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red · warm

#c97f6f

a balanced, vivid red · warm · closest name: Dark Salmon

Token name suggestion: Atlas Cherry

RGB
201, 127, 111
HSL
11°, 46%, 61%
CMYK
0, 37, 45, 21
Luminance
0.2874

#c97f6f is a balanced vivid red, 11° on the wheel and 11/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (6.75:1). As text it scores 3.11:1 on white — large text only. Nearest name is Dark Salmon, nearest Tailwind family is red.

hsl(11 46% 61%)rgb(201 127 111)Base step 500AA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c97f6f is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c97f6f
Hue
11°
red
Saturation
46%
vivid
Lightness
61%
balanced
Brightness
79%
HSV value
Perceived
59%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2874
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
11/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
6.75:1
Closest name
Dark Salmon
ΔE2000 8.5
Chroma
33.9
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.670
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
red
500 · ΔE 13.5
Web-safe
#CC6666
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue11° of 360°
Saturation46%
Lightness61%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #c97f6f.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool11% 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
Red43%
Green53%
Blue4%

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

Every format

HEX#c97f6f
HEX (8-digit)#c97f6fff
RGBrgb(201, 127, 111)
RGBArgba(201, 127, 111, 1)
HSLhsl(11, 46%, 61%)
HSV / HSBhsv(11, 45%, 79%)
HWBhwb(11 44% 21%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 37%, 45%, 21%)
LABlab(60.6 26.8 20.7)
LCHlch(60.6 33.9 37.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.670 0.096 32.9)
XYZ (D65)xyz(34.55, 28.75, 18.76)
Decimal13205359
Display P3color(display-p3 0.788 0.498 0.435)
Web-safe#CC6666

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #c97f6f;
background-color: #c97f6f;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #c97f6f;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c97f6f] bg-[#c97f6f]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c97f6f;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.788, green: 0.498, blue: 0.435)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.788, green: 0.498, blue: 0.435, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#C97F6F</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFC97F6F)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC97F6F)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(111, 127, 201)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(201, 127, 111)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(201, 127, 111)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 201, 127, 111)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7882f, 0.4980f, 0.4353f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{201,127,111}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #c97f6f 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #c97f6f 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#5D2D23, #EED8D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #c97f6f 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: #FAF6F5;
  --brand-100: #F5ECEA;
  --brand-200: #EBD5D1;
  --brand-300: #E0B6AD;
  --brand-400: #D19285;
  --brand-500: #c97f6f;
  --brand-600: #B25743;
  --brand-700: #944838;
  --brand-800: #773A2C;
  --brand-900: #572D24;
  --brand-950: #361C16;
  --brand: #c97f6f;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF5F4;
  --brand-border: #E9CAC4;
  --brand-hover: #BF6855;
  --brand-pressed: #AF5542;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241714;
    --brand-ink: #EED8D3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FAF6F5',
        100: '#F5ECEA',
        200: '#EBD5D1',
        300: '#E0B6AD',
        400: '#D19285',
        500: '#c97f6f',
        600: '#B25743',
        700: '#944838',
        800: '#773A2C',
        900: '#572D24',
        950: '#361C16',
        DEFAULT: '#c97f6f',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FAF6F5,
  '100': #F5ECEA,
  '200': #EBD5D1,
  '300': #E0B6AD,
  '400': #D19285,
  '500': #c97f6f,
  '600': #B25743,
  '700': #944838,
  '800': #773A2C,
  '900': #572D24,
  '950': #361C16,
);
$brand-base: #c97f6f;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FAF6F5", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F5ECEA", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#EBD5D1", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#E0B6AD", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#D19285", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#c97f6f", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#B25743", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#944838", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#773A2C", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#572D24", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#361C16", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$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#000000 on #c97f6f · 6.75:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 3.11:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 6.75:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #c97f6f as text scores 3.11:1 on white and 6.75:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #5D2D23 at 3.62:1.

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
#B75944 · 4.64:1
AA on white−12% L
#B75944
The quick fox
#8A4334 · 7.16:1
AAA on white−24% L
#8A4334
The quick fox
#c97f6f · 6.75:1
AA on blackalready passes
#c97f6f
The quick fox
#CC8676 · 7.24:1
AAA on black+2% L
#CC8676

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #C97F6F 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
#c97f6f on white: 3.11:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c97f6f on black: 6.75:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #c97f6f as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #c97f6f.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White3.11:1AaAa
Slate 502.97:1AaAa
Slate 1002.84:1AaAa
Slate 2002.52:1AaAa
Slate 3002.10:1AaAa
Slate 4001.21:1AaAa
Slate 5001.53:1AaAa
Slate 6002.44:1AaAa
Slate 7003.33:1AaAa
Slate 8004.70:1AaAa
Slate 9005.74:1AaAa
Black6.75:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #90896E
deuteranopia · #A2986E
tritanopia · #D8747B

