Tints & Shades
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Scale from white (50) through Old Gold (500) to black (900), interpolated in Lab color space.
Color Values
- HEX
- #CFB53B
- RGB
- rgb(207, 181, 59)
- HSL
- hsl(49, 61%, 52%)
- OKLCH
- oklch(0.774 0.139 97)
- CMYK
- cmyk(0%, 13%, 71%, 19%)
--color-old-goldbg-[#CFB53B]Accessibility
Score: 48/100On White (#FFF)
2.03:1
On Black (#000)
10.33:1
On Light Gray (#F5F5F5)
1.87:1
Best text color on this background:
Design Applications
background-color: #CFB53B
color: #CFB53B
bg-[#CFB53B] text-[#000000]
border-left: 4px solid #CFB53B
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Persian Blue
#1C39BB
Split-Complementary
Similar Colors
Color Meaning & Psychology
Yellow is the most luminous color in the visible spectrum — the color our eyes detect first and at the greatest distance. It stimulates mental activity, promotes optimism, and conveys clarity. However, yellow is also the most fatiguing for the human eye at extended exposure, and pure yellow text on white fails all accessibility standards. In design, yellow works best as an accent or background for dark text. Golden yellows signal warmth and achievement; cool lemons feel fresh and modern. Yellow is the universal color of caution — from traffic lights to hazard tape. 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 Old Gold is applied in professional design.
- Taxi and transportation services
- Construction and heavy machinery
- Children's education products and toys
- Fast food and energy-focused brands
- Caution and safety signage
- Summer and outdoor lifestyle brands
- Optimistic lifestyle and wellness brands
- Creative agencies emphasizing ideas
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
Old Gold is a light color. Use black (#000000) text on top of it for maximum readability (10.33:1). Avoid white text on this background.
CSS & Code Examples
Background
background-color: #CFB53B;Text
color: #CFB53B;Border
border: 2px solid #CFB53B;Box Shadow
box-shadow: 0 4px 20px #CFB53B40;Gradient
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #CFB53B, #ffe76c);Tailwind-style
--color-old-gold: #CFB53B;Tailwind CSS Utilities
Use arbitrary value syntax in Tailwind CSS to apply Old Gold without a custom config.
Background
bg-[#CFB53B]Text
text-[#CFB53B]Border
border-[#CFB53B]Ring
ring-[#CFB53B]Fill
fill-[#CFB53B]From (gradient)
from-[#CFB53B]Via (gradient)
via-[#CFB53B]To (gradient)
to-[#CFB53B]Design Tokens
Ready-to-use Old Gold design token in CSS custom properties, SCSS, Tailwind v3/v4, and JSON formats.
CSS Custom Properties
:root {
--color-old-gold: #CFB53B;
--color-old-gold-rgb: 207, 181, 59;
--color-old-gold-hsl: 49, 61%, 52%;
}SCSS Variables
$color-old-gold: #CFB53B; $color-old-gold-rgb: 207, 181, 59; $color-old-gold-hsl: 49, 61%, 52%;
Tailwind v3 Config
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'old-gold': '#CFB53B',
},
},
},
};Tailwind v4 (@theme)
/* tailwind.css */
@theme {
--color-old-gold: #CFB53B;
}JSON Design Token (W3C format)
{
"old-gold": {
"value": "#CFB53B",
"type": "color",
"description": "Old Gold — #CFB53B"
}
}More yellow colors
View all →What Does Old Gold Mean? Color Psychology & Cultural Symbolism
Old Gold at #CFB53B is a medium interpretation of one of the spectrum's most semantically rich hues. Yellow sits at the junction of optimism and caution in human psychology—and this particular shade resolves that tension in favor of brightness.
- Across color psychology research, yellow consistently tests high for "optimism" associations, making Old Gold a reliable vehicle for brightness in cross-demographic audiences.
- Brand designers draw on yellow-family tones to project approachability and energy—values that Old Gold communicates in a medium key.
- At 61% saturation, Old Gold reads as moderately saturated—neither overwhelming nor passive, landing in the optimism, clarity, intellect, and caution zone with measured confidence.
- Old Gold's medium lightness (52%) shifts its psychological register: a balanced mid-tone that embodies optimism, clarity, intellect, and caution at its most direct.
Use Old Gold as a declaration of optimism. In a palette that leads with it, everything else feels deliberate and alive.
How to Use Old Gold in Design: Applications, Pairings & Best Practices
Designers who use Old Gold effectively treat it like a spotlight: small, directed applications that create energy and focus without overwhelming the visual system.
- Avoid: body text on white (extremely poor contrast), luxury positioning (gold is the exception), and clinical or medical contexts where precision and calm are paramount.
- Color harmonies: Old Gold's complementary color creates a high-energy split ideal for promotional design; its analogous palette (±30° hue) builds cohesive, monochromatic sophistication.
