Color Details and Palettes for #9E8700

Details about the color Captain Kirk

Closest web-safe match: #999900

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 #9E8700
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About Color Hex #9e8700

The color Captain Kirk, with hexadecimal code #9e8700, sits in the orange color family, typically linked to enthusiasm, creativity, and warmth. Orange hues stimulate appetite and social interaction, which is why food brands and community platforms favor them. Additionally, it evokes emotions such as Happiness, Optimism, Positivity, Intellect and Energy. Orange is associated with spirituality and courage in some cultures, such as in Hinduism and Buddhism. In Western cultures, it often represents autumn, harvest, and creativity. With a high saturation of 100%, this color is intensely vivid—demanding attention and ideal for focal elements like buttons, banners, and brand marks. Its low lightness of 31% produces a deep, rich appearance—conveying gravity and luxury, particularly effective in dark-mode designs and premium packaging. This color is ideal for designs that aim to express Happiness, Optimism, Positivity, Intellect, or Energy. It can be effectively used in web design, branding, and marketing materials to attract attention and convey specific messages.

The RGB values for Captain Kirk are (158, 135, 0), providing a combination of red: 158, green: 135, and blue: 0. In HSL format, it has a hue of 51.00°, saturation of 100.00%, and lightness of 31.00%.

The HSV representation includes a hue of 51.00°, saturation of 100.00%, and value of 62.00%. Its CMYK composition is cyan: 0.00%, magenta: 15.00%, yellow: 100.00%, and black: 38.00%.

The calculated luminance of #9e8700 is 0.246, offering a brightness level suitable for various design requirements.

This color is not part of the web-safe color palette. The closest web-safe color to this is the color HEX #999900. Its contrast ratio is 5.92:1 against black and 3.55:1 against white. It works well on dark backgrounds but may be less readable on lighter ones.

In terms of color temperature, #9e8700 reads as warm. When it comes to accessibility, testing against standard guidelines suggests that using black text meets typical WCAG contrast standards. Additionally, the ideal foreground color for improved legibility on #9e8700 is black.

Considering its saturation and lightness, #9e8700 appears more vivid and energetic, making it stand out in designs that aim to capture attention.

History, Usage, Psychology & Design Ideas for #9E8700

Captain Kirk (#9E8700) belongs to the Amber color family.

This deep, saturated shade conveys authority and richness. Deep tones are favored in luxury packaging, evening-event branding, and dark-mode interfaces where they provide dramatic contrast against lighter elements.

Historical Background

Amber—the fossilized tree resin—has been prized since the Neolithic period, with Baltic amber trade routes spanning from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. The warm golden-yellow color named after this material became synonymous with preserved antiquity. In traffic engineering, amber signals 'caution'—a universal standard since the first traffic light was installed in London in 1868.

Design & Usage Tips

Amber tones bridge yellow and orange, lending warmth without the intensity of either extreme. They work beautifully in autumn-themed campaigns, artisanal food branding, and vintage-inspired designs. Pair amber with dark brown or forest green for an earthy, organic palette, or with ivory for a refined, warm-neutral scheme.

Positioned on the warm side of the color wheel (hue 51°), it naturally draws the eye and creates a sense of closeness—making it effective for calls to action, food photography, and hospitality branding. At 100% saturation, this is a highly vivid color that demands attention. Use it where maximum visual impact is needed—feature banners, accent buttons, and data-visualization highlights.

Psychological Impact

Amber evokes warmth, nostalgia, and comfort—like candlelight or afternoon sunlight. It feels inviting and reassuring, making it excellent for hospitality, craft beverage, and home-goods branding. Amber also carries a gentle sense of caution inherited from traffic signals.

Its low lightness of 31% gives it a deep, intense presence. Deep tones like this excel as dark-mode backgrounds, header bars, and anywhere a sense of gravity or luxury is desired.

Creative Design Ideas

Use amber gradients as warm overlays on hero photography for a golden-hour effect. Combine amber typography on dark backgrounds for a premium whiskey or craft-beer aesthetic. In UI design, amber status indicators effectively communicate 'pending' or 'in-progress' states.

