Tints & Shades
50
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Scale from white (50) through Marigold (500) to black (900), interpolated in Lab color space.
Color Values
- HEX
- #EAA221
- RGB
- rgb(234, 162, 33)
- HSL
- hsl(39, 83%, 52%)
- OKLCH
- oklch(0.764 0.153 75)
- CMYK
- cmyk(0%, 31%, 86%, 8%)
--color-marigoldbg-[#EAA221]Accessibility
Score: 48/100On White (#FFF)
2.17:1
On Black (#000)
9.69:1
On Light Gray (#F5F5F5)
1.99:1
Best text color on this background:
Design Applications
background-color: #EAA221
color: #EAA221
bg-[#EAA221] text-[#000000]
border-left: 4px solid #EAA221
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Cornflower Blue
#6495ED
Split-Complementary
Similar Colors
Color Meaning & Psychology
Orange sits at the intersection of red's intensity and yellow's optimism. It is the warmest color in the spectrum and carries associations with harvest, health, and human warmth. Unlike red, orange is rarely perceived as aggressive — it feels friendly, approachable, and energetic. In marketing, orange signals affordability and value; premium brands tend to avoid it for this reason. Deeper burnt oranges feel earthy and artisanal; bright oranges feel playful and modern. Orange has the highest visibility against a blue sky or ocean, making it the safety color for life vests and warning signs. At medium lightness, it is the most versatile tone of this hue family — readable as text on light backgrounds, yet vibrant enough as a visual accent.
Industry Usage
Common contexts and industries where Marigold is applied in professional design.
- Technology and startup branding
- Food delivery and restaurant chains
- Outdoor recreation and adventure brands
- Construction and industrial safety equipment
- Health and wellness products emphasizing energy
- Home improvement and DIY retail
- Youth and education brands
- Budget and value-oriented retail
Accessibility Considerations
Normal Text
Fails AA
4.5:1 minimum required
Large Text
Fails AA Large
3:1 minimum required
UI Components
Check contrast
3:1 for non-text UI
Marigold is a light color. Use black (#000000) text on top of it for maximum readability (9.69:1). Avoid white text on this background.
CSS & Code Examples
Background
background-color: #EAA221;Text
color: #EAA221;Border
border: 2px solid #EAA221;Box Shadow
box-shadow: 0 4px 20px #EAA22140;Gradient
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #EAA221, #ffd357);Tailwind-style
--color-marigold: #EAA221;Tailwind CSS Utilities
Use arbitrary value syntax in Tailwind CSS to apply Marigold without a custom config.
Background
bg-[#EAA221]Text
text-[#EAA221]Border
border-[#EAA221]Ring
ring-[#EAA221]Fill
fill-[#EAA221]From (gradient)
from-[#EAA221]Via (gradient)
via-[#EAA221]To (gradient)
to-[#EAA221]Design Tokens
Ready-to-use Marigold design token in CSS custom properties, SCSS, Tailwind v3/v4, and JSON formats.
CSS Custom Properties
:root {
--color-marigold: #EAA221;
--color-marigold-rgb: 234, 162, 33;
--color-marigold-hsl: 39, 83%, 52%;
}SCSS Variables
$color-marigold: #EAA221; $color-marigold-rgb: 234, 162, 33; $color-marigold-hsl: 39, 83%, 52%;
Tailwind v3 Config
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'marigold': '#EAA221',
},
},
},
};Tailwind v4 (@theme)
/* tailwind.css */
@theme {
--color-marigold: #EAA221;
}JSON Design Token (W3C format)
{
"marigold": {
"value": "#EAA221",
"type": "color",
"description": "Marigold — #EAA221"
}
}More orange colors
View all →What Does Marigold Mean? Color Psychology & Cultural Symbolism
Marigold is the enthusiast of the color spectrum—never quite as urgent as red, never quite as cautious as yellow, but fully committed to enthusiasm. Its medium quality at 52% lightness positions it in the accessible middle ground where energy meets friendliness.
- Across color psychology research, orange consistently tests high for "friendly" associations, making Marigold a reliable vehicle for enthusiasm in cross-demographic audiences.
- Brand designers draw on orange-family tones to project energetic and creative—values that Marigold communicates in a medium key.
- At 83% saturation, Marigold reads as vivid—Pure saturated oranges are impossible to ignore—they pulse with kinetic energy and work exceptionally well for sports brands, gaming, and anything that needs to project confidence and action.
- Marigold's medium lightness (52%) shifts its psychological register: a balanced mid-tone that embodies enthusiasm, warmth, creativity, and accessibility at its most direct.
Use Marigold where you want energy without intimidation. It's the color that says "come in" rather than "stop here."
How to Use Marigold in Design: Applications, Pairings & Best Practices
Brands seeking approachability often reach for orange when they've ruled out red (too intense) and yellow (too cautious). Marigold's medium warmth occupies exactly that positioning sweet spot.
- Avoid: luxury or premium positioning (reads as affordable, not exclusive), healthcare clinical contexts (may seem too casual), and B2B enterprise tools where seriousness is required.
- Color harmonies: Marigold's complementary color creates a high-energy split ideal for promotional design; its analogous palette (±30° hue) builds cohesive, monochromatic sophistication.
