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#cd3c5e

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

RGB
205, 60, 94
HSL
346°, 59%, 52%
CMYK
0, 71, 54, 20
Luminance
0.1702

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cd3c5e is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cd3c5e
Hue
346°
red
Saturation
59%
vivid
Lightness
52%
balanced
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
49%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1702
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
25/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
White
4.77:1
Closest name
Crimson
ΔE2000 8.5
Where it sits
Hue346° of 360°
Saturation59%
Lightness52%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool25% 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#cd3c5e
RGBrgb(205, 60, 94)
HSLhsl(346, 59%, 52%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 71%, 54%, 20%)
LABlab(48.3 58.8 14.0)
LCHlch(48.3 60.4 13.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.577 0.181 11.2)
Decimal13450334
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.235 0.369)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cd3c5e;
background-color: #cd3c5e;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cd3c5e] bg-[#cd3c5e]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cd3c5e;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.235, blue: 0.369)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cd3c5e")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCD3C5E)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(94, 60, 205)

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 #cd3c5e · 4.77:1
Use #ffffffAA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 4.77:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 4.40:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #cd3c5e as text scores 4.77:1 on white and 4.40:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cd3c5e on white: 4.77:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cd3c5e on black: 4.40:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #60605F
deuteranopia · #867D5A
tritanopia · #E01B4A

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cd3c5e 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.

#FBF4F5
#F7E9EC
#EFCDD5
#E8A6B5
#DD7990
#cd3c5e
#C33254
#A22A46
#822138
#5F1C2C
#3B111B
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FBF4F5Darkest = 950 · #3B111B
:root {
  --brand-50: #FBF4F5;
  --brand-100: #F7E9EC;
  --brand-200: #EFCDD5;
  --brand-300: #E8A6B5;
  --brand-400: #DD7990;
  --brand-500: #cd3c5e;
  --brand-600: #C33254;
  --brand-700: #A22A46;
  --brand-800: #822138;
  --brand-900: #5F1C2C;
  --brand-950: #3B111B;
  --brand: #cd3c5e;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
}

Colors that work with #cd3c5e

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#FAF4F6
Tinted page background
Border#EDC0CA
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B4B5D
Captions on the surface
Accent#25A768
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#651A2C
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FAEBEE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241418
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 #cd3c5e

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
Use with care
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • 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#3CCDAB
Analogous left#CD3CA7
Analogous right#CD633C
Split-complement 1#3CCD63
Split-complement 2#3CA7CD
Triadic 1#5ECD3C
Triadic 2#3C5ECD
Tetradic#A7CD3C

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green23.5%
Blue36.9%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta70.7%
Yellow54.1%
Key (black)19.6%

Color previews

#cd3c5e text on a black background

contrast 4.40:1

Card sample

#cd3c5e text on a white background

contrast 4.77:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cd3c5e;
Background color
Panel with #cd3c5e background
background-color: #cd3c5e;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cd3c5e;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 60, 94, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 60, 94, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cd3c5e;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cd3c5e, #CD7B3C);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cd3c5e

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.

#cd3c5e 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.

#cd3c5e, answered

What color is #cd3c5e?

#cd3c5e is a balanced vivid red, closest to Crimson (ΔE2000 8.5). It sits at 346° on the hue wheel with 59% saturation and 52% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cd3c5e?

rgb(205, 60, 94) — 205 red, 60 green and 94 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 23.5% / 36.9% by channel.

Is #cd3c5e a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1702 and perceived brightness is 49%, so white text on it reaches 4.77:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cd3c5e?

White. It scores 4.77:1 against #cd3c5e, versus 4.40:1 for black — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cd3c5e?

#3CCDAB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #3CCD63 and #3CA7CD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cd3c5e?

For interface work: #FAF4F6 as the surface, #EDC0CA for borders, #9B4B5D for secondary text, #25A768 as an accent and #651A2C for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CD3CA7 and #CD633C stays calm, while #3CCDAB is the loudest partner.

What is #cd3c5e in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 71%, 54%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cd3c5e warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 25 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CD4F3C; nudged cooler, #D03A94.

Work with #cd3c5e in the Color Lab