Complementary
Two colors from opposite sides of the wheel. They make each other look more vivid, which is why the pairing is used for anything that needs to stand out.
Crimson
#DC143CCrimson is the hex color #DC143C, with RGB values 220, 20, 60. It is a CSS color keyword, so browsers render it from the name alone, and its value is fixed by the CSS Color Module.
Palette image
Every swatch on this page, as one image you can save or share.
Crimson color codes
Every value for #DC143C, ready to paste. Click any code to copy it.
| Channel | Decimal | Share | Hex | Octal | Binary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | 220 | 86.27% | DC | 334 | 11011100 |
| Green | 20 | 7.84% | 14 | 24 | 00010100 |
| Blue | 60 | 23.53% | 3C | 74 | 00111100 |
The nearest web-safe color is #CC0033, from the 216-color palette browsers agreed on before displays could be trusted with more.
Shades, tints and tones
Every step is generated from #DC143C. Click a swatch to copy its hex.
Shades of crimson
A shade is the base color with black mixed in. Shades read as deeper and more dramatic, and they are what you reach for when a color needs to recede or carry weight.
Tints of crimson
A tint is the base color with white mixed in. Tints turn pastel as they lighten, which makes them useful for backgrounds and for anything that has to sit behind text.
Tones of crimson
A tone is the base color with gray mixed in. Tones lose the shout without losing the hue, and they are usually what separates a considered palette from a loud one.
The crimson scale
The same color as the 50 to 950 ladder every CSS framework uses, with #DC143C at 500. Click a step to copy its hex, or take the whole scale as variables for a design system.
The red family
Crimson sits in the red family. Every named red in the library, with crimson first.
| Swatch | Name | Hex | RGB | HSL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| is a CSS keyword is the color on this page | #DC143C | 220, 20, 60 | 348, 83%, 47% | |
| Red is a CSS keyword | #FF0000 | 255, 0, 0 | 0, 100%, 50% | |
| Maroon is a CSS keyword | #800000 | 128, 0, 0 | 0, 100%, 25% | |
| Burgundy | #800020 | 128, 0, 32 | 345, 100%, 25% | |
| Salmon is a CSS keyword | #FA8072 | 250, 128, 114 | 6, 93%, 71% | |
| Scarlet | #FF2400 | 255, 36, 0 | 8, 100%, 50% | |
| Ruby | #E0115F | 224, 17, 95 | 337, 86%, 47% | |
| Cherry | #D2042D | 210, 4, 45 | 348, 96%, 42% | |
| Wine | #722F37 | 114, 47, 55 | 353, 42%, 32% | |
| Blush | #DE5D83 | 222, 93, 131 | 342, 66%, 62% | |
| Firebrick is a CSS keyword | #B22222 | 178, 34, 34 | 0, 68%, 42% | |
| Indian red is a CSS keyword | #CD5C5C | 205, 92, 92 | 0, 53%, 58% | |
| Dark red is a CSS keyword | #8B0000 | 139, 0, 0 | 0, 100%, 27% | |
| Tomato is a CSS keyword | #FF6347 | 255, 99, 71 | 9, 100%, 64% | |
| Orange red is a CSS keyword | #FF4500 | 255, 69, 0 | 16, 100%, 50% |
Color schemes built on crimson
Harmonies are positions on the color wheel rather than matters of taste, which is why they keep working across very different designs.
Analogous
Three neighbors on the wheel. Nothing competes, so the result reads calm and settled, closer to how color behaves in nature.
Split complementary
The base plus the two colors either side of its complement. It keeps most of the contrast while being much easier to balance.
Triadic
Three colors spaced evenly around the wheel. Strong and lively, and usually best with one dominant color and two accents.
Tetradic
Two complementary pairs, forming a rectangle on the wheel. The richest scheme available, and the hardest to keep from shouting.
Monochromatic
One hue at different lightness levels. Effortlessly cohesive, and the safest way to build a palette around a brand color.
Colors close to #DC143C
Near neighbors, for when this color is almost right. Each one shifts hue, saturation or lightness by a small step.
Crimson color palettes
Five-color palettes built around #DC143C, each following a different scheme. Click any swatch to copy it, or open the generator to build your own.
Analogous
Complementary
Triadic
Monochromatic
Open the palette generator to lock the colors you like and regenerate the rest.
Red gradients
5 ready-made red gradients, each with every stop written as a hex you can edit.
Contrast and readability
Whether crimson works as text, and what to put on top of it when it is the background. Ratios follow WCAG 2.1, where 4.5 is the bar for body text and 3 for large text.
Crimson text on white background
4.99:1 · GoodLarge text at 24 pixels
Body text at 16 pixels. A flat field of color removes every variable, which is what makes it useful for judging a display.
- Body AA
- Body AAA
- Large AA
- Large AAA
Crimson text on black background
4.21:1 · Large text onlyLarge text at 24 pixels
Body text at 16 pixels. A flat field of color removes every variable, which is what makes it useful for judging a display.
- Body AA
- Body AAA
- Large AA
- Large AAA
Used the other way round, #DC143C as a background takes #FFFFFF text. That is the higher-contrast of the two, and it is what the tool picks automatically for any chrome sitting on your color.
Crimson reads better on a white background of the two. Contrast is a property of the pair, not of one color, so a color that fails here can still be perfectly usable against a different partner.
Crimson against your project
About crimson
A deep red with a distinct blue lean, which is what separates it from scarlet. The name comes from the kermes insect, the source of the dye long before synthetic reds existed.
- Family
- Red, 8th lightest of 15 reds
- Web-safe
- is the nearest
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