Vivid Yellow Hex Codes: 26 Vivid, highly saturated shades
26 vivid, highly saturated shades of yellow with names, hex codes, contrast on white and the best text color for each.
These are the vivid, highly saturated shades of yellow in Tintly's color library: 26 of the 105 yellow shades. Vivid shades are accents. They attract the eye, so use them for one action at a time.
Vivid yellow shades with hex codes
| Name | Hex | On white | Text on it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Papyrus | #999911 | 3.03:1 | #111111 |
| Hot Sand | #CCAA00 | 2.25:1 | #111111 |
| Mustard | #CEB301 | 2.08:1 | #111111 |
| Celery | #B4C04C | 1.98:1 | #111111 |
| Wax | #DDBB33 | 1.86:1 | #111111 |
| Paella | #DCC61F | 1.72:1 | #111111 |
| Corona | #FFB437 | 1.77:1 | #111111 |
| Yolk | #EEC701 | 1.63:1 | #111111 |
| Amber | #FFBF00 | 1.65:1 | #111111 |
| Buzz | #F0C641 | 1.63:1 | #111111 |
| Goldzilla | #CDD80D | 1.56:1 | #111111 |
| Broom | #EECC24 | 1.57:1 | #111111 |
| Aurora | #EBD147 | 1.52:1 | #111111 |
| Venus | #EED053 | 1.52:1 | #111111 |
| Maize | #F4D054 | 1.50:1 | #111111 |
| Gold | #FFD700 | 1.40:1 | #111111 |
| Star | #FFE500 | 1.27:1 | #111111 |
| Limon | #F7EB73 | 1.22:1 | #111111 |
| Corn | #FBEC5D | 1.21:1 | #111111 |
| Dolly | #F5F171 | 1.18:1 | #111111 |
| Lemon | #FFF700 | 1.13:1 | #111111 |
| Yellow | #FFFF00 | 1.07:1 | #111111 |
| Banana | #FFFC79 | 1.07:1 | #111111 |
| Canary | #FDFF63 | 1.06:1 | #111111 |
| Hive | #FFFF77 | 1.05:1 | #111111 |
| Butter | #FFFF81 | 1.05:1 | #111111 |
How to use them
Use one vivid shade as the accent and keep the rest of the page in neutrals or muted shades, so the accent stays an event rather than the wallpaper.
Standouts in this group
- Darkest: Papyrus (#999911), at 66% lightness.
- Lightest: Butter (#FFFF81), at 98% lightness.
- Most saturated: Yellow (#FFFF00).
- Best text color on white: Papyrus (#999911), at 3.03:1.
What the numbers say
Across all 105 yellow shades in the library, lightness runs from 31% to 98%. 13 of them reach 4.5 to 1 on white, so they can be used as text on a light page, and 87 reach 4.5 to 1 on near-black, so they can be used as text on a dark page. The rest are for fills, surfaces and large type, where the requirement is lower. Within the vivid, highly saturated shades the figures are different: 0 of 26 pass on white.
Pairing with other families
The base yellow (#F4C430) separates best from brown (4.47:1), purple (3.48:1) and blue (3.14:1). Because yellow stands for sunshine, joy and optimism, those pairings carry the most contrast of both color and meaning.
- Yellow and brown: see the combinations in soft, bold and dark versions.
- Yellow and purple: see the combinations in soft, bold and dark versions.
- Yellow and blue: see the combinations in soft, bold and dark versions.