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Apricot Silk Bright
Color detail

Apricot Silk Bright

Orange · Hue 40
Metrics
S 84% · L 68%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white1.6:1Failon black12.9:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Apricot Silk Bright (#F2C469) belongs to the orange family — hue 40°, 84% saturation, 68% lightness. Copy the hex, RGB, or HSL value above, or paste the CSS custom property below into your stylesheet to reference this color directly.

CSS
:root {
  --colorarchive-apricot-silk-bright: #F2C469;
  --colorarchive-apricot-silk-bright-hsl: hsl(40, 84%, 68%);
  --colorarchive-apricot-silk-bright-rgb: rgb(242, 196, 105);
}

AI Color Names

Let AI suggest alternative poetic names for this color in English and Chinese.

Design Context

CheerfulApproachableWarm
Common in

Children's Products · Wellness · Social Apps

Pairs well with

Soft teal for playful contrast, warm white for minimalism

Design tip

Perfect for onboarding screens and friendly UI. Light oranges feel welcoming without the intensity of pure orange.

Cultural context ▶

Peach and apricot tones are associated with friendliness and optimism. In many Asian cultures, orange symbolizes happiness.

Color Origins

Orange family

Citrus, fire, and a color named after a fruit.

Heritage

Orange is unusual: in English the color was named after the fruit, not the other way around — the fruit's name arrived in the 14th century, but until the 16th century this hue was simply 'yellow-red'. Earlier pigments included realgar (toxic), saffron (priceless), and orpiment. Cadmium orange, introduced in the 19th century, gave painters from the Impressionists onward a stable, brilliant orange — though cadmium is itself toxic.

Across cultures

In Hindu and Buddhist tradition saffron orange marks renunciation — the robe of Hindu sannyasis and of Theravada monks. The Dutch House of Orange-Nassau gave the Netherlands a national identity color, still worn at football matches and on King's Day. In Ireland, orange is the Protestant counterpart to green's Catholic association — the country's flag literally encodes the divide. Halloween's orange-and-black is a 20th-century American invention that has since gone global.

In the wild

Hermès orange is a brand asset traceable to a 1942 wartime cardboard shortage. Penguin Books color-coded its early paperbacks by genre — orange meant general fiction. Nickelodeon, Fanta, and easyJet all use orange, which reads playful and consumer-friendly while staying outside the more crowded red and yellow lanes. NASA's shuttle-era launch-and-entry suits were International Orange so rescue crews could spot astronauts after a bailout over the ocean.

How it reads

Orange is warm without the urgency of red. It signals appetite (used heavily in fast food), creativity, and approachability. At low saturation it becomes terracotta, rust, or apricot — earthy palettes for hospitality and craft. At high saturation it reads as a sport, energy drink, or warning hazard. Orange and teal is a familiar modern film-grade pairing; the contrast between warm skin tones and cool shadows is engineered for it.

This particular tone

A vivid mid-tone — distinctive enough to anchor an identity, saturated enough to demand a quiet supporting palette.

Lightness band: At mid-lightness the hue carries its full character. This is the band where many identity colors live: bright enough to be distinctive at small sizes, deep enough to sit cleanly on a white canvas.

Saturation band: At this saturation the color is doing work. It reads as a brand statement, a sport accessory, or a UI signal. It should be used in small, deliberate doses against quieter neighbors; large fields at this saturation will exhaust the eye.

Brands using a similar color

Within the public brand-guidelines reference catalog, these are the closest matches to #F2C469.

  • Patagoniasecondary
    Sunset Yellow · #F4D54F
    →
  • McDonald'sprimary
    Golden Yellow · #FFC72C
    →
  • Slackaccent
    Slack Yellow · #ECB22E
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #F2C469.

  • Korea (Obangsaek)Obangsaek Yellow (황 / hwang)
    #F2C94C · Center — earth element, royal robe
    →
  • VietnamHội An Yellow
    #E8B647 · Painted colonial-era walls
    →
  • MoroccoSaffron
    #F4C430 · Crocus sativus stigma dye
    →

Color guides

Go deeper on using orange and color in design.

