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red · warm

#ac3d4f

a balanced, vivid red · warm · closest name: Brown

Token name suggestion: Atlas Cardinal

RGB
172, 61, 79
HSL
350°, 48%, 46%
CMYK
0, 65, 54, 33
Luminance
0.1267

#ac3d4f is a balanced vivid red, 350° on the wheel and 22/100 on the cool side. Put white text on it (5.94:1). As text it scores 5.94:1 on white — safe at any size. Nearest name is Brown, nearest Tailwind family is rose.

hsl(350 48% 46%)rgb(172 61 79)Base step 600AA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ac3d4f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ac3d4f
Hue
350°
red
Saturation
48%
vivid
Lightness
46%
balanced
Brightness
67%
HSV value
Perceived
42%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1267
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
22/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
White
5.94:1
Closest name
Brown
ΔE2000 9.5
Chroma
48.8
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.520
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
rose
500 · ΔE 15
Web-safe
#993366
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue350° of 360°
Saturation48%
Lightness46%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #ac3d4f.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool22% cool

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

Luminance by channel
Red69%
Green26%
Blue4%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#ac3d4f
HEX (8-digit)#ac3d4fff
RGBrgb(172, 61, 79)
RGBArgba(172, 61, 79, 1)
HSLhsl(350, 48%, 46%)
HSV / HSBhsv(350, 65%, 67%)
HWBhwb(350 24% 33%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 65%, 54%, 33%)
LABlab(42.3 46.7 14.1)
LCHlch(42.3 48.8 16.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.520 0.145 14.1)
XYZ (D65)xyz(20.10, 12.68, 8.78)
Decimal11287887
Display P3color(display-p3 0.675 0.239 0.310)
Web-safe#993366

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #ac3d4f;
background-color: #ac3d4f;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #ac3d4f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ac3d4f] bg-[#ac3d4f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ac3d4f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.675, green: 0.239, blue: 0.310)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.675, green: 0.239, blue: 0.310, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#AC3D4F</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFAC3D4F)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFAC3D4F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(79, 61, 172)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(172, 61, 79)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(172, 61, 79)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 172, 61, 79)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6745f, 0.2392f, 0.3098f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{172,61,79}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #ac3d4f 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #ac3d4f 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#5E212B, #EED3D7);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #ac3d4f h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #FAF5F5;
  --brand-100: #F5EAEC;
  --brand-200: #ECD0D4;
  --brand-300: #E2ACB5;
  --brand-400: #D38390;
  --brand-500: #C4596B;
  --brand-600: #ac3d4f;
  --brand-700: #973545;
  --brand-800: #782B37;
  --brand-900: #58222B;
  --brand-950: #37151B;
  --brand: #ac3d4f;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
  --brand-surface: #FAF4F5;
  --brand-border: #EAC3C9;
  --brand-hover: #923443;
  --brand-pressed: #772A37;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241416;
    --brand-ink: #EED3D7;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FAF5F5',
        100: '#F5EAEC',
        200: '#ECD0D4',
        300: '#E2ACB5',
        400: '#D38390',
        500: '#C4596B',
        600: '#ac3d4f',
        700: '#973545',
        800: '#782B37',
        900: '#58222B',
        950: '#37151B',
        DEFAULT: '#ac3d4f',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FAF5F5,
  '100': #F5EAEC,
  '200': #ECD0D4,
  '300': #E2ACB5,
  '400': #D38390,
  '500': #C4596B,
  '600': #ac3d4f,
  '700': #973545,
  '800': #782B37,
  '900': #58222B,
  '950': #37151B,
);
$brand-base: #ac3d4f;
$brand-ink: #ffffff;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FAF5F5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F5EAEC", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#ECD0D4", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#E2ACB5", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#D38390", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#C4596B", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#ac3d4f", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#973545", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#782B37", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#58222B", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#37151B", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#ffffff", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

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 #ac3d4f · 5.94:1
Use #ffffffAA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 5.94:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 3.53:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #ac3d4f as text scores 5.94:1 on white and 3.53:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #F8ECEE at 5.16:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#ac3d4f · 5.94:1
AA on whitealready passes
#ac3d4f
The quick fox
#993646 · 7.07:1
AAA on white−5% L
#993646
The quick fox
#C15163 · 4.62:1
AA on black+8% L
#C15163
The quick fox
#D17E8B · 7.07:1
AAA on black+20% L
#D17E8B

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #AC3D4F is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ac3d4f on white: 5.94:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ac3d4f on black: 3.53:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #ac3d4f as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #ac3d4f.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White5.94:1AaAa
Slate 505.68:1AaAa
Slate 1005.42:1AaAa
Slate 2004.82:1AaAa
Slate 3004.00:1AaAa
Slate 4002.32:1AaAa
Slate 5001.25:1AaAa
Slate 6001.28:1AaAa
Slate 7001.74:1AaAa
Slate 8002.46:1AaAa
Slate 9003.00:1AaAa
Black3.53:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #57554F
deuteranopia · #746C4C
tritanopia · #BC2944

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ac3d4f is pinned to step 600; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FAF5F5
#F5EAEC
#ECD0D4
#E2ACB5
#D38390
#C4596B
#ac3d4f
#973545
#782B37
#58222B
#37151B
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FAF5F5Darkest = 950 · #37151BText step on white = 600
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.036 14.1);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.058 14.1);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.087 14.1);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.113 14.1);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.133 14.1);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.145 14.1);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.145 14.1);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.136 14.1);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.122 14.1);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.102 14.1);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.080 14.1);
}

