RAL Classic color

RAL 1023 Traffic yellow #FAD201

RAL 1023 Traffic yellow is shown here as #FAD201, a widely published sRGB approximation of the printed swatch. It is a pale vivid amber in the yellow family. In OKLCH it sits at lightness 0.872, chroma 0.179 and hue 95.0°. The nearest CSS named color is gold (#FFD700), ΔE2000 1.2 away.

Relative luminance
0.6642
OKLCH L · C · h
0.872 · 0.179 · 95.0
Best text
Black 14.28:1
Hue family
Yellow
Inspect this color Check contrast

#FAD201 color codes

HEX
#FAD201
RGB
rgb(250, 210, 1)
HSL
hsl(50, 99%, 49%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.872 0.179 95.0)
OKLab
oklab(0.872 -0.016 0.178)
CIELAB (D65)
L* 85.21, a* -1.51, b* 85.61
XYZ (D65)
X 62.48, Y 66.42, Z 9.56
CMYK (naive)
cmyk(0%, 16%, 100%, 2%)

CIELAB and XYZ use the D65 white point; CSS lab() uses D50, so paste the OKLCH or HEX value into stylesheets. CMYK here is a plain formula with no press profile.

RAL and RAL Classic are trademarks of RAL gGmbH, which this site is not affiliated with. The sRGB value is an approximation of the printed swatch; check a physical RAL color card before you specify a paint.

Legibility

Contrast: is #FAD201 accessible?

Black text on it reaches 14.28:1, passing AAA. White text fails at 1.47:1.

WCAG 2 gives the same ratio whichever color is the text; APCA does not, so its Lc changes sign and size with polarity.

Open the Contrast System

  • Black text on it

    14.28:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA passes
    • APCA Lc +81

  • White text on it

    1.47:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large fails
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −25

    Text is here, unreadable at 1.47:1

  • As text on black

    14.28:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA passes
    • APCA Lc −81

  • As text on white

    1.47:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large fails
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +21

    Text is here, unreadable at 1.47:1

Nearest versions that pass 4.5:1

  • For text on white

    #8C7500 4.50:1

    Darkening its OKLCH lightness from 0.87 to 0.57 reaches 4.50:1 on white, keeping the hue.

    Compare both in the Contrast System

  • For text on black

    #FAD201 14.28:1

    It already reaches 14.28:1 on black, so no change is needed.

Checking another pair? Use the Contrast Checker.

Studio

Adjust #FAD201 live

Move lightness, chroma and hue in OKLCH, or drag on the map. The map is every lightness and chroma at the current hue: sRGB inside the solid area, Display P3 out to the dashed line.

The studio needs JavaScript.

Scale

Shades and tints of #FAD201

Eleven OKLCH lightness steps at this hue, each with its contrast against white and black. #FAD201 sits at step 200.

  1. 50#FFF6D1
    White
    1.08
    Black
    19.35
  2. 100#FFEBA1
    White
    1.18
    Black
    17.64
  3. 200This color#FAD201
    White
    1.47
    Black
    14.28
  4. 300#DFBB00
    White
    1.86
    Black
    11.24
  5. 400#BE9F00
    White
    2.57
    Black
    8.14
  6. 500#9E8400
    White
    3.64
    Black
    5.75
  7. 600#836D00
    White
    5.05
    Black
    4.15
  8. 700#695700
    White
    7.08
    Black
    2.96
  9. 800#4C3F00
    White
    10.40
    Black
    2.01
  10. 900#322800
    White
    14.59
    Black
    1.43
  11. 950#1C1600
    White
    18.03
    Black
    1.16

Under each step, white and black text on it; a bold figure passes 4.5:1.

Gamut

How vivid #FAD201 can get

At its lightness and hue, sRGB reaches OKLCH chroma 0.179; #FAD201 uses 100% of it. Display P3, which many recent phones and laptops show, reaches 0.207 there: 16% more.

0.00.20.40.60.80.20.40.60.8 460480500520540560580600620
  • sRGB
  • Display P3
  • Rec. 2020
  • Dominant wavelength
OKLCH chroma
0.179
sRGB edge
0.179
Display P3 edge
0.207
Rec. 2020 edge
0.212
Dominant wavelength
576 nm
Excitation purity
81%
Chromaticity
x 0.4512, y 0.4797
  • This color#FAD201
  • Most vivid in sRGB#FAD200
  • Most vivid in Display P3oklch(0.872 0.207 95.0)

On a screen without Display P3 the last tile shows the sRGB edge instead.

Use the wider color where screens show it
.accent {
  color: #fad201;
}
@media (color-gamut: p3) {
  .accent { color: color(display-p3 0.9742 0.8247 0); }
}

Mixing

Mixing #FAD201

Each row is the same mix worked out in a different space, with the halfway color at its end. sRGB, which older CSS gradients use, can sag gray or dark in the middle; OKLab keeps the lightness steps even; OKLCH holds chroma and hue as it goes.

