Mustard #CEB301

Mustard (#CEB301) is a light, saturated yellow with an OKLCH hue of 98°, lightness 0.77 and chroma 0.158. 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#CEB301
RGBrgb(206, 179, 1)
HSLhsl(52, 99%, 41%)
HSVhsv(52, 100%, 81%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 13%, 100%, 19%)
CIE Lablab(73.1 -4.6 75.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.767 0.158 98)

How Mustard behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Mustard shifts subtly: leans toward orange; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 1.4), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 2.08:1 and against black 10.07:1, 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 Mustard

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.

#fff3b7 · #e3ca46 · #ceb301 · #907c00 · #685900 · #423800

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.

#beea92 · #c5d05c · #ceb301 · #cd9600 · #c57b1c · #b56430

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.

#ceb301 · #70a27b · #897600 · #006d30 · #4a3f00 · #002f10

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.

#ded7b4 · #ceb301 · #9f9251 · #4e4fb5 · #3e3400 · #201a00

Quiet Support

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

#eef1ff · #ceb301 · #9c9882 · #595a65 · #2a260e · #010104

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.

#eff1fd · #c6c8d6 · #999baa · #1f2233 · #030210 · #ceb301

Complementary

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

#cadab7 · #ceb301 · #89a875 · #1e73b7 · #2b3963 · #041115

Split-complementary

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

#b5ddf0 · #ceb301 · #899ec0 · #824aa3 · #2a3755 · #140b04

Triadic

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

#ddf7ff · #ceb301 · #00a8c9 · #902d79 · #460038 · #000408

Tetradic

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

#cffdf8 · #ceb301 · #00aea5 · #4b4bb1 · #4c001b · #010010

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#D6BE46 · #DDCA68 · #E5D585 · #EDE0A1 · #F5EBBB

Shades

#A99200 · #857300 · #635500 · #423800 · #251E00

Muted

#C8B44D · #C2B46F · #BCB48A

Using Mustard

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.

Similar colors