Buttercup #DA9429

Buttercup (#DA9429) is a light, saturated orange with an OKLCH hue of 72°, lightness 0.72 and chroma 0.141. It sits on the warm side of the color wheel. In practice it behaves as an accent color: strong in focal moments, dominant over large fields.

Color values

HEX#DA9429
RGBrgb(218, 148, 41)
HSLhsl(36, 71%, 51%)
HSVhsv(36, 81%, 85%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 32%, 81%, 15%)
CIE Lablab(66.7 17.9 62.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.720 0.141 72)

How Buttercup behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Buttercup shifts subtly: leans toward red; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 1.2), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 2.55:1 and against black 8.25:1, so black text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text. Avoid white text on this color entirely.

Palettes built from Buttercup

Tonal

One color explored: close hues with real lightness and chroma structure, so the palette is the anchor through value rather than a set of colors.

#ffefdc · #fcbb66 · #da9429 · #aa6e00 · #7b4e00 · #4f3000

Analogous

The anchor's neighbours on the wheel — everything shares an undertone, so the chord carries color without anything having to be muted to get along.

#d6ce77 · #d9b24e · #da9429 · #ce7b38 · #bb6545 · #a5524e

Shifted

The mid-gap pairing — sage and mustard, terracotta and olive. A foil rotated 40–65° toward warm or cool: too far to be kin, too near to argue, carried by temperature and a deliberate value offset.

#bacc9a · #da9429 · #b27922 · #597400 · #6b4300 · #2a3902

Contrast

One deliberately opposed voice — a single restrained counterpoint across the wheel, or temperature against temperature where the anchor is too muted to carry a loud opposite.

#ffe7ca · #d9c3aa · #da9429 · #3a86d5 · #7c5c33 · #554126

Quiet Support

The anchor as the only color in the room. True neutrals or complement-warmed near-neutrals let it stay dominant.

#e9f3ff · #da9429 · #948777 · #4c535b · #2c1f0e · #000104

Bright Accent

This color as a ground rather than a subject — its own restraint held across a narrow value band, carrying one saturated voice from the opposite temperature.

#eaf3fc · #c1cbd6 · #949fac · #1a2736 · #000613 · #da9429

Complementary

The opposite hue on the perceptual wheel, tempered to field strength — warm/cool tension without vibration.

#d9dab4 · #da9429 · #c37a6e · #2f67f2 · #2e3155 · #15082b

Split-complementary

The complement's two neighbours instead of the complement itself — strong contrast with a lower clash risk.

#b1e2e4 · #da9429 · #7098a7 · #6667c3 · #27334f · #1f0702

Triadic

Three hues spaced evenly around the wheel; the anchor leads and the other two are held at supporting strength.

#d2fcf9 · #da9429 · #009d9a · #6c3589 · #340349 · #000202

Tetradic

Two complementary pairs offset by 90° — the richest chord, kept usable by a strict lightness hierarchy.

#dafbe9 · #da9429 · #3a9e74 · #005399 · #410030 · #000518

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#E2A450 · #EAB36E · #F1C38A · #F8D3A4 · #FFE2BF

Shades

#B6770A · #915D00 · #6D4500 · #4A2D00 · #2B1800

Muted

#CF9950 · #C49D6B · #B9A082

Using Buttercup

Its chroma is high enough to carry accents, calls to action, and focal moments; large fields of it will dominate a composition. In palettes it pairs most predictably with its tonal ramp and analogous neighbors; reserve the complementary hue for small, deliberate contrast.

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