Color Details and Palettes for #311A14

Details about the color Shadow Play

Closest web-safe match: #333300

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 #311A14
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About Color Hex #311a14

The color Shadow Play, with hexadecimal code #311a14, sits in the orange color family, typically linked to enthusiasm, creativity, and warmth. Orange hues stimulate appetite and social interaction, which is why food brands and community platforms favor them. Additionally, it evokes emotions such as Power, Elegance, Formality, Mystery and Authority. Orange is associated with spirituality and courage in some cultures, such as in Hinduism and Buddhism. In Western cultures, it often represents autumn, harvest, and creativity. With a moderate saturation of 42%, it has a softened, muted quality that lends sophistication and works well for backgrounds and secondary elements. At only 14% lightness, this extremely dark shade approaches black, delivering maximum drama and contrast when paired with lighter elements. This color is ideal for designs that aim to express Power, Elegance, Formality, Mystery, or Authority. It can be effectively used in web design, branding, and marketing materials to attract attention and convey specific messages.

The RGB values for Shadow Play are (49, 26, 20), providing a combination of red: 49, green: 26, and blue: 20. In HSL format, it has a hue of 12.00°, saturation of 42.00%, and lightness of 14.00%.

The HSV representation includes a hue of 12.00°, saturation of 59.00%, and value of 19.00%. Its CMYK composition is cyan: 0.00%, magenta: 47.00%, yellow: 59.00%, and black: 81.00%.

The calculated luminance of #311a14 is 0.014, offering a brightness level suitable for various design requirements.

This color is not part of the web-safe color palette. The closest web-safe color to this is the color HEX #333300. Its contrast ratio is 1.29:1 against black and 16.30:1 against white. It works well on light backgrounds but may be challenging on darker ones.

In terms of color temperature, #311a14 reads as warm. When it comes to accessibility, testing against standard guidelines suggests that using white text meets typical WCAG contrast standards. Additionally, the ideal foreground color for improved legibility on #311a14 is white.

Considering its saturation and lightness, #311a14 appears more vivid and energetic, making it stand out in designs that aim to capture attention.

History, Usage, Psychology & Design Ideas for #311A14

Shadow Play (#311A14) belongs to the Vermilion color family.

This deep, saturated shade conveys authority and richness. Deep tones are favored in luxury packaging, evening-event branding, and dark-mode interfaces where they provide dramatic contrast against lighter elements.

Historical Background

Vermilion—a brilliant red-orange pigment—was synthesized from mercury sulfide (cinnabar) as early as 8000 BC in Anatolia. Chinese artisans perfected synthetic vermilion around the 4th century BC, using it in lacquerware, seals, and religious manuscripts. In medieval Europe, vermilion illuminated the capital letters of sacred texts, literally giving us the word 'rubric' (from Latin ruber, red).

Design & Usage Tips

Vermilion bridges the intensity of red with the warmth of orange, making it ideal for food and beverage branding where appetite appeal matters. It pairs well with dark olive green for autumnal themes or with navy blue for a classic nautical palette. Avoid using vermilion for error states, as users may confuse it with orange warnings.

Positioned on the warm side of the color wheel (hue 12°), it naturally draws the eye and creates a sense of closeness—making it effective for calls to action, food photography, and hospitality branding. At 42% saturation, the color has a muted, sophisticated quality that pairs well with bolder accents. It works as a background, a border, or a secondary element in layered compositions.

Psychological Impact

Vermilion projects confidence, vitality, and creative ambition. Its warm red-orange lean makes it feel more approachable and less aggressive than pure red, which is why lifestyle and travel brands favor it for invitations to adventure.

At just 14% lightness, this is an extremely dark shade that approaches black. It is best reserved for text, thin borders, or dramatic full-bleed backgrounds paired with light typography.

Creative Design Ideas

Use vermilion as a header accent stripe above charcoal photography for editorial impact. In interior design, a single vermilion accent wall energizes a neutral room. For digital products, vermilion hover states on cards create engaging micro-interactions.

