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red · warm

#cd3a39

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

Token name suggestion: Studio Rust

RGB
205, 58, 57
HSL
0°, 60%, 51%
CMYK
0, 72, 72, 20
Luminance
0.1630

#cd3a39 is a balanced vivid red, 0° on the wheel and 16/100 on the cool side. Put white text on it (4.93:1). As text it scores 4.93:1 on white — safe at any size. Nearest name is Crimson, nearest Tailwind family is red.

hsl(0 60% 51%)rgb(205 58 57)Base step 600AA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cd3a39 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cd3a39
Hue
red
Saturation
60%
vivid
Lightness
51%
balanced
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
48%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1630
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
16/100 cool
Color family
Red
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
White
4.93:1
Closest name
Crimson
ΔE2000 4.9
Chroma
67.1
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.568
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
red
500 · ΔE 7.8
Web-safe
#CC3333
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue0° of 360°
Saturation60%
Lightness51%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cd3a39.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool16% 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
Red80%
Green19%
Blue2%

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

Every format

HEX#cd3a39
HEX (8-digit)#cd3a39ff
RGBrgb(205, 58, 57)
RGBArgba(205, 58, 57, 1)
HSLhsl(0, 60%, 51%)
HSV / HSBhsv(0, 72%, 80%)
HWBhwb(0 22% 20%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 72%, 72%, 20%)
LABlab(47.4 57.3 35.0)
LCHlch(47.4 67.1 31.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.568 0.184 25.6)
XYZ (D65)xyz(27.43, 16.30, 5.57)
Decimal13449785
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.227 0.224)
Web-safe#CC3333

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cd3a39;
background-color: #cd3a39;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cd3a39;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cd3a39] bg-[#cd3a39]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cd3a39;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.227, blue: 0.224)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.804, green: 0.227, blue: 0.224, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CD3A39</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCD3A39)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCD3A39)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(57, 58, 205)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(205, 58, 57)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(205, 58, 57)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 205, 58, 57)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8039f, 0.2275f, 0.2235f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{205,58,57}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cd3a39 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cd3a39 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#661A1A, #EED3D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cd3a39 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: #FBF4F4;
  --brand-100: #F7E9E9;
  --brand-200: #EFCDCC;
  --brand-300: #E8A6A5;
  --brand-400: #DD7979;
  --brand-500: #D24D4C;
  --brand-600: #cd3a39;
  --brand-700: #A32A29;
  --brand-800: #822221;
  --brand-900: #5F1C1C;
  --brand-950: #3B1211;
  --brand: #cd3a39;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
  --brand-surface: #FAF4F4;
  --brand-border: #EDC0C0;
  --brand-hover: #B52F2E;
  --brand-pressed: #982726;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241414;
    --brand-ink: #EED3D3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FBF4F4',
        100: '#F7E9E9',
        200: '#EFCDCC',
        300: '#E8A6A5',
        400: '#DD7979',
        500: '#D24D4C',
        600: '#cd3a39',
        700: '#A32A29',
        800: '#822221',
        900: '#5F1C1C',
        950: '#3B1211',
        DEFAULT: '#cd3a39',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FBF4F4,
  '100': #F7E9E9,
  '200': #EFCDCC,
  '300': #E8A6A5,
  '400': #DD7979,
  '500': #D24D4C,
  '600': #cd3a39,
  '700': #A32A29,
  '800': #822221,
  '900': #5F1C1C,
  '950': #3B1211,
);
$brand-base: #cd3a39;
$brand-ink: #ffffff;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FBF4F4", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F7E9E9", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#EFCDCC", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#E8A6A5", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#DD7979", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#D24D4C", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#cd3a39", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#A32A29", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#822221", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#5F1C1C", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#3B1211", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cd3a39 · 4.93:1
Use #ffffffAA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 4.93:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 4.26:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #cd3a39 as text scores 4.93:1 on white and 4.26:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #FAEBEB at 4.26:1.

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
#cd3a39 · 4.93:1
AA on whitealready passes
#cd3a39
The quick fox
#A52A2A · 7.08:1
AAA on white−11% L
#A52A2A
The quick fox
#CF4241 · 4.51:1
AA on black+2% L
#CF4241
The quick fox
#DD7B7A · 7.19:1
AAA on black+16% L
#DD7B7A

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #CD3A39 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
#cd3a39 on white: 4.93:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cd3a39 on black: 4.26:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cd3a39 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cd3a39.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White4.93:1AaAa
Slate 504.71:1AaAa
Slate 1004.50:1AaAa
Slate 2004.00:1AaAa
Slate 3003.32:1AaAa
Slate 4001.92:1AaAa
Slate 5001.04:1AaAa
Slate 6001.54:1AaAa
Slate 7002.10:1AaAa
Slate 8002.97:1AaAa
Slate 9003.62:1AaAa
Black4.26:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #655C37
deuteranopia · #897C34
tritanopia · #E1003C

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. #cd3a39 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.

