Named colour

Dark Red #8b0000

Red at the edge of the shadow.

Token name suggestion: Dusk Ember

RGB

139, 0, 0

HSL

0°, 100%, 27%

CMYK

0, 100, 100, 46

Luminance

0.0549

#8b0000 is a dark electric red, 0° on the wheel and 17/100 on the cool side. Put white text on it (10.01:1). As text it scores 10.01:1 on white — safe at any size. Nearest name is Dark Red, nearest Tailwind family is red.

hsl(0 100% 27%)rgb(139 0 0)Base step 900AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #8b0000 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex

#8b0000

Hue

0°

red

Saturation

100%

electric

Lightness

27%

dark

Brightness

55%

HSV value

Perceived

30%

weighted brightness

Luminance

0.0549

WCAG relative

Temperature

Warm

17/100 cool

Color family

Red

Tone

Electric

Best ink

White

10.01:1

Closest name

Dark Red

ΔE2000 0

Chroma

65.6

LCH, 0–130ish

OKLCH L

0.400

perceptual lightness

Tailwind

red

500 · ΔE 24.9

Web-safe

#990000

nearest of 216

Where it sits

Hue0° of 360°

Saturation100%

Lightness27%

Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #8b0000.

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.

Warmer#8B2500 This color#8b0000 Cooler#8B0033

Luminance by channel

Red100%

Green0%

Blue0%

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

About Dark Red

Dark red, #8b0000, is pure red with the brightness pulled down — the CSS-named deep red between red and maroon. It is red that reads grave and powerful, all heat and no glare.

History

Dark red bound ledgers and hymnals, stained fine woods and lined jewelry boxes; X11 fixed #8b0000 as the named deep red. It is the color of dried blood and aged wine — intensity that has settled.

Psychology

Dark red reads powerful, serious and passionate — red’s energy held in reserve. It signals depth, danger and luxury simultaneously, without pure red’s alarm.

In design

Dark red is a text-capable deep accent (10.7:1 on white) and a commanding surface for gold and cream. Pair with charcoal, forest, gold and blush. Luxury, heritage and dramatic palettes favor its gravity.

In culture

Dark-red curtains, dark-red velvet, dried-blood reds in every gothic novel: the color where passion meets shadow.

Brands that own dark red

Luxury heritage#8b0000 Wine cellars#7a0000 Leather-bound editions#820000 Automotive deep red#8b0000 Theatre curtains#900020

Shades of dark red

Red Maroon Crimson Oxblood Burgundy Wine Firebrick Cardinal

Every format

HEX	#8b0000
HEX (8-digit)	#8b0000ff
RGB	rgb(139, 0, 0)
RGBA	rgba(139, 0, 0, 1)
HSL	hsl(0, 100%, 27%)
HSV / HSB	hsv(0, 100%, 55%)
HWB	hwb(0 0% 45%)
CMYK	cmyk(0%, 100%, 100%, 46%)
LAB	lab(28.1 51.0 41.3)
LCH	lch(28.1 65.6 39.0)
OKLCH	oklch(0.400 0.164 29.2)
XYZ (D65)	xyz(10.65, 5.49, 0.50)
Decimal	9109504
Display P3	color(display-p3 0.545 0.000 0.000)
Web-safe	#990000

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select

/* CSS */
color: #8b0000;
background-color: #8b0000;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #8b0000;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#8b0000] bg-[#8b0000]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #8b0000;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.545, green: 0.000, blue: 0.000)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.545, green: 0.000, blue: 0.000, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#8B0000</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF8B0000)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF8B0000)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(0, 0, 139)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(139, 0, 0)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(139, 0, 0)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 139, 0, 0)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.5451f, 0.0000f, 0.0000f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{139,0,0}

