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red · warm

#cf101c

a dark, electric red · warm · closest name: Firebrick

Token name suggestion: Dusk Ember

RGB
207, 16, 28
HSL
356°, 86%, 44%
CMYK
0, 92, 87, 19
Luminance
0.1372

#cf101c is a dark electric red, 356° on the wheel and 19/100 on the cool side. Put white text on it (5.61:1). As text it scores 5.61:1 on white — safe at any size. Nearest name is Firebrick, nearest Tailwind family is red.

hsl(356 86% 44%)rgb(207 16 28)Base step 700AA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cf101c is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cf101c
Hue
356°
red
Saturation
86%
electric
Lightness
44%
dark
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
45%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1372
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
19/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Electric
Best ink
White
5.61:1
Closest name
Firebrick
ΔE2000 5.5
Chroma
82.2
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.542
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
red
500 · ΔE 11.6
Web-safe
#CC0033
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue356° of 360°
Saturation86%
Lightness44%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cf101c.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool19% 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
Red97%
Green3%
Blue1%

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

Every format

HEX#cf101c
HEX (8-digit)#cf101cff
RGBrgb(207, 16, 28)
RGBArgba(207, 16, 28, 1)
HSLhsl(356, 86%, 44%)
HSV / HSBhsv(356, 92%, 81%)
HWBhwb(356 6% 19%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 92%, 87%, 19%)
LABlab(43.8 67.2 47.3)
LCHlch(43.8 82.2 35.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.542 0.215 26.8)
XYZ (D65)xyz(26.13, 13.72, 2.37)
Decimal13570076
Display P3color(display-p3 0.812 0.063 0.110)
Web-safe#CC0033

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cf101c;
background-color: #cf101c;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cf101c;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cf101c] bg-[#cf101c]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cf101c;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.812, green: 0.063, blue: 0.110)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.812, green: 0.063, blue: 0.110, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CF101C</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCF101C)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCF101C)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(28, 16, 207)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(207, 16, 28)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(207, 16, 28)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 207, 16, 28)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8118f, 0.0627f, 0.1098f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{207,16,28}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cf101c 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cf101c 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#760910, #EED3D4);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cf101c 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: #FDF2F3;
  --brand-100: #FAE5E7;
  --brand-200: #F7C5C8;
  --brand-300: #F7979D;
  --brand-400: #F3636C;
  --brand-500: #EF2F3B;
  --brand-600: #E3121F;
  --brand-700: #cf101c;
  --brand-800: #980C15;
  --brand-900: #6D0D13;
  --brand-950: #44080C;
  --brand: #cf101c;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
  --brand-surface: #FAF4F5;
  --brand-border: #EDC0C3;
  --brand-hover: #AE0D18;
  --brand-pressed: #8D0B13;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241415;
    --brand-ink: #EED3D4;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FDF2F3',
        100: '#FAE5E7',
        200: '#F7C5C8',
        300: '#F7979D',
        400: '#F3636C',
        500: '#EF2F3B',
        600: '#E3121F',
        700: '#cf101c',
        800: '#980C15',
        900: '#6D0D13',
        950: '#44080C',
        DEFAULT: '#cf101c',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FDF2F3,
  '100': #FAE5E7,
  '200': #F7C5C8,
  '300': #F7979D,
  '400': #F3636C,
  '500': #EF2F3B,
  '600': #E3121F,
  '700': #cf101c,
  '800': #980C15,
  '900': #6D0D13,
  '950': #44080C,
);
$brand-base: #cf101c;
$brand-ink: #ffffff;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FDF2F3", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#FAE5E7", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#F7C5C8", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#F7979D", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#F3636C", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#EF2F3B", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#E3121F", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#cf101c", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#980C15", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#6D0D13", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#44080C", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cf101c · 5.61:1
Use #ffffffAA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 5.61:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 3.74:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #cf101c as text scores 5.61:1 on white and 3.74:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #FDE7E9 at 4.75:1.

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
#cf101c · 5.61:1
AA on whitealready passes
#cf101c
The quick fox
#B30E18 · 7.02:1
AAA on white−6% L
#B30E18
The quick fox
#E7121F · 4.50:1
AA on black+5% L
#E7121F
The quick fox
#F46B73 · 7.20:1
AAA on black+25% L
#F46B73

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #CF101C 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
#cf101c on white: 5.61:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cf101c on black: 3.74:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cf101c as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cf101c.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White5.61:1AaAa
Slate 505.36:1AaAa
Slate 1005.12:1AaAa
Slate 2004.55:1AaAa
Slate 3003.78:1AaAa
Slate 4002.19:1AaAa
Slate 5001.18:1AaAa
Slate 6001.35:1AaAa
Slate 7001.85:1AaAa
Slate 8002.61:1AaAa
Slate 9003.18:1AaAa
Black3.74:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #584E19
deuteranopia · #84750D
tritanopia · #E5001A

