown. It is a popular everyday label rather than an official standard.

Its hue angle of 61° places it in the yellow part of the color wheel, with 100% saturation (vivid) and 61% lightness (medium-light). It is a warm color.

Compared with the other yellow colors in the Aqeeb Studio library, it is lighter than 38% of them and more saturated than 58% of them.

Its relative luminance is 0.927, which makes it a very light color. That is above the 0.179 crossover point at which black and white text have equal contrast, so black text has the advantage.

Lemon Yellow counts as a light color: its HSL lightness is 61% and its relative luminance is 0.927. Black text reads best on it (19.53:1 contrast).

Text contrast on Lemon Yellow

WCAG contrast of white and black text on Lemon Yellow
TextPreviewRatioAA normalAA largeAAA normalAAA large
White text Sample text 1.07:1 Poor Fail Fail Fail Fail
Black text Sample text 19.53:1 Excellent Pass Pass Pass Pass

Ratios use the WCAG 2 formula and are truncated, never rounded up. Test any pair with the contrast checker.

Colors that go with Lemon Yellow

Complementary color

Complementary colors sit directly opposite each other on the color wheel (180° apart). They give the strongest hue contrast, which suits calls to action and accents.

Analogous colors

Analogous colors are neighbors on the wheel, 30° either side of the base hue. They blend smoothly and are easy to combine in backgrounds, gradients and illustrations.

Triadic colors

A triadic scheme uses three hues spaced 120° apart. It is lively yet balanced, and works best when one color leads and the other two act as accents.

Split-complementary colors

Split-complementary keeps the base color and uses the two colors on either side of its complement (150° and 210°). The contrast is strong but gentler than a direct complement.

Tetradic colors

A tetradic (rectangle) scheme combines two complementary pairs at 0°, 60°, 180° and 240°. It offers variety but needs one dominant color to stay balanced.

Monochromatic variants

Monochromatic variants keep the same hue and saturation and only change lightness, which makes them dependable for UI scales and subtle layered designs.

#A7A800#A7A800
#EDF000#EDF000
#FDFF38#FDFF38
#FEFF7F#FEFF7F
#FEFFC7#FEFFC7

A “≈” before a name means the exact harmony color has no named match, so the link goes to the closest named color.

Tints and shades of Lemon Yellow

Lighter tints (mixed with white)

Darker shades (mixed with black)

Select any swatch to copy its HEX code. Build longer scales with the tints and shades tool.

Where to use Lemon Yellow

  • Card, highlight and section backgrounds with dark text (19.53:1 contrast with black)
  • Accents that need to stand out: call-to-action buttons, charts and illustrations
  • Highlighters, badges and caution markers
  • Backgrounds that need to feel bright
  • Accents on dark layouts
  • Infographics and chart series

Use Lemon Yellow in CSS

:root {
  --color-lemon-yellow: #FDFF38;
}

.element {
  color: var(--color-lemon-yellow);
  background-color: #FDFF38;
  border: 2px solid #FDFF38;
}

Questions about Lemon Yellow

What is the HEX code for Lemon Yellow?

Lemon Yellow is #FDFF38.

What is the RGB value of Lemon Yellow?

The RGB value of Lemon Yellow is 253, 255, 56: 253 red, 255 green and 56 blue on a 0–255 scale, written rgb(253, 255, 56) in CSS.

What is the HSL value of Lemon Yellow?

The HSL value of Lemon Yellow is 61°, 100%, 61% (hue, saturation, lightness), written hsl(61, 100%, 61%) in CSS.

What is the CMYK value of Lemon Yellow?

A standard conversion gives about C 1%, M 0%, Y 78%, K 0%. Real print results depend on the inks, paper and color profile, so treat CMYK here as a reference value.

Is Lemon Yellow a light or dark color?

Lemon Yellow counts as a light color: its HSL lightness is 61% and its relative luminance is 0.927. Black text reads best on it (19.53:1 contrast).

How does Lemon Yellow look with white text?

White text on Lemon Yellow has a contrast ratio of 1.07:1, rated Poor. It falls below the WCAG minimum for text.

How does Lemon Yellow look with black text?

Black text on Lemon Yellow has a contrast ratio of 19.53:1, rated Excellent. It meets WCAG AA for normal text.

What colors go well with Lemon Yellow?

Light Royal Blue is its complementary color, and Mango sits beside it as an analogous color. Lighter and darker variants of the same hue also work well for monochromatic palettes.

Where can Lemon Yellow be used?

It suits card, highlight and section backgrounds with dark text (19.53:1 contrast with black); accents that need to stand out: call-to-action buttons, charts and illustrations; highlighters, badges and caution markers.

How do I use Lemon Yellow in CSS?

Use color: #FDFF38; for text, background-color: #FDFF38; for fills, or define a custom property such as --color-lemon-yellow: #FDFF38; and reuse it with var(--color-lemon-yellow).

About this color page

Crowd-sourced name from the XKCD Color Survey (CC0). Values are calculated from the HEX code; color names are labels, not trademarks or standards unless stated. Screens render colors differently, so always check important colors on your own device. See the disclaimer.