#9E8700 Color Conversions

Every way to write Captain Kirk — copy Captain Kirk as RGB, HSL, HSV, HWB, CMYK, OKLCH, OKLab, CIELAB, LCH, XYZ or a decimal integer. One-tap copy on every format; tap on any card to learn what it is and when to use it.

12 formats
HEX Web
#9E8700

Hexadecimal is the web’s universal color notation — two digits each for red, green and blue. Drop it straight into HTML, CSS or any design tool.

RGB Screen
rgb(158, 135, 0)

RGB is the additive Red-Green-Blue model every screen uses to emit light. The default choice for websites, apps and on-screen UI.

HSL Web
hsl(51, 100%, 31%)

HSL breaks a color into Hue, Saturation and Lightness — the most intuitive way to lighten, darken or mute a color in CSS.

HSV HSB Design
hsv(51, 100%, 62%)

HSV (also called HSB) maps Hue, Saturation and Value/Brightness. It is the model behind the color pickers in Photoshop, Figma and most design apps.

HWB CSS 4
hwb(51 0% 38%)

HWB blends a pure hue with Whiteness and Blackness — a painter-friendly model added in CSS Color 4 for quick tints and shades.

CMYK Print
cmyk(0%, 15%, 100%, 38%)

CMYK is the subtractive Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black ink model. Use these values when preparing artwork for a printer or commercial press.

OKLCH Modern
oklch(62.57% 0.129 97.04)

OKLCH is a modern, perceptually-uniform space (Lightness, Chroma, Hue). It powers smooth gradients and accessible palettes in today’s CSS.

OKLab Modern
oklab(62.57% -0.016 0.128)

OKLab is the Cartesian form of OKLCH — ideal for blending and interpolating colors without the muddy midpoints older spaces produce.

CIELAB L*a*b* Perceptual
L: 56.68, a: -2.77, b: 61.43

CIELAB is a device-independent, perceptually-uniform space. It is the standard for measuring color difference (ΔE) and matching across devices.

LCH Perceptual
L: 56.68, C: 61.49, H: 92.58

LCH is CIELAB in cylindrical form — Lightness, Chroma and Hue — letting you adjust vividness and hue while staying perceptually even.

XYZ CIE Science
X: 22.76, Y: 24.60, Z: 3.55

CIE XYZ is the 1931 master space that underpins every other model here — the scientific bridge used to convert between color systems.

Decimal int Code
10389248

The 24-bit integer value of the color — handy for databases, APIs, game engines and low-level graphics code.

RGB Color Percentages for #9e8700

RGB Color Percentages for Captain Kirk (HEX Code: #9e8700) display the relative contribution of Red, Green, and Blue in forming the color. Understanding these percentages provides insight into the color's visual balance and primary components.

This color is primarily dominated by Red, making up 53.92% of the total composition. The complete breakdown of RGB contributions is:

Red:
53.92%
Green:
46.08%
Blue:
0%

This analysis highlights the influence of each primary color, offering a deeper understanding of the visual characteristics of Captain Kirk.

CMYK Ink Levels & Print Guide for #9e8700

CMYK Ink Levels for Captain Kirk (HEX Code: #9e8700) provide a breakdown of the percentages of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks needed for accurate print reproduction. The composition of Captain Kirk prominently features Yellow, reflecting its dominant color characteristic. This information is invaluable for optimizing ink usage and achieving precise color results in printed materials.

The exact CMYK values are: Cyan: 0%, Magenta: 14.56%, Yellow: 100%, and Black: 38.04%.

Luminance & Contrast for #9E8700

Relative luminance gauges how bright Captain Kirk is, while the WCAG contrast ratios show how legible black or white text is on it — and which accessibility levels (AA / AAA) it passes.

Relative luminance 0.246
0 · dark1 · light
Aa
Black text 5.92:1
AA AAA Large
Aa
White text 3.55:1
AA AAA Large

Quick CSS Snippets for #9E8700

Copy-and-paste CSS for Captain Kirk — backgrounds, text, borders and a custom property. Each line is ready to drop into your stylesheet.

