Skip to content
red · warm

#dd1e21

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

Token name suggestion: Studio Rust

RGB
221, 30, 33
HSL
359°, 76%, 49%
CMYK
0, 86, 85, 13
Luminance
0.1641

#dd1e21 is a balanced electric red, 359° on the wheel and 17/100 on the cool side. Put white text on it (4.90:1). As text it scores 4.90:1 on white — safe at any size. Nearest name is Crimson, nearest Tailwind family is red.

hsl(359 76% 49%)rgb(221 30 33)Base step 600AA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dd1e21 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dd1e21
Hue
359°
red
Saturation
76%
electric
Lightness
49%
balanced
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
48%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1641
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
17/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Electric
Best ink
White
4.90:1
Closest name
Crimson
ΔE2000 7.4
Chroma
84.5
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.574
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
red
500 · ΔE 8.3
Web-safe
#CC3333
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue359° of 360°
Saturation76%
Lightness49%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #dd1e21.

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.

Luminance by channel
Red94%
Green6%
Blue1%

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

Every format

HEX#dd1e21
HEX (8-digit)#dd1e21ff
RGBrgb(221, 30, 33)
RGBArgba(221, 30, 33, 1)
HSLhsl(359, 76%, 49%)
HSV / HSBhsv(359, 86%, 87%)
HWBhwb(359 12% 13%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 86%, 85%, 13%)
LABlab(47.5 68.8 49.1)
LCHlch(47.5 84.5 35.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.574 0.221 27.4)
XYZ (D65)xyz(30.56, 16.42, 3.00)
Decimal14491169
Display P3color(display-p3 0.867 0.118 0.129)
Web-safe#CC3333

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #dd1e21;
background-color: #dd1e21;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #dd1e21;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dd1e21] bg-[#dd1e21]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dd1e21;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.867, green: 0.118, blue: 0.129)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.867, green: 0.118, blue: 0.129, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#DD1E21</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFDD1E21)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDD1E21)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(33, 30, 221)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(221, 30, 33)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(221, 30, 33)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 221, 30, 33)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8667f, 0.1176f, 0.1294f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{221,30,33}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #dd1e21 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #dd1e21 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#700F11, #EED3D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #dd1e21 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: #FCF3F3;
  --brand-100: #F9E7E7;
  --brand-200: #F4C8C8;
  --brand-300: #F29C9D;
  --brand-400: #EB6B6D;
  --brand-500: #E4393C;
  --brand-600: #dd1e21;
  --brand-700: #B4181B;
  --brand-800: #901415;
  --brand-900: #681214;
  --brand-950: #410B0C;
  --brand: #dd1e21;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
  --brand-surface: #FAF4F4;
  --brand-border: #EDC0C0;
  --brand-hover: #BE1A1C;
  --brand-pressed: #9E1518;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241414;
    --brand-ink: #EED3D3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FCF3F3',
        100: '#F9E7E7',
        200: '#F4C8C8',
        300: '#F29C9D',
        400: '#EB6B6D',
        500: '#E4393C',
        600: '#dd1e21',
        700: '#B4181B',
        800: '#901415',
        900: '#681214',
        950: '#410B0C',
        DEFAULT: '#dd1e21',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FCF3F3,
  '100': #F9E7E7,
  '200': #F4C8C8,
  '300': #F29C9D,
  '400': #EB6B6D,
  '500': #E4393C,
  '600': #dd1e21,
  '700': #B4181B,
  '800': #901415,
  '900': #681214,
  '950': #410B0C,
);
$brand-base: #dd1e21;
$brand-ink: #ffffff;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FCF3F3", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F9E7E7", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#F4C8C8", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#F29C9D", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#EB6B6D", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#E4393C", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#dd1e21", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#B4181B", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#901415", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#681214", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#410B0C", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #dd1e21 · 4.90:1
Use #ffffffAA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 4.90:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 4.28:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #dd1e21 as text scores 4.90:1 on white and 4.28:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #FCE9E9 at 4.20:1.

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
#dd1e21 · 4.90:1
AA on whitealready passes
#dd1e21
The quick fox
#B0181A · 7.02:1
AAA on white−10% L
#B0181A
The quick fox
#E2282B · 4.57:1
AA on black+3% L
#E2282B
The quick fox
#EC7072 · 7.13:1
AAA on black+19% L
#EC7072

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #DD1E21 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
#dd1e21 on white: 4.90:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dd1e21 on black: 4.28:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #dd1e21 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #dd1e21.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White4.90:1AaAa
Slate 504.69:1AaAa
Slate 1004.48:1AaAa
Slate 2003.98:1AaAa
Slate 3003.30:1AaAa
Slate 4001.91:1AaAa
Slate 5001.03:1AaAa
Slate 6001.55:1AaAa
Slate 7002.11:1AaAa
Slate 8002.98:1AaAa
Slate 9003.64:1AaAa
Black4.28:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #61571D
deuteranopia · #8F7F13
tritanopia · #F40023

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. #dd1e21 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.