#FBF4F4
#F7E9E9
#EFCDCC
#E8A6A5
#DD7979
#D24D4C
#cd3a39
#A32A29
#822221
#5F1C1C
#3B1211
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FBF4F4Darkest = 950 · #3B1211Text 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 0.046 25.6);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.074 25.6);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.111 25.6);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.144 25.6);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.170 25.6);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.184 25.6);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.184 25.6);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.173 25.6);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.155 25.6);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.129 25.6);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.101 25.6);
}

Colors that work with #cd3a39

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#9B4B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#25A788
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#661A1A
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FAEBEB
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241414
Dark-mode background
Hover#B52F2E
One step down in lightness
Pressed#982726
Two steps down
Disabled#CAACAC
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#DD3F3E
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 #cd3a39

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.

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

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
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium-high
  • Weight49/100
  • 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#39CCCD
Analogous left#CD3982
Analogous right#CD8439
Split-complement 1#39CD84
Split-complement 2#3982CD
Triadic 1#39CD3A
Triadic 2#3A39CD
Tetradic#82CD39
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°0°

#cd3a39 sits at 0°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green22.7%
Blue22.4%
R · 0–255
205
0xcd
G · 0–255
58
0x3a
B · 0–255
57
0x39

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta71.7%
Yellow72.2%
Key (black)19.6%

Total ink coverage is 164%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#cd3a39 text on a black background

contrast 4.26:1

Card sample

#cd3a39 text on a white background

contrast 4.93:1

Card sample

#cd3a39 on grey

4.50:1

#cd3a39 on its own surface

4.53:1

#cd3a39 on its dark surface

3.59:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cd3a39;
Background color
Panel with #cd3a39 background
background-color: #cd3a39;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cd3a39;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 58, 57, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 58, 57, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cd3a39;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cd3a39, #CD9D39);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cd3a39, #CDC239);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cd3a39;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cd3a39;
caret-color: #cd3a39;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cd3a39;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FAEBEB;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cd3a39;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cd3a39 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cd3a39 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(205, 58, 57, 0.5)
rgb(205 58 57 / 50%)
#cd3a3980
hsl(0 60% 51% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cd3a39 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cd3a391a#FAEBEB
20%#cd3a3933#F5D8D7
40%#cd3a3966#EBB0B0
60%#cd3a3999#E18988
80%#cd3a39cc#D76161

Gradients from #cd3a39

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, #D96B6A, #cd3a39 45%, #661A1A);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cd3a39, #B9972F);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cd3a39, #39CCCD);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E08382 0%, #cd3a39 45%, #661A1A 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%, #D762A6 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D39E52 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #661A1A 0%, transparent 65%), #cd3a39;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cd3a39

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.

#cd3a39 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.

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 4.26:1 — lift it to #CF4241 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.

#cd3a39, answered

What color is #cd3a39?

#cd3a39 is a balanced vivid red, closest to Crimson (ΔE2000 4.9). It sits at 0° on the hue wheel with 60% saturation and 51% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cd3a39?

rgb(205, 58, 57) — 205 red, 58 green and 57 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 22.7% / 22.4% by channel.

What is #cd3a39 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(0, 60%, 51%) and hsv(0, 72%, 80%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cd3a39 a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1630 and perceived brightness is 48%, so white text on it reaches 4.93:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cd3a39?

White. It scores 4.93:1 against #cd3a39, versus 4.26:1 for black — AA at any size.

Is #cd3a39 accessible on a white background?

#cd3a39 on white scores 4.93:1, which clears AA at every size but not AAA.

What is the complementary color of #cd3a39?

#39CCCD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #39CD84 and #3982CD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cd3a39?

For interface work: #FAF4F4 as the surface, #EDC0C0 for borders, #9B4B4B for secondary text, #25A788 as an accent and #661A1A for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CD3982 and #CD8439 stays calm, while #39CCCD is the loudest partner.

What is #cd3a39 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 72%, 72%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cd3a39 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 16 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CD6039; nudged cooler, #D0376E.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cd3a39?

The red family — its 500 step is #ef4444, ΔE2000 7.8 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cd3a39 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cd3a39 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cd3a39] or text-[#cd3a39], 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 #cd3a39 with 50% opacity?

rgba(205, 58, 57, 0.5), or #cd3a3980 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E69D9C; over black, #671D1D.

Is #cd3a39 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC3333, ΔE2000 1.4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cd3a39 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 #cd3a39?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D96B6A, #cd3a39 45%, #661A1A). For more colour, a short hue run to #B9972F keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cd3a39 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cd3a39 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.