Skip to content

#a72621

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

RGB
167, 38, 33
HSL
2°, 67%, 39%
CMYK
0, 77, 80, 35
Luminance
0.0971

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #a72621 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#a72621
Hue
red
Saturation
67%
vivid
Lightness
39%
dark
Brightness
65%
HSV value
Perceived
38%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.0971
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
15/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
White
7.14:1
Closest name
Firebrick
ΔE2000 2.1
Where it sits
Hue2° of 360°
Saturation67%
Lightness39%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool15% 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#a72621
RGBrgb(167, 38, 33)
HSLhsl(2, 67%, 39%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 77%, 80%, 35%)
LABlab(37.3 51.4 35.7)
LCHlch(37.3 62.5 34.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.479 0.166 27.8)
Decimal10954273
Display P3color(display-p3 0.655 0.149 0.129)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #a72621;
background-color: #a72621;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#a72621] bg-[#a72621]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #a72621;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.655, green: 0.149, blue: 0.129)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#a72621")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFA72621)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(33, 38, 167)

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 #a72621 · 7.14:1
Use #ffffffAAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 7.14:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Aa
Black text · 2.94:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #a72621 as text scores 7.14:1 on white and 2.94:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#a72621 on white: 7.14:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#a72621 on black: 2.94:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #4E461F
deuteranopia · #6E621B
tritanopia · #B80027

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #a72621 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.

#FBF4F3
#F8E8E8
#F1CCCA
#ECA4A1
#E37772
#DA4944
#CC2E28
#a72621
#881F1B
#631A17
#3E100F
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FBF4F3Darkest = 950 · #3E100F
:root {
  --brand-50: #FBF4F3;
  --brand-100: #F8E8E8;
  --brand-200: #F1CCCA;
  --brand-300: #ECA4A1;
  --brand-400: #E37772;
  --brand-500: #DA4944;
  --brand-600: #CC2E28;
  --brand-700: #a72621;
  --brand-800: #881F1B;
  --brand-900: #631A17;
  --brand-950: #3E100F;
  --brand: #a72621;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
}

Colors that work with #a72621

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#FAF5F4
Tinted page background
Border#EDC1C0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B4E4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#1EAE90
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#6A1815
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FBEAEA
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241414
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 #a72621

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
  • Text on black or near-black surfaces
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Black text placed on it
  • 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#21A2A7
Analogous left#A7215F
Analogous right#A76921
Split-complement 1#21A769
Split-complement 2#215FA7
Triadic 1#21A726
Triadic 2#2621A7
Tetradic#5FA721

RGB percentages

Red65.5%
Green14.9%
Blue12.9%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta77.2%
Yellow80.2%
Key (black)34.5%

Color previews

#a72621 text on a black background

contrast 2.94:1

Card sample

#a72621 text on a white background

contrast 7.14:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #a72621;
Background color
Panel with #a72621 background
background-color: #a72621;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #a72621;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(167, 38, 33, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(167, 38, 33, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #a72621;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #a72621, #A77F21);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #a72621

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.

#a72621 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.

#a72621, answered

What color is #a72621?

#a72621 is a dark vivid red, closest to Firebrick (ΔE2000 2.1). It sits at 2° on the hue wheel with 67% saturation and 39% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #a72621?

rgb(167, 38, 33) — 167 red, 38 green and 33 blue out of 255, or 65.5% / 14.9% / 12.9% by channel.

Is #a72621 a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.0971 and perceived brightness is 38%, so white text on it reaches 7.14:1.

Should I use black or white text on #a72621?

White. It scores 7.14:1 against #a72621, versus 2.94:1 for black — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #a72621?

#21A2A7 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #21A769 and #215FA7, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #a72621?

For interface work: #FAF5F4 as the surface, #EDC1C0 for borders, #9B4E4B for secondary text, #1EAE90 as an accent and #6A1815 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #A7215F and #A76921 stays calm, while #21A2A7 is the loudest partner.

What is #a72621 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 77%, 80%, 35%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #a72621 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 15 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #A74721; nudged cooler, #A91F4D.

Work with #a72621 in the Color Lab