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#fc5f39

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

RGB
252, 95, 57
HSL
12°, 97%, 61%
CMYK
0, 62, 77, 1
Luminance
0.2918

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #fc5f39 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#fc5f39
Hue
12°
red
Saturation
97%
electric
Lightness
61%
balanced
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
62%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2918
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
10/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
6.84:1
Closest name
Tomato
ΔE2000 2.7
Where it sits
Hue12° of 360°
Saturation97%
Lightness61%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool10% 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#fc5f39
RGBrgb(252, 95, 57)
HSLhsl(12, 97%, 61%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 62%, 77%, 1%)
LABlab(60.9 58.0 52.0)
LCHlch(60.9 77.9 41.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.685 0.199 34.8)
Decimal16539449
Display P3color(display-p3 0.988 0.373 0.224)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #fc5f39;
background-color: #fc5f39;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#fc5f39] bg-[#fc5f39]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #fc5f39;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.988, green: 0.373, blue: 0.224)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#fc5f39")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFFC5F39)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(57, 95, 252)

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 #fc5f39 · 6.84:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 3.07:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 6.84:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #fc5f39 as text scores 3.07:1 on white and 6.84:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#fc5f39 on white: 3.07:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#fc5f39 on black: 6.84:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #8C7D34
deuteranopia · #B2A033
tritanopia · #FF3557

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #fc5f39 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.

#FDF4F1
#FCE8E4
#FBCCC1
#FDA690
#FC7959
#fc5f39
#F13204
#C92A03
#A12102
#741C07
#481104
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FDF4F1Darkest = 950 · #481104
:root {
  --brand-50: #FDF4F1;
  --brand-100: #FCE8E4;
  --brand-200: #FBCCC1;
  --brand-300: #FDA690;
  --brand-400: #FC7959;
  --brand-500: #fc5f39;
  --brand-600: #F13204;
  --brand-700: #C92A03;
  --brand-800: #A12102;
  --brand-900: #741C07;
  --brand-950: #481104;
  --brand: #fc5f39;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #fc5f39

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#EDC9C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B5A4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#00CCC1
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#7E1A02
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FFEBE6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241714
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 #fc5f39

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
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

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#39D6FC
Analogous left#FC3975
Analogous right#FCC139
Split-complement 1#39FCC1
Split-complement 2#3975FC
Triadic 1#39FC5F
Triadic 2#5F39FC
Tetradic#75FC39

RGB percentages

Red98.8%
Green37.3%
Blue22.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta62.3%
Yellow77.4%
Key (black)1.2%

Color previews

#fc5f39 text on a black background

contrast 6.84:1

Card sample

#fc5f39 text on a white background

contrast 3.07:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #fc5f39;
Background color
Panel with #fc5f39 background
background-color: #fc5f39;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #fc5f39;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(252, 95, 57, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(252, 95, 57, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #fc5f39;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fc5f39, #FCE139);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #fc5f39

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.

#fc5f39 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.

#fc5f39, answered

What color is #fc5f39?

#fc5f39 is a balanced electric red, closest to Tomato (ΔE2000 2.7). It sits at 12° on the hue wheel with 97% saturation and 61% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #fc5f39?

rgb(252, 95, 57) — 252 red, 95 green and 57 blue out of 255, or 98.8% / 37.3% / 22.4% by channel.

Is #fc5f39 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2918 and perceived brightness is 62%, so black text on it reaches 6.84:1.

Should I use black or white text on #fc5f39?

Black. It scores 6.84:1 against #fc5f39, versus 3.07:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #fc5f39?

#39D6FC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #39FCC1 and #3975FC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #fc5f39?

For interface work: #FAF5F4 as the surface, #EDC9C0 for borders, #9B5A4B for secondary text, #00CCC1 as an accent and #7E1A02 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #FC3975 and #FCC139 stays calm, while #39D6FC is the loudest partner.

What is #fc5f39 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 62%, 77%, 1%). 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 #fc5f39 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 10 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FC7739; nudged cooler, #FE3759.

Work with #fc5f39 in the Color Lab