Background background-color: #9E8700;
Text color: #9E8700;
Border border: 2px solid #9E8700;
RGB background-color: rgb(158, 135, 0);
HSL background-color: hsl(51, 100%, 31%);
Variable --color: #9E8700;

#9e8700 Monochrome Palette

The Monochrome Palette consists of shades created by adjusting the brightness. These include lighter, original, and darker shades of the color. This layout helps to visualize the color's range and its potential use in design.

#f5f3e5
#e7e1bf
#d8cf99
#cabd73
#bbab4d
#ad9926
#9e8700 Original
#867300
#6f5f00
#574a00
#3f3600
#282200
#100e00

#9e8700 Complementary Palette

The Complementary Palette is made up of two colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel. These colors create high contrast and vibrant designs, making them perfect for attention-grabbing elements and dynamic visuals.

#9e8700 Original
#00189e

#9e8700 Analogic Palette

The Analogic Palette consists of colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. These colors typically create harmonious and subtle designs, often used to evoke calmness and unity in your visual projects.

#9e8700 Original
#679e00
#9e3700
#189e00
#9e0018
#009e37
#9e0067

#9e8700 Triadic Palette

The Triadic Palette is made up of three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. This combination provides a vibrant and balanced color scheme, often used for dynamic and energetic designs while maintaining harmony.

#9e8700 Original
#009e86
#86009e

#9e8700 Quad Palette

The Quad Palette, also known as tetradic, consists of four colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. This combination offers a diverse and bold color scheme, ideal for creating rich, complex designs with multiple accents while still maintaining balance.

#9e8700 Original
#009e37
#00189e
#9e0067

Color Blindness Simulation for #9e8700

Colors are perceived differently by individuals with various forms of color blindness. Use the dropdown below to see how this color may look through the eyes of someone with color vision deficiency. Explore how Captain Kirk (#9e8700) might appear to people with different visual experiences, and gain deeper insights into color accessibility for your designs!

Each color box displays a "Friendly" or "Not Friendly" tag in the bottom-right corner. A "Friendly" tag indicates that the color difference is distinguishable to individuals with the specific type of color blindness. Conversely, a "Not Friendly" tag means that the color difference might not be distinguishable, potentially causing accessibility issues in your design.

Normal Vision

Deuteranopia (Green Weakness)

Friendly

Protanopia (Red Weakness)

Friendly

Tritanopia (Blue-Yellow Weakness)

Not Friendly

Achromatopsia (Total Color Blindness)

Not Friendly

Color Harmonies for #9e8700

Color harmonies refer to the visually pleasing combinations of colors that are derived from specific relationships on the color wheel. These harmonious schemes, such as complementary, triadic, and analogous colors, create a balanced and engaging visual experience in design.

Complementary

Analogous

Triadic

Tetradic (Quad)

#9E8700 Nearby Colors

A handful of colors just a step away from #9E8700 — each one nudges the brightness, richness, or shade a little while still feeling like the same color. Use the buttons on any swatch to copy its hex or open its full color page.

#aa9922 Greedy Gecko
#887700 Olive
#bbaa33 Hey Pesto
#776600 Muddy Brown
#998800 Captain Kirk
#998822 Captain Kirk
#888800 Olive
#aa8800 Faint Gold

Colors Similar to #9e8700

These colors are close neighbours of #9E8700 in the RGB color space. Each subtle variation can produce a noticeably different mood in your design while remaining harmonious with the original Orange tone.

#9f8700 Captain Kirk
#9e8800 Captain Kirk
#9e8701 Captain Kirk
#9d8700 Captain Kirk
#9e8600 Captain Kirk
#af8700 Arrowwood
#9e9800 Papyrus
#9e8711 Captain Kirk
#8d8700 Olive
#9e7600 Bronze
#a68700 Captain Kirk
#9e8f00 Captain Kirk

Looking for more Orange shades? Browse Orange colors →

Explore Vibrant Images Featuring Captain Kirk (#9e8700)

Discover a vibrant gallery of images that not only showcase the captivating hue of Captain Kirk, but also embody its unique mood and personality. Each carefully curated photo is selected to highlight the richness and diversity of this color, offering inspiration for design, art, and creative projects.