modern cssclick to select

/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #8b0000 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #8b0000 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#800000, #EED3D3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #8b0000 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: #FEF1F1;
  --brand-100: #FCE3E3;
  --brand-200: #FCC0C0;
  --brand-300: #FF8F8F;
  --brand-400: #FF5757;
  --brand-500: #FF1F1F;
  --brand-600: #F50000;
  --brand-700: #CC0000;
  --brand-800: #A30000;
  --brand-900: #8b0000;
  --brand-950: #490303;
  --brand: #8b0000;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
  --brand-surface: #FAF4F4;
  --brand-border: #EDC0C0;
  --brand-hover: #680000;
  --brand-pressed: #440000;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241414;
    --brand-ink: #EED3D3;
  }
}

tailwind.config.jsclick to select

theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FEF1F1',
        100: '#FCE3E3',
        200: '#FCC0C0',
        300: '#FF8F8F',
        400: '#FF5757',
        500: '#FF1F1F',
        600: '#F50000',
        700: '#CC0000',
        800: '#A30000',
        900: '#8b0000',
        950: '#490303',
        DEFAULT: '#8b0000',
      },
    },
  },
}

scss mapclick to select

$brand: (
  '50': #FEF1F1,
  '100': #FCE3E3,
  '200': #FCC0C0,
  '300': #FF8F8F,
  '400': #FF5757,
  '500': #FF1F1F,
  '600': #F50000,
  '700': #CC0000,
  '800': #A30000,
  '900': #8b0000,
  '950': #490303,
);
$brand-base: #8b0000;
$brand-ink: #ffffff;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }

w3c design tokens (json)click to select

{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FEF1F1", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#FCE3E3", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#FCC0C0", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#FF8F8F", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#FF5757", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#FF1F1F", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#F50000", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#CC0000", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#A30000", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#8b0000", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#490303", "$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 #8b0000 · 10.01:1

Use #ffffff — AAA at every size.

12px

16px

24px

White text · 10.01:1 · recommended

AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass

Black text · 2.10:1

AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail

Reading the other direction: #8b0000 as text scores 10.01:1 on white and 2.10:1 on black.

Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #FFE5E5 at 8.39:1.

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

#8b0000 · 10.01:1

AA on whitealready passes

#8b0000

The quick fox

#8b0000 · 10.01:1

AAA on whitealready passes

#8b0000

The quick fox

#EC0000 · 4.57:1

AA on black+19% L

#EC0000

The quick fox

#FF6262 · 7.18:1

AAA on black+42% L

#FF6262

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #8B0000 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

#8b0000 on white: 10.01:1

AA ✓ pass · AA-large ✓ · AAA ✓

#8b0000 on black: 2.10:1

AA ✗ fail · AA-large ✗ · AAA ✗

Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #8b0000 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #8b0000.

Neutral	Ratio	Verdict	Both directions
White#ffffff	10.01:1	AAAA lgAAA	AaAa
Slate 50#f8fafc	9.57:1	AAAA lgAAA	AaAa
Slate 100#f1f5f9	9.14:1	AAAA lgAAA	AaAa
Slate 200#e2e8f0	8.12:1	AAAA lgAAA	AaAa
Slate 300#cbd5e1	6.74:1	AAAA lgAAA	AaAa
Slate 400#94a3b8	3.90:1	AAAA lgAAA	AaAa
Slate 500#64748b	2.10:1	AAAA lgAAA	AaAa
Slate 600#475569	1.32:1	AAAA lgAAA	AaAa
Slate 700#334155	1.03:1	AAAA lgAAA	AaAa
Slate 800#1e293b	1.46:1	AAAA lgAAA	AaAa
Slate 900#0f172a	1.78:1	AAAA lgAAA	AaAa
Black#000000	2.10:1	AAAA lgAAA	AaAa

Colour vision deficiency

true color

protanopia · #383000

deuteranopia · #574C00

tritanopia · #9A0004

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. #8b0000 is pinned to step 900; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

50 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900base 950

#FEF1F1

#FCE3E3

#FCC0C0

#FF8F8F

#FF5757

#FF1F1F

#F50000

#CC0000

#A30000

#8b0000

#490303

Base = 900Lightest = 50 · #FEF1F1Darkest = 950 · #490303Text 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 0.041 29.2);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.066 29.2);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.098 29.2);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.128 29.2);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.151 29.2);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.164 29.2);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.164 29.2);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.154 29.2);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.138 29.2);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.115 29.2);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.090 29.2);
}