#311A14 Color Conversions

Every way to write Shadow Play — copy Shadow Play as RGB, HSL, HSV, HWB, CMYK, OKLCH, OKLab, CIELAB, LCH, XYZ or a decimal integer. One-tap copy on every format; tap on any card to learn what it is and when to use it.

12 formats
HEX Web
#311A14

Hexadecimal is the web’s universal color notation — two digits each for red, green and blue. Drop it straight into HTML, CSS or any design tool.

RGB Screen
rgb(49, 26, 20)

RGB is the additive Red-Green-Blue model every screen uses to emit light. The default choice for websites, apps and on-screen UI.

HSL Web
hsl(12, 42%, 14%)

HSL breaks a color into Hue, Saturation and Lightness — the most intuitive way to lighten, darken or mute a color in CSS.

HSV HSB Design
hsv(12, 59%, 19%)

HSV (also called HSB) maps Hue, Saturation and Value/Brightness. It is the model behind the color pickers in Photoshop, Figma and most design apps.

HWB CSS 4
hwb(12 8% 81%)

HWB blends a pure hue with Whiteness and Blackness — a painter-friendly model added in CSS Color 4 for quick tints and shades.

CMYK Print
cmyk(0%, 47%, 59%, 81%)

CMYK is the subtractive Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black ink model. Use these values when preparing artwork for a printer or commercial press.

OKLCH Modern
oklch(24.74% 0.039 35.42)

OKLCH is a modern, perceptually-uniform space (Lightness, Chroma, Hue). It powers smooth gradients and accessible palettes in today’s CSS.

OKLab Modern
oklab(24.74% 0.032 0.022)

OKLab is the Cartesian form of OKLCH — ideal for blending and interpolating colors without the muddy midpoints older spaces produce.

CIELAB L*a*b* Perceptual
L: 12.24, a: 10.63, b: 8.98

CIELAB is a device-independent, perceptually-uniform space. It is the standard for measuring color difference (ΔE) and matching across devices.

LCH Perceptual
L: 12.24, C: 13.91, H: 40.18

LCH is CIELAB in cylindrical form — Lightness, Chroma and Hue — letting you adjust vividness and hue while staying perceptually even.

XYZ CIE Science
X: 1.76, Y: 1.44, Z: 0.85

CIE XYZ is the 1931 master space that underpins every other model here — the scientific bridge used to convert between color systems.

Decimal int Code
3217940

The 24-bit integer value of the color — handy for databases, APIs, game engines and low-level graphics code.

RGB Color Percentages for #311a14

RGB Color Percentages for Shadow Play (HEX Code: #311a14) display the relative contribution of Red, Green, and Blue in forming the color. Understanding these percentages provides insight into the color's visual balance and primary components.

This color is primarily dominated by Red, making up 51.58% of the total composition. The complete breakdown of RGB contributions is:

Red:
51.58%
Green:
27.37%
Blue:
21.05%

This analysis highlights the influence of each primary color, offering a deeper understanding of the visual characteristics of Shadow Play.

CMYK Ink Levels & Print Guide for #311a14

CMYK Ink Levels for Shadow Play (HEX Code: #311a14) provide a breakdown of the percentages of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks needed for accurate print reproduction. The composition of Shadow Play prominently features Key, reflecting its dominant color characteristic. This information is invaluable for optimizing ink usage and achieving precise color results in printed materials.

The exact CMYK values are: Cyan: 0%, Magenta: 46.94%, Yellow: 59.18%, and Black: 80.78%.

Luminance & Contrast for #311A14

Relative luminance gauges how bright Shadow Play is, while the WCAG contrast ratios show how legible black or white text is on it — and which accessibility levels (AA / AAA) it passes.

Relative luminance 0.014
0 · dark1 · light
Aa
Black text 1.29:1
AA AAA Large
Aa
White text 16.30:1
AA AAA Large

Quick CSS Snippets for #311A14

Copy-and-paste CSS for Shadow Play — backgrounds, text, borders and a custom property. Each line is ready to drop into your stylesheet.

