Gamboge
#E49B0FOrange family
About Gamboge
Gamboge (#E49B0F) is a medium, vivid orange. Orange mixes red's energy with yellow's cheer, producing a warm, friendly hue that feels vibrant without being as intense as pure red.
Psychology
Orange radiates enthusiasm, creativity and warmth. It is an optimistic, sociable color that stimulates activity and appetite, yet reads as more approachable and playful than red.
Applications
Orange is a favorite for food and beverage brands, sports, adventure and creative industries. It also makes an excellent accent for CTAs, highlights and anything that should feel energetic but friendly.
History
The color takes its name from the fruit, which arrived in Europe via trade routes in the Middle Ages; before that, the hue was simply described as a yellow-red. Synthetic chrome orange in the 19th century made vivid oranges widely available.
Meaning
Orange is linked to warmth, harvest, vitality and affordability. In Western cultures it signals energy and value, while in others it carries sacred or spiritual significance, such as saffron robes in South Asia.
Why use this color
Choose orange when you want a design to feel warm, optimistic and energetic but not aggressive. It works well for friendly CTAs, food brands and creative or outdoor products.
Accessibility
Against white, #E49B0F has a 2.3:1 contrast ratio; against black it is 9.0:1. Black text on #E49B0F meets WCAG AA for normal text.
Fun facts
- The fruit gave the color its name; in English the fruit word predates the color word.
- Orange is highly visible, which is why safety vests, life rafts and traffic cones use it.
- Orange is a common team color in sports because it stands out in a crowd and on camera.
Shades, tints & tones
Variations
Ten lightness steps plus Gamboge's tints, shades and tones — every swatch copies its hex on click.
Lightness scale
Tints (toward white)
Shades (toward black)
Tones (toward gray)
Color theory
Color harmonies
Proven schemes built around Gamboge. Each swatch is one click from your clipboard.
Complementary
Analogous
Triadic
Split-complementary
Tetradic
Monochromatic
Accessibility
Blindness simulator
See how Gamboge is perceived with common types of color vision deficiency.
Normal vision
Standard trichromatic vision, shown for reference.
Protanopia
Red-blind. Reds look darker and can be confused with greens and browns.
Deuteranopia
Green-blind. Greens look muted and can be confused with reds and browns.
Tritanopia
Blue-blind. Blues look greenish and yellows fade toward pink.
Achromatopsia
Complete color blindness. Everything is seen in shades of gray.
WCAG
Contrast checker
How Gamboge performs against black and white text, with WCAG AA and AAA ratings.
The ratio is identical whether Gamboge is used as the text or the background.
Open the full checkerReady to use
Color palettes
Curated palettes that put Gamboge to work, with copy-all support for each.
Complementary
The base color paired with its opposite on the wheel for maximum contrast, plus two neutrals and a soft tint.
Analogous
Neighboring hues on the color wheel create a calm, cohesive scheme with a light tint and a deep shade.
Triadic
Three hues spaced evenly around the wheel for a bold, balanced palette anchored by two neutrals.
Monochromatic
A single hue stepped from light to dark for a clean, elegant and foolproof palette.
Gamboge (#E49B0F) is a orange-family color. Use its values, variations, harmonies and palettes above to put it to work in your next design.
Frequently asked questions
Gamboge is #E49B0F — rgb(228, 155, 15) / hsl(39, 88%, 48%). Gamboge (#E49B0F) is a medium, vivid orange. Orange mixes red's energy with yellow's cheer, producing a warm, friendly hue that feels vibrant without being as intense as pure red.
Must-know facts
- Gamboge is one of 355 named colors in the library.
- Its complementary hue sits 180° away on the color wheel: #0f5ae6.
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