Colors that work with #8b0000

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#008B68

Second voice, not a rival

Dark variant#800000

Hover, pressed, headers

Light variant#FFE5E5

Selected rows, tints

Dark surface#241414

Dark-mode background

Hover#680000

One step down in lightness

Pressed#440000

Two steps down

Disabled#996262

Chroma pulled out

Focus ring#A00000

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

Work email

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 #8b0000

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
⚠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 low lightness adds weight and formality.

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

FormalityHigh
EnergyHigh
Weight73/100
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.

Lighter#D30000 Darker#440000 More saturated#8B0000 Less saturated#7F0D0D Warmer#8B2500 Cooler#8B0033 Softer#8F1B1B Richer#6D0000 Hue −20°#8B002E Hue −10°#8B0017 Hue +10°#8B1700 Hue +20°#8B2E00

Color relationships

The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.

Complementary	#008B8B	Directly opposite — maximum tension
Analogous left	#8B0046	Neighbour, quieter
Analogous right	#8B4600	Neighbour, quieter
Split-complement 1	#008B46	Contrast without the clash
Split-complement 2	#00468B	Contrast without the clash
Triadic 1	#008B00	Even thirds — balanced and loud
Triadic 2	#00008B	Even thirds — balanced and loud
Tetradic	#468B00	Fourth corner of the square scheme

On the wheel

#8b0000 sits at 0°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red54.5%

Green0.0%

Blue0.0%

R · 0–255

139

0x8b

G · 0–255

0x00

B · 0–255

0x00

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%

Magenta100.0%

Yellow100.0%

Key (black)45.5%

Total ink coverage is 246%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#8b0000 text on a black background

contrast 2.10:1

Card sample

#8b0000 text on a white background

contrast 10.01:1

Card sample

#8b0000 on grey

9.14:1

#8b0000 on its own surface

9.21:1

#8b0000 on its dark surface

1.77:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #8b0000;

Background color

Panel with #8b0000 background

background-color: #8b0000;

Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #8b0000;

Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(139, 0, 0, 0.45);

Div box shadow

Elevated card

box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(139, 0, 0, 0.45);

Border & gradient

Gradient panel

border: 3px solid #8b0000;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #8b0000, #8B5D00);

Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #8b0000, #8B8000);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;

Focus ring

Focused control

outline: 2px solid #8b0000;
outline-offset: 3px;

Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #8b0000;
caret-color: #8b0000;

Left rule

Pull quote or callout

border-left: 4px solid #8b0000;

Ring + tint

Selected chip

background: #FFE5E5;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #8b0000;

Conic badge

68%

background: conic-gradient(#8b0000 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #8b0000 over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

5%10%15%20%30%40%50%60%75%90%100%

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(139, 0, 0, 0.5)
rgb(139 0 0 / 50%)
#8b000080
hsl(0 100% 27% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #8b0000 50%, transparent)

Alpha	8-digit hex	Flat on white
10%	#8b00001a	#F3E6E6
20%	#8b000033	#E8CCCC
40%	#8b000066	#D19999
60%	#8b000099	#B96666
80%	#8b0000cc	#A23333

Gradients from #8b0000

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, #C80000, #8b0000 45%, #800000);

Duotone

A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill

background: linear-gradient(120deg, #8b0000, #6D5100);

Complement sweep

Loud — keep it behind large type only

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #8b0000, #008B8B);

Spotlight

Hero panels and app headers

background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E70000 0%, #8b0000 45%, #800000 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%, #BE006F 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #AA6300 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #800000 0%, transparent 65%), #8b0000;

