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orange · warm

#de5621

a balanced, vivid orange · warm · closest name: Orange Red

Token name suggestion: Studio Clay

RGB
222, 86, 33
HSL
17°, 74%, 50%
CMYK
0, 61, 85, 13
Luminance
0.2229

#de5621 is a balanced vivid orange, 17° on the wheel and 7/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (5.46:1). As text it scores 3.85:1 on white — large text only. Nearest name is Orange Red, nearest Tailwind family is orange.

hsl(17 74% 50%)rgb(222 86 33)Base step 600AA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #de5621 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#de5621
Hue
17°
orange
Saturation
74%
vivid
Lightness
50%
balanced
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
54%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2229
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
7/100 cool
Color family
Orange
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
5.46:1
Closest name
Orange Red
ΔE2000 5.6
Chroma
74.8
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.626
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
orange
500 · ΔE 10.5
Web-safe
#CC6633
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue17° of 360°
Saturation74%
Lightness50%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #de5621.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool7% 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
Red70%
Green30%
Blue0%

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

Every format

HEX#de5621
HEX (8-digit)#de5621ff
RGBrgb(222, 86, 33)
RGBArgba(222, 86, 33, 1)
HSLhsl(17, 74%, 50%)
HSV / HSBhsv(17, 85%, 87%)
HWBhwb(17 13% 13%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 61%, 85%, 13%)
LABlab(54.3 50.8 55.0)
LCHlch(54.3 74.8 47.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.626 0.181 39.4)
XYZ (D65)xyz(33.73, 22.30, 3.97)
Decimal14571041
Display P3color(display-p3 0.871 0.337 0.129)
Web-safe#CC6633

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #de5621;
background-color: #de5621;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #de5621;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#de5621] bg-[#de5621]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #de5621;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.871, green: 0.337, blue: 0.129)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.871, green: 0.337, blue: 0.129, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#DE5621</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFDE5621)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDE5621)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(33, 86, 222)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(222, 86, 33)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(222, 86, 33)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 222, 86, 33)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8706f, 0.3373f, 0.1294f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{222,86,33}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #de5621 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #de5621 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#6F2B11, #EEDAD3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #de5621 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: #FCF5F3;
  --brand-100: #F9ECE7;
  --brand-200: #F3D4C8;
  --brand-300: #F0B59D;
  --brand-400: #E98F6C;
  --brand-500: #E26A3C;
  --brand-600: #de5621;
  --brand-700: #B2451A;
  --brand-800: #8E3715;
  --brand-900: #672B13;
  --brand-950: #401B0C;
  --brand: #de5621;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF6F4;
  --brand-border: #EDCCC0;
  --brand-hover: #BF4A1C;
  --brand-pressed: #A03E18;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241814;
    --brand-ink: #EEDAD3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FCF5F3',
        100: '#F9ECE7',
        200: '#F3D4C8',
        300: '#F0B59D',
        400: '#E98F6C',
        500: '#E26A3C',
        600: '#de5621',
        700: '#B2451A',
        800: '#8E3715',
        900: '#672B13',
        950: '#401B0C',
        DEFAULT: '#de5621',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FCF5F3,
  '100': #F9ECE7,
  '200': #F3D4C8,
  '300': #F0B59D,
  '400': #E98F6C,
  '500': #E26A3C,
  '600': #de5621,
  '700': #B2451A,
  '800': #8E3715,
  '900': #672B13,
  '950': #401B0C,
);
$brand-base: #de5621;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FCF5F3", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F9ECE7", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#F3D4C8", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#F0B59D", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#E98F6C", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#E26A3C", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#de5621", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#B2451A", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#8E3715", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#672B13", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#401B0C", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #de5621 · 5.46:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 3.85:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 5.46:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #de5621 as text scores 3.85:1 on white and 5.46:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #6F2B11 at 2.69:1.

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
#C84D1E · 4.63:1
AA on white−5% L
#C84D1E
The quick fox
#973A16 · 7.16:1
AAA on white−16% L
#973A16
The quick fox
#de5621 · 5.46:1
AA on blackalready passes
#de5621
The quick fox
#E5784D · 7.13:1
AAA on black+10% L
#E5784D

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #DE5621 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
#de5621 on white: 3.85:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#de5621 on black: 5.46:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #de5621 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #de5621.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White3.85:1AaAa
Slate 503.68:1AaAa
Slate 1003.51:1AaAa
Slate 2003.12:1AaAa
Slate 3002.59:1AaAa
Slate 4001.50:1AaAa
Slate 5001.24:1AaAa
Slate 6001.97:1AaAa
Slate 7002.69:1AaAa
Slate 8003.80:1AaAa
Slate 9004.64:1AaAa
Black5.46:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #7D6F17
deuteranopia · #9F8D1A
tritanopia · #F4324C

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. #de5621 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.