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. #cf101c is pinned to step 700; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FDF2F3
#FAE5E7
#F7C5C8
#F7979D
#F3636C
#EF2F3B
#E3121F
#cf101c
#980C15
#6D0D13
#44080C
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FDF2F3Darkest = 950 · #44080CText 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 0.054 26.8);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.086 26.8);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.129 26.8);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.167 26.8);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.197 26.8);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.215 26.8);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.215 26.8);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.202 26.8);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.180 26.8);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.150 26.8);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.118 26.8);
}

Colors that work with #cf101c

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#EDC0C3
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B4B50
Captions on the surface
Accent#0AC289
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#760910
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDE7E9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241415
Dark-mode background
Hover#AE0D18
One step down in lightness
Pressed#8D0B13
Two steps down
Disabled#BB9497
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#EE0514
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 #cf101c

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
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Black text placed on it
  • 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.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. The low lightness adds weight and formality.

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
  • FormalityHigh
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight56/100
  • 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#10CFC3
Analogous left#CF107C
Analogous right#CF6310
Split-complement 1#10CF63
Split-complement 2#107CCF
Triadic 1#1CCF10
Triadic 2#101CCF
Tetradic#7CCF10
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°356°

#cf101c sits at 356°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red81.2%
Green6.3%
Blue11.0%
R · 0–255
207
0xcf
G · 0–255
16
0x10
B · 0–255
28
0x1c

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta92.3%
Yellow86.5%
Key (black)18.8%

Total ink coverage is 198%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#cf101c text on a black background

contrast 3.74:1

Card sample

#cf101c text on a white background

contrast 5.61:1

Card sample

#cf101c on grey

5.12:1

#cf101c on its own surface

5.16:1

#cf101c on its dark surface

3.16:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cf101c;
Background color
Panel with #cf101c background
background-color: #cf101c;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cf101c;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(207, 16, 28, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(207, 16, 28, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cf101c;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cf101c, #CF8310);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cf101c, #CFB310);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cf101c;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cf101c;
caret-color: #cf101c;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cf101c;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FDE7E9;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cf101c;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cf101c 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cf101c 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(207, 16, 28, 0.5)
rgb(207 16 28 / 50%)
#cf101c80
hsl(356 86% 44% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cf101c 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cf101c1a#FAE7E8
20%#cf101c33#F5CFD2
40%#cf101c66#EC9FA4
60%#cf101c99#E27077
80%#cf101ccc#D94049

Gradients from #cf101c

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, #EF2D39, #cf101c 45%, #760910);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cf101c, #B37F0E);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cf101c, #10CFC3);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F14A54 0%, #cf101c 45%, #760910 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%, #EE24A7 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #EB8312 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #760910 0%, transparent 65%), #cf101c;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cf101c

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.

#cf101c 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

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

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 3.74:1 — lift it to #E7121F 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.

#cf101c, answered

What color is #cf101c?

#cf101c is a dark electric red, closest to Firebrick (ΔE2000 5.5). It sits at 356° on the hue wheel with 86% saturation and 44% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cf101c?

rgb(207, 16, 28) — 207 red, 16 green and 28 blue out of 255, or 81.2% / 6.3% / 11% by channel.

What is #cf101c in HSL and HSV?

hsl(356, 86%, 44%) and hsv(356, 92%, 81%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cf101c a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1372 and perceived brightness is 45%, so white text on it reaches 5.61:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cf101c?

White. It scores 5.61:1 against #cf101c, versus 3.74:1 for black — AA at any size.

Is #cf101c accessible on a white background?

#cf101c on white scores 5.61:1, which clears AA at every size but not AAA.

What is the complementary color of #cf101c?

#10CFC3 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #10CF63 and #107CCF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cf101c?

For interface work: #FAF4F5 as the surface, #EDC0C3 for borders, #9B4B50 for secondary text, #0AC289 as an accent and #760910 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CF107C and #CF6310 stays calm, while #10CFC3 is the loudest partner.

What is #cf101c in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 92%, 87%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — a color this saturated sits outside most CMYK gamuts and will print duller than it looks here.

Is #cf101c warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 19 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CF3810; nudged cooler, #D10E62.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cf101c?

The red family — its 500 step is #ef4444, ΔE2000 11.6 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cf101c as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cf101c in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cf101c] or text-[#cf101c], 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 #cf101c with 50% opacity?

rgba(207, 16, 28, 0.5), or #cf101c80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E7888E; over black, #68080E.

Is #cf101c a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC0033, ΔE2000 6.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cf101c 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 #cf101c?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #EF2D39, #cf101c 45%, #760910). For more colour, a short hue run to #B37F0E keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cf101c in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cf101c at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.