Monochromatic scale

#3D0000 #850000 #CC0000 #FF1414 #FF5C5C #FFA3A3 #FFD6D6

Palettes built from #8b0000

UI palette

Gradient stops

Accent trio

Warm–cool bridge

Data series

Status set

Neutral companions

Shades — darker

#7D0000 #6F0000 #610000 #540000 #460000 #380000 #2A0000 #1C0000 #0F0000

Tints — lighter

#B00000 #D50000 #FA0000 #FF2121 #FF4646 #FF6B6B #FF9090 #FFB5B5 #FFDADA

Tones — desaturated

#840707 #7D0E0E #761515 #6F1C1C #682323 #612A2A #5A3131 #543838 #4D3F3F

Color harmonies

Complement

Split-complement

Analogous

Triadic

Tetradic

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.

Dark Red#8b0000ΔE00 0 · ΔE76 0 Maroon#800000ΔE00 2.2 · ΔE76 5.1 Brown#a52a2aΔE00 9.1 · ΔE76 14.4 Firebrick#b22222ΔE00 9.5 · ΔE76 12.6 Saddle Brown#8b4513ΔE00 14.4 · ΔE76 26.3 Sienna#a0522dΔE00 15.9 · ΔE76 27.4

Closest CSS keywordDark Red · ΔE 0 Closest darker nameBlack · ΔE 32.4 Closest lighter nameBrown · ΔE 9.1

Nearest Tailwind familyred-500 · #ef4444 · ΔE 24.9 Nearest web-safe colour#990000 · ΔE 2.8

#8b0000 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 2.10:1 — lift it to #EC0000 for body text, or reserve it for fills.

Brand examples for dark red are listed above — each one links through to its own page.

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.

Dark Red, answered

What is the hex code for dark red?

CSS darkred is #8b0000 — pure red darkened; maroon #800000 is a fraction deeper.

Dark red vs maroon vs crimson?

Crimson is bright and blue-leaning; maroon is browner; dark red is the pure deep saturated one between them.

Is dark red good for text?

Yes — #8b0000 reaches 10.7:1 on white, past AAA. A dramatic, accessible alternative to black ink.

What color is #8b0000?

#8b0000 is a dark electric red — the CSS keyword Dark Red. It sits at 0° on the hue wheel with 100% saturation and 27% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #8b0000?

rgb(139, 0, 0) — 139 red, 0 green and 0 blue out of 255, or 54.5% / 0% / 0% by channel.

What is #8b0000 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(0, 100%, 27%) and hsv(0, 100%, 55%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #8b0000 a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.0549 and perceived brightness is 30%, so white text on it reaches 10.01:1.

Should I use black or white text on #8b0000?

White. It scores 10.01:1 against #8b0000, versus 2.10:1 for black — AAA at any size.

Is #8b0000 accessible on a white background?

#8b0000 on white scores 10.01:1, which clears AAA at every size.

What is the complementary color of #8b0000?

#008B8B sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #008B46 and #00468B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #8b0000?

For interface work: #FAF4F4 as the surface, #EDC0C0 for borders, #9B4B4B for secondary text, #008B68 as an accent and #800000 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #8B0046 and #8B4600 stays calm, while #008B8B is the loudest partner.

What is #8b0000 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 100%, 100%, 46%). 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 #8b0000 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 #8B2500; nudged cooler, #8B0033.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #8b0000?

The red family — its 500 step is #ef4444, ΔE2000 24.9 away. That is a visible difference, so define #8b0000 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #8b0000 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#8b0000] or text-[#8b0000], 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 #8b0000 with 50% opacity?

rgba(139, 0, 0, 0.5), or #8b000080 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #C58080; over black, #460000.

Is #8b0000 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #990000, ΔE2000 2.8 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #8b0000 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 #8b0000?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #C80000, #8b0000 45%, #800000). For more colour, a short hue run to #6D5100 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #8b0000 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Contrast Checker →Palette Generator →Palette Pro →Scale Generator →CSS Code Generator →Color Blind Simulator →Accessibility Checker →Color Distance →Gradient Generator →Image Color Picker →

Every value on this page is computed from #8b0000 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.