#FCF5F3
#F9ECE7
#F3D4C8
#F0B59D
#E98F6C
#E26A3C
#de5621
#B2451A
#8E3715
#672B13
#401B0C
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FCF5F3Darkest = 950 · #401B0CText step on white = 700
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 0.045 39.4);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.072 39.4);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.109 39.4);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.141 39.4);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.167 39.4);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.181 39.4);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.181 39.4);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.170 39.4);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.152 39.4);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.127 39.4);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.100 39.4);
}

Colors that work with #de5621

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#FAF6F4
Tinted page background
Border#EDCCC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B614B
Captions on the surface
Accent#16B1B6
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6F2B11
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCEEE9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241814
Dark-mode background
Hover#BF4A1C
One step down in lightness
Pressed#A03E18
Two steps down
Disabled#C7B1A8
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#EC5E27
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 #de5621

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
  • 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 #6F2B11
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.

friendlyenergeticaffordablesocial

Orange is red with the aggression taken out — approachable, active, and strongly associated with buying and doing.

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

Hard to make feel premium, and it collides with the "caution" band in status systems.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium-high
  • Weight50/100
  • 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#21A9DE
Analogous left#DE214B
Analogous right#DEB421
Split-complement 1#21DEB4
Split-complement 2#214BDE
Triadic 1#21DE56
Triadic 2#5621DE
Tetradic#4BDE21
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°17°

#de5621 sits at 17°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red87.1%
Green33.7%
Blue12.9%
R · 0–255
222
0xde
G · 0–255
86
0x56
B · 0–255
33
0x21

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta61.3%
Yellow85.1%
Key (black)12.9%

Total ink coverage is 159%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#de5621 text on a black background

contrast 5.46:1

Card sample

#de5621 text on a white background

contrast 3.85:1

Card sample

#de5621 on grey

3.51:1

#de5621 on its own surface

3.58:1

#de5621 on its dark surface

4.49:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #de5621;
Background color
Panel with #de5621 background
background-color: #de5621;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #de5621;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(222, 86, 33, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(222, 86, 33, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #de5621;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #de5621, #DED421);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #de5621, #B9DE21);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #de5621;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #de5621;
caret-color: #de5621;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #de5621;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FCEEE9;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #de5621;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#de5621 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #de5621 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(222, 86, 33, 0.5)
rgb(222 86 33 / 50%)
#de562180
hsl(17 74% 50% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #de5621 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#de56211a#FCEEE9
20%#de562133#F8DDD3
40%#de562166#F2BBA6
60%#de562199#EB9A7A
80%#de5621cc#E5784D

Gradients from #de5621

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, #E67F56, #de5621 45%, #6F2B11);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #de5621, #BEC31D);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #de5621, #21A9DE);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #EA9371 0%, #de5621 45%, #6F2B11 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF6F4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #E54D7B 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #E2CB3C 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #6F2B11 0%, transparent 65%), #de5621;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #de5621

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.

#de5621 in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
E-commerceFood deliveryLogisticsCreator tools
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 5.46:1.

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.

#de5621, answered

What color is #de5621?

#de5621 is a balanced vivid orange, closest to Orange Red (ΔE2000 5.6). It sits at 17° on the hue wheel with 74% saturation and 50% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #de5621?

rgb(222, 86, 33) — 222 red, 86 green and 33 blue out of 255, or 87.1% / 33.7% / 12.9% by channel.

What is #de5621 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(17, 74%, 50%) and hsv(17, 85%, 87%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #de5621 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2229 and perceived brightness is 54%, so black text on it reaches 5.46:1.

Should I use black or white text on #de5621?

Black. It scores 5.46:1 against #de5621, versus 3.85:1 for white — AA at any size.

Is #de5621 accessible on a white background?

#de5621 on white scores 3.85:1, which only clears AA for large text — 18.66px bold or 24px regular and up. Darken it to #C84D1E to reach 4.5:1, or #973A16 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #de5621?

#21A9DE sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #21DEB4 and #214BDE, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #de5621?

For interface work: #FAF6F4 as the surface, #EDCCC0 for borders, #9B614B for secondary text, #16B1B6 as an accent and #6F2B11 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DE214B and #DEB421 stays calm, while #21A9DE is the loudest partner.

What is #de5621 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 61%, 85%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #de5621 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 7 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #E17437; nudged cooler, #E11E2F.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #de5621?

The orange family — its 500 step is #f97316, ΔE2000 10.5 away. That is a visible difference, so define #de5621 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #de5621 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#de5621] or text-[#de5621], 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 #de5621 with 50% opacity?

rgba(222, 86, 33, 0.5), or #de562180 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #EFAB90; over black, #6F2B11.

Is #de5621 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC6633, ΔE2000 4.9 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #de5621 mean?

As a orange, it reads friendly, energetic, affordable. Orange is red with the aggression taken out — approachable, active, and strongly associated with buying and doing. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #de5621?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E67F56, #de5621 45%, #6F2B11). For more colour, a short hue run to #BEC31D keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #de5621 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #de5621 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.