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. #c97f6f is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FAF6F5
#F5ECEA
#EBD5D1
#E0B6AD
#D19285
#c97f6f
#B25743
#944838
#773A2C
#572D24
#361C16
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FAF6F5Darkest = 950 · #361C16Text 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 0.024 32.9);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.038 32.9);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.057 32.9);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.075 32.9);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.088 32.9);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.096 32.9);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.096 32.9);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.090 32.9);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.080 32.9);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.067 32.9);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.053 32.9);
}

Colors that work with #c97f6f

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

Text on it#000000
Black wins here
Surface#FAF5F4
Tinted page background
Border#E9CAC4
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B594B
Captions on the surface
Accent#349891
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#5D2D23
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F8EFEC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241714
Dark-mode background
Hover#BF6855
One step down in lightness
Pressed#AF5542
Two steps down
Disabled#DECECB
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D88775
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 #c97f6f

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

Works well for
  • Headings from 24px up on white
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • 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
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • 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
24px / 18.66px bold
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #5D2D23
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
  • Weight39/100
  • 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#6FB9C9
Analogous left#C96F8C
Analogous right#C9AC6F
Split-complement 1#6FC9AC
Split-complement 2#6F8CC9
Triadic 1#6FC97F
Triadic 2#7F6FC9
Tetradic#8CC96F
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°11°

#c97f6f sits at 11°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red78.8%
Green49.8%
Blue43.5%
R · 0–255
201
0xc9
G · 0–255
127
0x7f
B · 0–255
111
0x6f

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta36.8%
Yellow44.8%
Key (black)21.2%

Total ink coverage is 103%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#c97f6f text on a black background

contrast 6.75:1

Card sample

#c97f6f text on a white background

contrast 3.11:1

Card sample

#c97f6f on grey

2.84:1

#c97f6f on its own surface

2.88:1

#c97f6f on its dark surface

5.59:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c97f6f;
Background color
Panel with #c97f6f background
background-color: #c97f6f;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c97f6f;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(201, 127, 111, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(201, 127, 111, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c97f6f;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c97f6f, #C9BB6F);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c97f6f, #C1C96F);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #c97f6f;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #c97f6f;
caret-color: #c97f6f;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #c97f6f;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F8EFEC;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #c97f6f;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#c97f6f 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #c97f6f 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(201, 127, 111, 0.5)
rgb(201 127 111 / 50%)
#c97f6f80
hsl(11 46% 61% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #c97f6f 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#c97f6f1a#FAF2F1
20%#c97f6f33#F4E5E2
40%#c97f6f66#E9CCC5
60%#c97f6f99#DFB2A9
80%#c97f6fcc#D4998C

Gradients from #c97f6f

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, #DAA79C, #c97f6f 45%, #5D2D23);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #c97f6f, #C1B959);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c97f6f, #6FB9C9);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E2BAB2 0%, #c97f6f 45%, #5D2D23 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF5F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #D794AF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D1BF85 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #5D2D23 0%, transparent 65%), #c97f6f;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c97f6f

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.

#c97f6f 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

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 6.75:1.

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.

#c97f6f, answered

What color is #c97f6f?

#c97f6f is a balanced vivid red, closest to Dark Salmon (ΔE2000 8.5). It sits at 11° on the hue wheel with 46% saturation and 61% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #c97f6f?

rgb(201, 127, 111) — 201 red, 127 green and 111 blue out of 255, or 78.8% / 49.8% / 43.5% by channel.

What is #c97f6f in HSL and HSV?

hsl(11, 46%, 61%) and hsv(11, 45%, 79%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #c97f6f a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2874 and perceived brightness is 59%, so black text on it reaches 6.75:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c97f6f?

Black. It scores 6.75:1 against #c97f6f, versus 3.11:1 for white — AA at any size.

Is #c97f6f accessible on a white background?

#c97f6f on white scores 3.11:1, which only clears AA for large text — 18.66px bold or 24px regular and up. Darken it to #B75944 to reach 4.5:1, or #8A4334 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #c97f6f?

#6FB9C9 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #6FC9AC and #6F8CC9, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c97f6f?

For interface work: #FAF5F4 as the surface, #E9CAC4 for borders, #9B594B for secondary text, #349891 as an accent and #5D2D23 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C96F8C and #C9AC6F stays calm, while #6FB9C9 is the loudest partner.

What is #c97f6f in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 37%, 45%, 21%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #c97f6f warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 11 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C98F6F; nudged cooler, #CB6D7F.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #c97f6f?

The red family — its 500 step is #ef4444, ΔE2000 13.5 away. That is a visible difference, so define #c97f6f as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #c97f6f in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#c97f6f] or text-[#c97f6f], 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 #c97f6f with 50% opacity?

rgba(201, 127, 111, 0.5), or #c97f6f80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E4BFB7; over black, #654038.

Is #c97f6f a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC6666, ΔE2000 8.4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #c97f6f 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 #c97f6f?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #DAA79C, #c97f6f 45%, #5D2D23). For more colour, a short hue run to #C1B959 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #c97f6f in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #c97f6f at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.