- Proportional use: Old Gold's moderately saturated saturation (61%) means small applications—accents, highlights, icons—deliver maximum impact without visual fatigue. Reserve large-scale use for intentional brand moments.
- Old Gold creates strong legibility with black text overlays (10.3:1 contrast ratio), making it a reliable background or surface color in design systems
- Typography: Old Gold as text requires a dark background; its 52% lightness means it provides 2.0:1 contrast on white, not meeting WCAG AA.
Use Old Gold as a declaration of optimism. In a palette that leads with it, everything else feels deliberate and alive.
Old Gold Accessibility: WCAG Contrast Ratios, Color Blindness & Inclusive Design
Old Gold (#CFB53B) achieves a 10.33:1 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: 46.6%.
- As text on white (#FFFFFF): 2.03:1 — Fail
- As text on black (#000000): 10.33:1 — AAA ✓
- Best text color on Old Gold background: Black (#000000) at 10.33:1
- WCAG 2.1 luminance: 46.6% — above-median luminance—it reads as a light to mid-tone background, compatible with dark text while retaining color personality
- Old Gold qualifies for all text sizes including small body copy (AAA).
- Color blindness consideration: tritanopia (blue-yellow color blindness, ~0.003% of population) may affect how this color reads. While rare, for maximum accessibility supplement color signals with text or icon indicators in critical states.
For production use, test Old Gold against your specific background colors rather than assuming #FFFFFF or #000000 performance translates. Surrounding colors alter perceived contrast.
Old Gold in Industry: Branding, Design & Market Applications
Old Gold (#CFB53B) is most at home in industries where optimism, clarity, intellect, and caution are key brand values. Its medium quality makes it particularly effective in Food & Beverage contexts, where the moderately saturated saturation signals optimism at exactly the right register.
- Food & Beverage: Yellow stimulates appetite and communicates freshness, especially for bakery, dairy, and snack categories. Its association with sunlight and ripe crops makes it an instinctive choice for natural and wholesome food brands. (examples: Chipotle, Sweetgreen, Blue Bottle Coffee) Extremely effective for children's food products; less effective for premium dining where it reads as casual.
- Education & Children's Products: Yellow is cognitively stimulating and signals playfulness, making it a dominant choice in educational materials, children's toys, and learning apps. It creates an environment of curiosity and creative energy. (examples: Duolingo, Coursera, Khan Academy) Combine with blue for a classic educational palette that suggests both warmth and reliability.
- Safety & Construction: Yellow is the universal signal for visibility and caution. High-visibility vests, construction equipment, and warning signage use yellow because it provides maximum contrast in low-light conditions and stands out in natural environments. This safety connotation can be leveraged in UX for warning states and "proceed with awareness" signals.
- Brand positioning: Old Gold is best suited for brands projecting optimism, creativity, clarity. Categories outside this positioning—body text on white (extremely poor contrast)—tend to see weaker results.
- Adjacent applications: Beyond primary industries, Old Gold works effectively in highlights, callout banners, brand accents—contexts where optimism serves a secondary but reinforcing role.
The industries where Old Gold performs best are those where the audience expects optimism. Build brand strategy around this alignment, not against it.
Accessibility & Design Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the hex code for Old Gold? ▾
- The hex code for Old Gold is #CFB53B. Its RGB values are rgb(207, 181, 59) and its HSL values are hsl(49, 61%, 52%).
- What does Old Gold mean in design? ▾
- Yellow is the most luminous color in the visible spectrum — the color our eyes detect first and at the greatest distance. It stimulates mental activity, promotes optimism, and conveys clarity. However, yellow is also the most fatiguing for the human eye at extended exposure, and pure yellow text on white fails all accessibility standards. In design, yellow works best as an accent or background for dark text. Golden yellows signal warmth and achievement; cool lemons feel fresh and modern. Yellow is the universal color of caution — from traffic lights to hazard tape. 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 Old Gold WCAG accessible? ▾
- Old Gold (#CFB53B) does not pass WCAG AA on white (2.03:1 ratio). Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 10.33:1. Its overall accessibility score is 48/100.
- What colors go well with Old Gold? ▾
- Old Gold pairs well with its complementary color Persian Blue (#1C39BB). Analogous colors like Nectarine and Champagne Gold also work harmoniously. Check the Color Harmonies section above for the full palette.
- What is Old Gold used for? ▾
- Old Gold is commonly used for: Taxi and transportation services; Construction and heavy machinery; Children's education products and toys; Fast food and energy-focused brands; Caution and safety signage.
- What are the CSS and Tailwind values for Old Gold? ▾
- In CSS, use `color: #CFB53B` or `background-color: #CFB53B`. The CSS custom property is `--color-old-gold: #CFB53B`. In Tailwind CSS, use the arbitrary value class `bg-[#CFB53B]` for backgrounds or `text-[#CFB53B]` for text.