Goldenrod #DAA520

Goldenrod (#DAA520) is a light, saturated yellow with an OKLCH hue of 84°, lightness 0.75 and chroma 0.147. 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#DAA520
RGBrgb(218, 165, 32)
HSLhsl(43, 74%, 49%)
HSVhsv(43, 85%, 85%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 24%, 85%, 15%)
CIE Lablab(70.8 8.5 68.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.752 0.147 84)

How Goldenrod behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Goldenrod shifts subtly: leans toward red; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 1.3), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 2.24:1 and against black 9.38:1, 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 Goldenrod

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.

#fff0d3 · #f3c156 · #daa520 · #9e7500 · #725300 · #493400

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.

#d1de85 · #d5c356 · #daa520 · #d28a2b · #c4713b · #b15d46

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.

#daa520 · #7b9a6d · #916b00 · #2e6500 · #4d3700 · #0e2a00

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.

#dfd0b1 · #daa520 · #a48951 · #335ab2 · #402d00 · #201400

Quiet Support

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

#ebf2ff · #daa520 · #9b927f · #545862 · #2c230f · #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.

#ecf2fd · #c3c9d6 · #959caa · #1a2233 · #01030f · #daa520

Complementary

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

#ebf2ff · #daa520 · #6e91db · #2c52a9 · #031a5f · #0e0600

Split-complementary

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

#b0dfe8 · #daa520 · #7f9db7 · #62429b · #2a3653 · #1a0902

Triadic

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

#d2fbff · #daa520 · #00a6b2 · #7e3486 · #3f0045 · #000304

Tetradic

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

#d5fcef · #daa520 · #25aa8d · #2c52a9 · #480028 · #000012

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#E1B24D · #E8BF6D · #EFCD89 · #F5DAA3 · #FCE7BD

Shades

#B58600 · #8F6900 · #6A4D00 · #483300 · #291B00

Muted

#D1A851 · #C8AA6F · #BFAC88

Using Goldenrod

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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