#FCF3F3
#F9E7E7
#F4C8C8
#F29C9D
#EB6B6D
#E4393C
#dd1e21
#B4181B
#901415
#681214
#410B0C
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FCF3F3Darkest = 950 · #410B0CText 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 0.055 27.4);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.088 27.4);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.132 27.4);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.172 27.4);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.203 27.4);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.221 27.4);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.221 27.4);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.207 27.4);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.185 27.4);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.154 27.4);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.121 27.4);
}

Colors that work with #dd1e21

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#EDC0C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B4B4C
Captions on the surface
Accent#14B88D
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#700F11
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCE9E9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241414
Dark-mode background
Hover#BE1A1C
One step down in lightness
Pressed#9E1518
Two steps down
Disabled#C6A5A6
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#EE2124
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 #dd1e21

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.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. 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
  • FormalityLow
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight51/100
  • 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#1EDDDA
Analogous left#DD1E80
Analogous right#DD7B1E
Split-complement 1#1EDD7B
Split-complement 2#1E80DD
Triadic 1#21DD1E
Triadic 2#1E21DD
Tetradic#80DD1E
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°359°

#dd1e21 sits at 359°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red86.7%
Green11.8%
Blue12.9%
R · 0–255
221
0xdd
G · 0–255
30
0x1e
B · 0–255
33
0x21

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta86.4%
Yellow85.1%
Key (black)13.3%

Total ink coverage is 185%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#dd1e21 text on a black background

contrast 4.28:1

Card sample

#dd1e21 text on a white background

contrast 4.90:1

Card sample

#dd1e21 on grey

4.48:1

#dd1e21 on its own surface

4.51:1

#dd1e21 on its dark surface

3.61:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dd1e21;
Background color
Panel with #dd1e21 background
background-color: #dd1e21;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dd1e21;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(221, 30, 33, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(221, 30, 33, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dd1e21;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dd1e21, #DD9A1E);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dd1e21, #DDCA1E);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #dd1e21;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #dd1e21;
caret-color: #dd1e21;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #dd1e21;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FCE9E9;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #dd1e21;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#dd1e21 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #dd1e21 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(221, 30, 33, 0.5)
rgb(221 30 33 / 50%)
#dd1e2180
hsl(359 76% 49% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #dd1e21 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#dd1e211a#FCE9E9
20%#dd1e2133#F8D2D3
40%#dd1e2166#F1A5A6
60%#dd1e2199#EB787A
80%#dd1e21cc#E44B4D

Gradients from #dd1e21

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, #E75153, #dd1e21 45%, #700F11);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #dd1e21, #C2961A);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dd1e21, #1EDDDA);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #EB6C6E 0%, #dd1e21 45%, #700F11 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF4F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #E648A7 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #E49936 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #700F11 0%, transparent 65%), #dd1e21;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dd1e21

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.

#dd1e21 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 4.28:1 — lift it to #E2282B 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.

#dd1e21, answered

What color is #dd1e21?

#dd1e21 is a balanced electric red, closest to Crimson (ΔE2000 7.4). It sits at 359° on the hue wheel with 76% saturation and 49% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #dd1e21?

rgb(221, 30, 33) — 221 red, 30 green and 33 blue out of 255, or 86.7% / 11.8% / 12.9% by channel.

What is #dd1e21 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(359, 76%, 49%) and hsv(359, 86%, 87%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #dd1e21 a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1641 and perceived brightness is 48%, so white text on it reaches 4.90:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dd1e21?

White. It scores 4.90:1 against #dd1e21, versus 4.28:1 for black — AA at any size.

Is #dd1e21 accessible on a white background?

#dd1e21 on white scores 4.90:1, which clears AA at every size but not AAA.

What is the complementary color of #dd1e21?

#1EDDDA sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #1EDD7B and #1E80DD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dd1e21?

For interface work: #FAF4F4 as the surface, #EDC0C0 for borders, #9B4B4C for secondary text, #14B88D as an accent and #700F11 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DD1E80 and #DD7B1E stays calm, while #1EDDDA is the loudest partner.

What is #dd1e21 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 86%, 85%, 13%). 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 #dd1e21 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 #DD491E; nudged cooler, #DF1B66.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #dd1e21?

The red family — its 500 step is #ef4444, ΔE2000 8.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #dd1e21 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #dd1e21 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#dd1e21] or text-[#dd1e21], 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 #dd1e21 with 50% opacity?

rgba(221, 30, 33, 0.5), or #dd1e2180 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #EE8F90; over black, #6F0F11.

Is #dd1e21 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC3333, ΔE2000 4.3 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #dd1e21 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 #dd1e21?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E75153, #dd1e21 45%, #700F11). For more colour, a short hue run to #C2961A keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #dd1e21 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #dd1e21 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.