Psychology
Yellow is the most luminous color the eye perceives, making it both attention-grabbing and tiring at high saturation. Cognitively it's linked to clarity, optimism, and idea-generation.
Meaning
Sunlight, gold, caution, and intellect all live here. In some Asian traditions yellow signifies imperial power; in Western coding it's the universal hazard color.
Applications
Excellent for highlights, badges, and small accents against dark backgrounds. Soft buttery yellows work well as page backgrounds; high-chroma yellow needs dark ink for legibility.
Conversion
HEX
DDAA31
RGB
221, 170, 49
HSL
42, 72%, 53%
HSB
42, 78%, 87%
CMYK
0, 23, 78, 13
LAB
73, 11, 65
LCH
73, 66, 80
OKLCH
0.77, 0.14, 84
XYZ
45, 44, 9
LUV
73, 43, 69
HWB
42, 19%, 13%
Pantone
1235 C
Harmonies
Shades & tints
Similar named colors
Browse every named yellow on shades of yellow, or all families on colors.