Skip to content

#5a2021

a deep, vivid red · warm · closest name: Maroon

RGB
90, 32, 33
HSL
359°, 48%, 24%
CMYK
0, 64, 63, 65
Luminance
0.0332

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #5a2021 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#5a2021
Hue
359°
red
Saturation
48%
vivid
Lightness
24%
deep
Brightness
35%
HSV value
Perceived
22%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.0332
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
17/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
White
12.63:1
Closest name
Maroon
ΔE2000 12.3
Where it sits
Hue359° of 360°
Saturation48%
Lightness24%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool17% cool

Reads warm. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Every format

HEX#5a2021
RGBrgb(90, 32, 33)
HSLhsl(359, 48%, 24%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 64%, 63%, 65%)
LABlab(21.3 26.8 13.2)
LCHlch(21.3 29.9 26.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.332 0.086 22.0)
Decimal5906465
Display P3color(display-p3 0.353 0.125 0.129)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #5a2021;
background-color: #5a2021;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#5a2021] bg-[#5a2021]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #5a2021;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.353, green: 0.125, blue: 0.129)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#5a2021")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF5A2021)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(33, 32, 90)

Best text color

Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.

Readable at a glance#ffffff on #5a2021 · 12.63:1
Use #ffffffAAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 12.63:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Aa
Black text · 1.66:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #5a2021 as text scores 12.63:1 on white and 1.66:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#5a2021 on white: 12.63:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#5a2021 on black: 1.66:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #2E2B21
deuteranopia · #3D3820
tritanopia · #631521

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #5a2021 is pinned to step 900; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FAF5F5
#F5EAEA
#ECD0D0
#E2ACAD
#D38384
#C45A5B
#B54042
#963637
#782B2C
#5a2021
#371616
Base = 900Lightest = 50 · #FAF5F5Darkest = 950 · #371616
:root {
  --brand-50: #FAF5F5;
  --brand-100: #F5EAEA;
  --brand-200: #ECD0D0;
  --brand-300: #E2ACAD;
  --brand-400: #D38384;
  --brand-500: #C45A5B;
  --brand-600: #B54042;
  --brand-700: #963637;
  --brand-800: #782B2C;
  --brand-900: #5a2021;
  --brand-950: #371616;
  --brand: #5a2021;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
}

Colors that work with #5a2021

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#ffffff
White wins here
Surface#FAF4F4
Tinted page background
Border#EAC3C3
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B4B4C
Captions on the surface
Accent#1E5C4C
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#5E2122
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F8ECEC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241414
Dark-mode background
Light mode
Everything in its place

Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.

Primary actionSecondaryBadge
Dark mode
Same hue, inverted

Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.

Primary actionSecondaryAccent

How to use #5a2021

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Body text and links on white
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Headers, footers and dark-mode surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text on black or near-black surfaces
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Black text placed on it
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate

Similar colors

One move away from this hex in each direction. Every swatch is its own page.

Color relationships

The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.

Complementary#205A59
Analogous left#5A203E
Analogous right#5A3C20
Split-complement 1#205A3C
Split-complement 2#203E5A
Triadic 1#215A20
Triadic 2#20215A
Tetradic#3E5A20

RGB percentages

Red35.3%
Green12.5%
Blue12.9%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta64.4%
Yellow63.3%
Key (black)64.7%

Color previews

#5a2021 text on a black background

contrast 1.66:1

Card sample

#5a2021 text on a white background

contrast 12.63:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #5a2021;
Background color
Panel with #5a2021 background
background-color: #5a2021;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #5a2021;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(90, 32, 33, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(90, 32, 33, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #5a2021;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #5a2021, #5A4620);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #5a2021

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Color harmonies

Nearest named colors

Ranked with CIEDE2000 across all 139 CSS keywords. Under ΔE 2 the eye stops telling them apart; over ΔE 10 they are plainly different colors.

#5a2021 in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
Food and drinkEntertainmentRetailSport
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#5a2021, answered

What color is #5a2021?

#5a2021 is a deep vivid red, closest to Maroon (ΔE2000 12.3). It sits at 359° on the hue wheel with 48% saturation and 24% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #5a2021?

rgb(90, 32, 33) — 90 red, 32 green and 33 blue out of 255, or 35.3% / 12.5% / 12.9% by channel.

Is #5a2021 a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.0332 and perceived brightness is 22%, so white text on it reaches 12.63:1.

Should I use black or white text on #5a2021?

White. It scores 12.63:1 against #5a2021, versus 1.66:1 for black — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #5a2021?

#205A59 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #205A3C and #203E5A, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #5a2021?

For interface work: #FAF4F4 as the surface, #EAC3C3 for borders, #9B4B4C for secondary text, #1E5C4C as an accent and #5E2122 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #5A203E and #5A3C20 stays calm, while #205A59 is the loudest partner.

What is #5a2021 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 64%, 63%, 65%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #5a2021 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 17 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #5A3320; nudged cooler, #5B1F36.

Work with #5a2021 in the Color Lab