- Proportional use: Marigold's vivid saturation (83%) means small applications—accents, highlights, icons—deliver maximum impact without visual fatigue. Reserve large-scale use for intentional brand moments.
- Marigold creates strong legibility with black text overlays (9.7:1 contrast ratio), making it a reliable background or surface color in design systems
- Typography: Marigold as text requires a dark background; its 52% lightness means it provides 2.2:1 contrast on white, not meeting WCAG AA.
Use Marigold where you want energy without intimidation. It's the color that says "come in" rather than "stop here."
Marigold Accessibility: WCAG Contrast Ratios, Color Blindness & Inclusive Design
Marigold (#EAA221) achieves a 9.69:1 contrast ratio with black text, surpassing the WCAG 2.1 AAA threshold of 7:1. This exceptional contrast qualifies it for body text, UI components at any size, and all accessibility-sensitive interface contexts. Relative luminance: 43.4%.
- As text on white (#FFFFFF): 2.17:1 — Fail
- As text on black (#000000): 9.69:1 — AAA ✓
- Best text color on Marigold background: Black (#000000) at 9.69:1
- WCAG 2.1 luminance: 43.4% — above-median luminance—it reads as a light to mid-tone background, compatible with dark text while retaining color personality
- Marigold qualifies for all text sizes including small body copy (AAA).
- Color blindness consideration: protanopia and deuteranopia (red-green color blindness, ~8% of males) may affect how orange-family colors are distinguished from greens and browns. For critical UI states, supplement color alone with shape, label, or pattern cues.
For production use, test Marigold against your specific background colors rather than assuming #FFFFFF or #000000 performance translates. Surrounding colors alter perceived contrast.
Marigold in Industry: Branding, Design & Market Applications
Marigold's brand positioning falls squarely in the territory of enthusiasm, warmth, creativity, and accessibility. Industry data supports its strongest performance in food delivery, sports & fitness, tech startups categories, where the vivid saturation calibrates the message at a medium, considered level.
- Food & Beverage: Orange stimulates appetite almost as effectively as red while feeling friendlier and more playful. Food delivery apps, snack brands, and casual dining chains use it to communicate deliciousness and accessibility. (examples: Chipotle, Sweetgreen, Blue Bottle Coffee) Pairs well with white for clean, appetizing digital food interfaces.
- Sports & Fitness: Orange communicates high energy, competitive drive, and athletic enthusiasm. It's a popular secondary color in sports branding precisely because it energizes without the urgency or danger association of red. (examples: Nike, Gatorade, Under Armour) Orange-and-black is a classic high-visibility sports palette used from road construction to professional teams.
- Technology & Startups: Challenger tech brands use orange to signal they're energetic, user-friendly, and disrupting stuffy industries. It positions a product as approachable and human without sacrificing ambition. (examples: Apple, Microsoft, Salesforce) Works better for B2C tools and consumer products than for enterprise SaaS where trust and professionalism dominate.
- Brand positioning: Marigold is best suited for brands projecting energetic, creative, accessible. Categories outside this positioning—luxury or premium positioning (reads as affordable—tend to see weaker results.
- Adjacent applications: Beyond primary industries, Marigold works effectively in pricing callouts, casual branding, promotional elements—contexts where warmth serves a secondary but reinforcing role.
For marketers and brand strategists, Marigold is a commitment to enthusiasm, warmth, creativity, and accessibility. Match it with industries that make that promise and it will pay dividends consistently.
Accessibility & Design Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the hex code for Marigold? ▾
- The hex code for Marigold is #EAA221. Its RGB values are rgb(234, 162, 33) and its HSL values are hsl(39, 83%, 52%).
- What does Marigold mean in design? ▾
- Orange sits at the intersection of red's intensity and yellow's optimism. It is the warmest color in the spectrum and carries associations with harvest, health, and human warmth. Unlike red, orange is rarely perceived as aggressive — it feels friendly, approachable, and energetic. In marketing, orange signals affordability and value; premium brands tend to avoid it for this reason. Deeper burnt oranges feel earthy and artisanal; bright oranges feel playful and modern. Orange has the highest visibility against a blue sky or ocean, making it the safety color for life vests and warning signs. At medium lightness, it is the most versatile tone of this hue family — readable as text on light backgrounds, yet vibrant enough as a visual accent.
- Is Marigold WCAG accessible? ▾
- Marigold (#EAA221) does not pass WCAG AA on white (2.17:1 ratio). Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 9.69:1. Its overall accessibility score is 48/100.
- What colors go well with Marigold? ▾
- Marigold pairs well with its complementary color Cornflower Blue (#6495ED). Analogous colors like Scarlet and Apricot also work harmoniously. Check the Color Harmonies section above for the full palette.
- What is Marigold used for? ▾
- Marigold is commonly used for: Technology and startup branding; Food delivery and restaurant chains; Outdoor recreation and adventure brands; Construction and industrial safety equipment; Health and wellness products emphasizing energy.
- What are the CSS and Tailwind values for Marigold? ▾
- In CSS, use `color: #EAA221` or `background-color: #EAA221`. The CSS custom property is `--color-marigold: #EAA221`. In Tailwind CSS, use the arbitrary value class `bg-[#EAA221]` for backgrounds or `text-[#EAA221]` for text.