Yellow

MetallicGold

#D4AF37
HEX
#D4AF37
RGB
rgb(212, 175, 55)
HSL
hsl(46, 65%, 52%)

Yellow family

About MetallicGold

MetallicGold (#D4AF37) is a medium, moderately saturated yellow. Yellow is the brightest, most luminous hue on the wheel, so this shade carries sunshine, clarity and instant visibility.

Psychology

Yellow is the color of optimism, happiness and mental clarity. It stimulates attention and creativity, though in large doses it can feel overstimulating or cautionary.

Applications

Yellow is ideal for highlights, warnings, children’s products, food packaging and anything that needs to feel cheerful and energetic. Muted yellows work in heritage and craft branding, while bright yellows are perfect for accents and alerts.

History

Yellow ochre is one of humanity’s oldest pigments, found in prehistoric cave paintings. Precious yellows later came from orpiment, saffron and Indian yellow, before synthetic cadmium and azo yellows took over in the industrial age.

Meaning

Yellow means joy, intellect and warmth in most cultures, but it can also mean caution or cowardice in others. It is frequently used to signal optimism, energy and a fresh, friendly tone.

Why use this color

Use yellow to inject happiness, warmth and attention into a design. It is the perfect accent for making key elements pop and for brands that want to feel bright and welcoming.

Accessibility

Against white, #D4AF37 has a 2.1:1 contrast ratio; against black it is 10.0:1. Black text on #D4AF37 meets WCAG AA for normal text.

Fun facts

  • Yellow is the most visible color in daylight, which is why school buses and taxis use it.
  • Pure yellow reflects almost all light, making it the lightest hue on the color wheel.
  • Vincent van Gogh’s use of chrome yellow helped define his sunlit paintings.

Shades, tints & tones

Variations

Ten lightness steps plus MetallicGold'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 MetallicGold. Each swatch is one click from your clipboard.

Complementary

#d4af35#355ad4

Analogous

#d45f35#d4af35#aad435

Triadic

#d4af35#35d4af#af35d4

Split-complementary

#d4af35#35aad4#5f35d4

Tetradic

#d4af35#35d45f#355ad4#d435aa

Monochromatic

#3f340d#876e1d#d2ac2d#e2ca78#f2e6c0

Accessibility

Blindness simulator

See how MetallicGold is perceived with common types of color vision deficiency.

#D4AF37

Normal vision

Standard trichromatic vision, shown for reference.

#c3ad23

Protanopia

Red-blind. Reds look darker and can be confused with greens and browns.

#ccb73e

Deuteranopia

Green-blind. Greens look muted and can be confused with reds and browns.

#e5a097

Tritanopia

Blue-blind. Blues look greenish and yellows fade toward pink.

#b3b3b3

Achromatopsia

Complete color blindness. Everything is seen in shades of gray.

WCAG

Contrast checker

How MetallicGold performs against black and white text, with WCAG AA and AAA ratings.

AaWhite on MetallicGold
2.10:1
AAAAAAA LargeAAA Large
AaBlack on MetallicGold
9.99:1
AAAAAAA LargeAAA Large

The ratio is identical whether MetallicGold is used as the text or the background.

Open the full checker

Ready to use

Color palettes

Curated palettes that put MetallicGold 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.

MetallicGold (#D4AF37) is a yellow-family color. Use its values, variations, harmonies and palettes above to put it to work in your next design.

Frequently asked questions

MetallicGold is #D4AF37 — rgb(212, 175, 55) / hsl(46, 65%, 52%). MetallicGold (#D4AF37) is a medium, moderately saturated yellow. Yellow is the brightest, most luminous hue on the wheel, so this shade carries sunshine, clarity and instant visibility.

Must-know facts

  • MetallicGold is one of 355 named colors in the library.
  • Its complementary hue sits 180° away on the color wheel: #355ad4.

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