ColrShiftFF9800 (Orange 500) — RGB, HSL, CMYK and Contrast
A orange at 50% lightness and 100% saturation, which puts it at 2.16:1 against white and 9.74:1 against black. The tables below give the notation conversions, the tints and shades that keep the hue intact, and the harmonies that pair with it.
Notation conversions
| Notation | Value |
|---|---|
| HEX | FF9800 |
| RGB | rgb(255, 152, 0) |
| HSL | hsl(36, 100%, 50%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(0%, 40%, 100%, 0%) |
| Relative luminance | 0.4372 |
| Perceived brightness | 64.9 / 100 |
Contrast against pure white and pure black
Pair this colour with the two extremes to see which is the safer text partner. AA needs 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text; AAA raises that to 7:1 and 4.5:1.
| Against | Hex | Ratio | AA text | AA large | AAA text |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #FFFFFF | white | 2.16:1 | fail | fail | fail |
| #000000 | black | 9.74:1 | pass | pass | pass |
Tints and shades
Lightness moves in ten-point steps while hue and saturation stay fixed, which keeps the colour recognisable in a scale. The last column is the ratio against white text, useful for deciding where a scale stops working as a background.
| Step | Hex | HSL | vs white text |
|---|---|---|---|
| shade -30 | #663d00 | hsl(36, 100%, 20%) | 9.41:1 |
| shade -20 | #995b00 | hsl(36, 100%, 30%) | 5.45:1 |
| shade -10 | #cc7a00 | hsl(36, 100%, 40%) | 3.31:1 |
| tint +10 | #ffad33 | hsl(36, 100%, 60%) | 1.86:1 |
| tint +20 | #ffc166 | hsl(36, 100%, 70%) | 1.61:1 |
| tint +30 | #ffd699 | hsl(36, 100%, 80%) | 1.37:1 |
Harmonies
| Scheme | Hex |
|---|---|
| Complementary | #0067ff |
| Analogous −30 | #ff1800 |
| Analogous +30 | #e7ff00 |
| Triadic −120 | #9800ff |
| Triadic +120 | #00ff98 |
Measured rather than eyeballed: hue 35.8°, saturation 100.0%, lightness 50.0%, relative luminance 0.4372 — four decimals is the precision the WCAG formula actually needs — and perceived brightness 64.9 out of 100. Entry 11 of 69 in this library, it scores 2.16:1 on white and 9.74:1 on black, a 7.59 spread. The complementary #0067ff sits 180° away on the wheel, and the scale brackets it with #663d00 below and #ffd699 above.
Nearby colours
Frequently asked questions
What text colour should sit on FF9800?
Black gives 9.74:1 and white gives 2.16:1, so black wins at 9.74:1. That clears the 4.5:1 AA threshold for normal text and the 7:1 AAA threshold as well.
Do the CMYK numbers match a print workflow?
They are the naive conversion from RGB, which assumes no ink limit, no colour profile and no black generation strategy. Real print work needs a profile-aware conversion; the values here are the ones the converter reports and are best used as a starting point for a designer rather than a press-ready separations file.
Convert any other colour, or test a pair against each other, in the ColrShift colour converter and contrast checker. The colour library groups every entry on this site by hue family.