Color History1970s Earth Tone Colors: Harvest Gold, Avocado Green & Burnt Orange PalettesColor TheoryWarm Color Palette Guide: Reds, Oranges, Yellows, and Their NeutralsColor TheorySeasonal Color Design: When to Update Your UI Palette and When to Hold

Tonal strip

All lightness levels at this hue and saturation. Click any to navigate.

Palette moves

Instead of stopping at one swatch, use nearby, opposite, and tonal neighbors to branch into a broader palette.

Lighter companion
Apricot Bloom Bright
#F5D38E · hsl(40, 84%, 76%)
Darker companion
Apricot Tone Bright
#EFB643 · hsl(40, 84%, 60%)
Complementary counterpoint
Cobalt Silk Bright
#6997F2 · hsl(220, 84%, 68%)
Analogous lead
Citrine Silk Bright
#F2F269 · hsl(60, 84%, 68%)
Analogous echo
Vermillion Silk Bright
#F28B69 · hsl(15, 84%, 68%)
Triadic +120°
Teal Silk Bright
#69F2C4 · hsl(160, 84%, 68%)
Triadic +240°
Mulberry Silk Bright
#C469F2 · hsl(280, 84%, 68%)
Split-comp +150°
Cerulean Silk Bright
#69DBF2 · hsl(190, 84%, 68%)
Split-comp +210°
Violet Silk Bright
#8069F2 · hsl(250, 84%, 68%)
Export preview
Base: Apricot Silk Bright #F2C469
Lighter companion: Apricot Bloom Bright #F5D38E
Darker companion: Apricot Tone Bright #EFB643
Complementary counterpoint: Cobalt Silk Bright #6997F2
Analogous lead: Citrine Silk Bright #F2F269
Analogous echo: Vermillion Silk Bright #F28B69
Triadic +120°: Teal Silk Bright #69F2C4
Triadic +240°: Mulberry Silk Bright #C469F2
Split-comp +150°: Cerulean Silk Bright #69DBF2
Split-comp +210°: Violet Silk Bright #8069F2

Compare

See how Apricot Silk Bright compares side by side with related colors.

vsApricot Bloom BrightvsApricot Tone BrightvsCobalt Silk BrightvsCitrine Silk BrightvsVermillion Silk BrightvsTeal Silk Bright

Nearest neighbors

The closest archive matches by hue, saturation, and lightness.

Search by hex
Nearby match
Apricot Silk Pure
#F8C662 · hsl(40, 92%, 68%)
Nearby match
Apricot Silk Vivid
#EAC271 · hsl(40, 74%, 68%)
Nearby match
Saffron Silk Bright
#F2D069 · hsl(45, 84%, 68%)
Nearby match
Apricot Tone Bright
#EFB643 · hsl(40, 84%, 60%)
Nearby match
Apricot Bloom Bright
#F5D38E · hsl(40, 84%, 76%)
Nearby match
Saffron Silk Pure
#F8D362 · hsl(45, 92%, 68%)

Accessible pairings

Archive colors that meet WCAG contrast standards when paired with this color. Use as text-on-background or background-on-text.

Contrast checker
AAA7:1
Cobalt Shadow Vivid
#13367C
AAA7.1:1
Cobalt Shadow Bright
#0B3383
AAA7.1:1
Cobalt Shadow Pure
#063289
AAA8:1
Cobalt Nocturne Faint
#2E3138
AAA8.1:1
Cobalt Nocturne Muted
#2A303C
AAA8.2:1
Cobalt Nocturne Dust
#262F40

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#E2E58D
Protanopia
#E0DF87
Tritanopia
#F0999D
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Taupe Gray Silk#B1AFA9 · hsl(40, 5%, 68%)Apricot Silk Faint#B6B0A5 · hsl(40, 10%, 68%)Apricot Silk Muted#BCB29F · hsl(40, 18%, 68%)Apricot Silk Dust#C3B498 · hsl(40, 26%, 68%)Apricot Silk Soft#C9B792 · hsl(40, 34%, 68%)Apricot Silk Clear#D9BC81 · hsl(40, 54%, 68%)Apricot Silk Vivid#EAC271 · hsl(40, 74%, 68%)Apricot Silk Bright#F2C469 · hsl(40, 84%, 68%)Apricot Silk Pure#F8C662 · hsl(40, 92%, 68%)
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