About Salmon
Salmon, #fa8072, is pink warmed with orange — named for the flesh of the fish, whose color famously comes from its diet (wild salmon eat astaxanthin-rich krill; farmed salmon are fed the pigment to match). It is the most food-adjacent pink in the palette.
History
Salmon-pink newspapers made the color editorial: the Financial Times has printed on salmon since 1893 — originally to stand out on newsstands and dodge paper-bleaching costs, now a trademark of financial seriousness in the softest color imaginable.
Psychology
Salmon reads warm, healthy and social — pink’s friendliness with orange’s vitality. It flatters interfaces the way it flatters skin tones, which made it a staple of wellness, food and summer fashion design.
In design
Salmon shines as buttons and cards on deep teal, navy and sage — cool grounds make it glow. Light salmon (#ffa07a) works as a soft highlight; as text every salmon fails on white (~2.5:1) — darken toward terracotta for copy. The FT proves salmon backgrounds carry black text beautifully.
In culture
Salmon shorts, salmon skies, the salmon-pink press: the color moves between preppy wardrobe staple and sunset shorthand. In Japan, salmon sakura tones mark spring’s food and festivals alike.