Colors that work with #ac3d4f

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#FAF4F5
Tinted page background
Border#EAC3C9
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B4B58
Captions on the surface
Accent#319B6F
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#5E212B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F8ECEE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241416
Dark-mode background
Hover#923443
One step down in lightness
Pressed#772A37
Two steps down
Disabled#BF9BA0
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#C8364D
Offset from the fill so it reads
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

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #ac3d4f

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
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
  • Chart series and data categories
Use with care
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Status meaning — pair it with an icon or label, never colour alone
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
Any size
Safe as a fill behind white type
Yes
Safe as a 1px border on white
Yes

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

urgentappetisingboldphysical

Red arrives before the rest of the page does. It raises attention and appetite, which is why it runs food, sport and clearance pricing.

This is a confident chroma: strong enough to lead a brand, restrained enough to live in an interface all day. The mid lightness keeps it versatile in both themes.

Worth knowing

It is also the universal error colour. Use it as a brand accent and users may read a warning that is not there.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium-high
  • Weight54/100
  • TemperatureWarm
  • ApproachabilityHigh

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

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#3DAC9A
Analogous left#AC3D86
Analogous right#AC633D
Split-complement 1#3DAC63
Split-complement 2#3D86AC
Triadic 1#4FAC3D
Triadic 2#3D4FAC
Tetradic#86AC3D
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°350°

#ac3d4f sits at 350°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red67.5%
Green23.9%
Blue31.0%
R · 0–255
172
0xac
G · 0–255
61
0x3d
B · 0–255
79
0x4f

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta64.5%
Yellow54.1%
Key (black)32.5%

Total ink coverage is 151%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#ac3d4f text on a black background

contrast 3.53:1

Card sample

#ac3d4f text on a white background

contrast 5.94:1

Card sample

#ac3d4f on grey

5.42:1

#ac3d4f on its own surface

5.47:1

#ac3d4f on its dark surface

2.98:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ac3d4f;
Background color
Panel with #ac3d4f background
background-color: #ac3d4f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ac3d4f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(172, 61, 79, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(172, 61, 79, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ac3d4f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ac3d4f, #AC753D);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ac3d4f, #AC913D);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #ac3d4f;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #ac3d4f;
caret-color: #ac3d4f;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #ac3d4f;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F8ECEE;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #ac3d4f;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#ac3d4f 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #ac3d4f over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(172, 61, 79, 0.5)
rgb(172 61 79 / 50%)
#ac3d4f80
hsl(350 48% 46% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #ac3d4f 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#ac3d4f1a#F7ECED
20%#ac3d4f33#EED8DC
40%#ac3d4f66#DEB1B9
60%#ac3d4f99#CD8B95
80%#ac3d4fcc#BD6472

Gradients from #ac3d4f

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #C66070, #ac3d4f 45%, #5E212B);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #ac3d4f, #956E35);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ac3d4f, #3DAC9A);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #CE7685 0%, #ac3d4f 45%, #5E212B 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF4F5, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #C458A8 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #BE7B49 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #5E212B 0%, transparent 65%), #ac3d4f;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ac3d4f

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

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.

#ac3d4f 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.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Too dim on dark surfaces at 3.53:1 — lift it to #C15163 for body text, or reserve it for fills.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#ac3d4f, answered

What color is #ac3d4f?

#ac3d4f is a balanced vivid red, closest to Brown (ΔE2000 9.5). It sits at 350° on the hue wheel with 48% saturation and 46% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #ac3d4f?

rgb(172, 61, 79) — 172 red, 61 green and 79 blue out of 255, or 67.5% / 23.9% / 31% by channel.

What is #ac3d4f in HSL and HSV?

hsl(350, 48%, 46%) and hsv(350, 65%, 67%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #ac3d4f a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1267 and perceived brightness is 42%, so white text on it reaches 5.94:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ac3d4f?

White. It scores 5.94:1 against #ac3d4f, versus 3.53:1 for black — AA at any size.

Is #ac3d4f accessible on a white background?

#ac3d4f on white scores 5.94:1, which clears AA at every size but not AAA.

What is the complementary color of #ac3d4f?

#3DAC9A sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #3DAC63 and #3D86AC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ac3d4f?

For interface work: #FAF4F5 as the surface, #EAC3C9 for borders, #9B4B58 for secondary text, #319B6F as an accent and #5E212B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #AC3D86 and #AC633D stays calm, while #3DAC9A is the loudest partner.

What is #ac3d4f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 65%, 54%, 33%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ac3d4f warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 22 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #AC543D; nudged cooler, #AE3B78.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #ac3d4f?

The rose family — its 500 step is #f43f5e, ΔE2000 15 away. That is a visible difference, so define #ac3d4f as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #ac3d4f in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#ac3d4f] or text-[#ac3d4f], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #ac3d4f with 50% opacity?

rgba(172, 61, 79, 0.5), or #ac3d4f80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #D69EA7; over black, #561F28.

Is #ac3d4f a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #993366, ΔE2000 11.6 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #ac3d4f mean?

As a red, it reads urgent, appetising, bold. Red arrives before the rest of the page does. It raises attention and appetite, which is why it runs food, sport and clearance pricing. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #ac3d4f?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #C66070, #ac3d4f 45%, #5E212B). For more colour, a short hue run to #956E35 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #ac3d4f in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #ac3d4f at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.