White #FFFFFF

  • sRGB50%#FDE980
  • OKLab50%#FCEAA5
  • OKLCH50%#FCEAA5

Black #000000

  • sRGB50%#7D6901
  • OKLab50%#615000
  • OKLCH50%#615000

Its complement #C8D2FF

  • sRGB50%#E1D280
  • OKLab50%#E0D5AA
  • OKLCH50%#FFC2CE
In CSS
/* A gradient and a mix, worked out in OKLCH */
background: linear-gradient(in oklch, #fad201, white);
color: color-mix(in oklch, #fad201 50%, white);

In use

#FAD201 in an interface

A button, a link, a heading, a focused field, an icon and a chart line in this color, on a light page and a dark one. Each check is a WCAG 2 contrast minimum: 1.4.3 for text, 1.4.11 for the rest.

Light page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:114.28:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:11.47:1 Fails
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:11.47:1 Fails
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:11.47:1 Fails

For text on this page, the nearest shade that passes is #8C7500 4.50:1

Dark page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:114.28:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:112.74:1 Passes
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:112.74:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:112.74:1 Passes

Color vision

How #FAD201 looks with color blindness

Tritanopia changes it most, ΔE2000 33.4; protanopia changes it least, 3.2.

Simulated with Machado et al. (2009) at full severity, in linear light.

Simulate a whole page What each type sees

  • Protanopia

    No working red (long-wavelength) cones

    #EACE00 ΔE2000 3.2

    Close match

    Reads as pale vivid amber

  • Deuteranopia

    No working green (medium-wavelength) cones

    #F4DA23 ΔE2000 3.7

    Close match

    Reads as pale vivid yellow

  • Tritanopia

    No working blue (short-wavelength) cones

    #FFC0B3 ΔE2000 33.4

    Distinct

    Reads as pale muted red

  • Achromatopsia

    No cone color vision; lightness only

    #D5D5D5 ΔE2000 29.3

    Distinct

    Reads as light gray

Pairing check

Checked against its complement, #C8D2FF. Their lightness contrast is only 1.01:1, so where hue collapses, add a label, icon or pattern.

VisionThe pairΔE2000Verdict
Normal vision#FAD201 · #C8D2FF48.9Stays distinct
Protanopia#EACE00 · #C5D6FF47.4Stays distinct
Deuteranopia#F4DA23 · #C2D2FE48.5Stays distinct
Tritanopia#FFC0B3 · #BBDAE135.2Stays distinct
Achromatopsia#D5D5D5 · #D4D4D40.2Easily confused

Harmony

Color harmonies for #FAD201

Its complement is #C8D2FF, a pale muted blue, on the cool side of the wheel.

Hue rotations in OKLCH, mapped into sRGB by trimming chroma so hue and lightness stay put.

Open the Harmony Studio
  • Base#FAD201
  • Complement#C8D2FF

Complementary

Open in Harmony Studio
  • −30°#FFC995
  • Base#FAD201
  • +30°#BAE956

Analogous

Open in Harmony Studio
  • Base#FAD201
  • +120°#7EE6FF
  • +240°#FFBCEF

Triadic

Open in Harmony Studio
  • Base#FAD201
  • +150°#B0DAFF
  • +210°#E1C9FF

Split-complementary

Open in Harmony Studio

Code

Design tokens

Ready-to-paste tokens in six formats. Rename them to fit your system.

CSS custom property

:root {
  --color-ral-1023: #fad201;
}

Tailwind config

// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        'ral-1023': '#fad201',
      },
    },
  },
};

Tailwind v4 theme

/* app.css — Tailwind CSS v4 */
@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --color-ral-1023: oklch(0.872 0.179 95.0);
}

Design token (W3C DTCG)

{
  "color": {
    "ral-1023": {
      "$type": "color",
      "$value": {
        "colorSpace": "srgb",
        "components": [0.9804, 0.8235, 0.0039],
        "hex": "#fad201"
      },
      "$description": "RAL 1023 Traffic yellow (approximate sRGB)"
    }
  }
}

SwiftUI color

import SwiftUI

enum Palette {
    static let ral1023 = Color(.sRGB, red: 0.980, green: 0.824, blue: 0.004, opacity: 1)
}

Jetpack Compose color

import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color

object Palette {
    val Ral1023 = Color(0xFFFAD201)
}

Matches

The nearest match in each system

The closest CSS name, Tailwind shade, RAL Classic paint and Crayola crayon by ΔE2000; under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side. RAL and Crayola values approximate physical colors.

Neighbors

The eight nearest colors on this site by ΔE2000, closest first. Under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side.

Tools

Open #FAD201 in the tools

Each opens over this page. More colors live in the Color Library, and every color page is listed on the hub.