Spiced Butternut
Spiced Butternut is a highly saturated, near pure orange shade with RGB(255, 217, 120) and hex code #FFD978, reading as light at a glance.
HEX
#FFD978
RGB
255, 217, 120
HSL
43°, 100%, 74%
CMYK
0%, 15%, 53%, 0%
LAB
88, 2, 52
Quick copy
Description
- •Spiced Butternut (#FFD978) is a warm-toned orange color defined by RGB values of 255, 217, 120 and HSL values of 43 degrees hue, 100% saturation, and 74% lightness. At 74% lightness it appears light, and its highly saturated, near pure character makes it suitable as a strong accent or brand color. It pairs naturally with its complementary shade #789EFF for high-contrast schemes, or with the analogous tones #E1FF78 and #FF9678 for a more harmonious palette.
Psychology
As a orange shade, Spiced Butternut tends to carry the general associations of that hue family: creativity, enthusiasm, and approachability. Orange sits between red and yellow on the wheel and is often associated with warmth, enthusiasm, and affordability in branding.
Hue family
orange
Saturation level
highly saturated, near pure
Lightness level
light
Temperature
warm
Because Spiced Butternut is highly saturated, near pure and light, it tends to feel bold and attention-grabbing in a design context.
Meaning
Within the orange family, colors like Spiced Butternut are commonly associated with creativity, enthusiasm, and approachability, though exact interpretation depends on cultural context and surrounding design elements.
Hue family
orange
Common associations
creativity, enthusiasm, and approachability
Temperature
warm
History
- 1Spiced Butternut is a named point in a modern digital color palette rather than a documented historical pigment, but the orange family it belongs to has a long design history. Orange sits between red and yellow on the wheel and is often associated with warmth, enthusiasm, and affordability in branding.
Color info
Quick actions
Visual perception
- At HSL(43, 100%, 74%), Spiced Butternut has a relative luminance of about 0.72 on a 0-1 scale, which generally poses low risk for common color vision deficiencies, though pairing with sufficient lightness contrast is still recommended.
Technology specific
- Spiced Butternut (#FFD978) renders consistently on standard sRGB displays; on wider-gamut or uncalibrated screens, expect minor shifts in perceived saturation. For print reproduction, convert from RGB to CMYK and proof physically, since highly saturated colors like this can shift noticeably between screen and print.
Guidance
Use Spiced Butternut with black text for readability (contrast ratio approximately 15.4:1). Reserve it for smaller accent areas rather than large backgrounds since high saturation can overwhelm at scale.
Examples
web design
call-to-action buttons
branding
logo accent color
UI design
alert or highlight states
spot color for emphasis
Purpose
Spiced Butternut works well for accent elements, buttons, and calls-to-action that need to stand out, given its highly saturated, near pure and light profile.
Benefits
visual contrast
pairs with black text for a WCAG contrast ratio of about 15.4:1
palette flexibility
combines with #789EFF (complementary) and #78FFD9/#D978FF (triadic) for varied schemes
brand consistency
reads as bold and energetic across most screens