Background background-color: #311A14;
Text color: #311A14;
Border border: 2px solid #311A14;
RGB background-color: rgb(49, 26, 20);
HSL background-color: hsl(12, 42%, 14%);
Variable --color: #311A14;

#311a14 Monochrome Palette

The Monochrome Palette consists of shades created by adjusting the brightness. These include lighter, original, and darker shades of the color. This layout helps to visualize the color's range and its potential use in design.

#eae8e7
#ccc6c4
#ada3a1
#8e817e
#6f5f5b
#503c37
#311a14 Original
#2a1611
#22120e
#1b0e0b
#140a08
#0c0705
#050302

#311a14 Complementary Palette

The Complementary Palette is made up of two colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel. These colors create high contrast and vibrant designs, making them perfect for attention-grabbing elements and dynamic visuals.

#311a14 Original
#152d33

#311a14 Analogic Palette

The Analogic Palette consists of colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. These colors typically create harmonious and subtle designs, often used to evoke calmness and unity in your visual projects.

#311a14 Original
#332a15
#33151e
#2d3315
#33152d
#1e3315
#2a1533

#311a14 Triadic Palette

The Triadic Palette is made up of three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. This combination provides a vibrant and balanced color scheme, often used for dynamic and energetic designs while maintaining harmony.

#311a14 Original
#15331b
#1b1533

#311a14 Quad Palette

The Quad Palette, also known as tetradic, consists of four colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. This combination offers a diverse and bold color scheme, ideal for creating rich, complex designs with multiple accents while still maintaining balance.

#311a14 Original
#1e3315
#152d33
#2a1533

Color Blindness Simulation for #311a14

Colors are perceived differently by individuals with various forms of color blindness. Use the dropdown below to see how this color may look through the eyes of someone with color vision deficiency. Explore how Shadow Play (#311a14) might appear to people with different visual experiences, and gain deeper insights into color accessibility for your designs!

Each color box displays a "Friendly" or "Not Friendly" tag in the bottom-right corner. A "Friendly" tag indicates that the color difference is distinguishable to individuals with the specific type of color blindness. Conversely, a "Not Friendly" tag means that the color difference might not be distinguishable, potentially causing accessibility issues in your design.

Normal Vision

Deuteranopia (Green Weakness)

Friendly

Protanopia (Red Weakness)

Friendly

Tritanopia (Blue-Yellow Weakness)

Friendly

Achromatopsia (Total Color Blindness)

Friendly

Color Harmonies for #311a14

Color harmonies refer to the visually pleasing combinations of colors that are derived from specific relationships on the color wheel. These harmonious schemes, such as complementary, triadic, and analogous colors, create a balanced and engaging visual experience in design.

Complementary

Analogous

Triadic

Tetradic (Quad)

#311A14 Nearby Colors

A handful of colors just a step away from #311A14 — each one nudges the brightness, richness, or shade a little while still feeling like the same color. Use the buttons on any swatch to copy its hex or open its full color page.

#442222 Brown Coffee
#221100 Burnt Coffee
#553333 Espresso
#220000 Dwarf Fortress
#331111 3AM Breakup
#222222 Lead
#332211 Burnt Coffee
#331122 Black-Hearted

Colors Similar to #311a14

These colors are close neighbours of #311A14 in the RGB color space. Each subtle variation can produce a noticeably different mood in your design while remaining harmonious with the original Orange tone.

#321a14 Shadow Play
#311b14 Shadow Play
#311a15 Shadow Play
#301a14 Shadow Play
#311914 Shadow Play
#311a13 Shadow Play
#421a14 Torrefacto Roast
#312b14 Secret Passage
#311a25 Black Cherry
#201a14 Soulless
#310914 Chocolate Kiss
#311a03 Close but No Cigar

Looking for more Orange shades? Browse Orange colors →

Explore Vibrant Images Featuring Shadow Play (#311a14)

Discover a vibrant gallery of images that not only showcase the captivating hue of Shadow Play, but also embody its unique mood and personality. Each carefully curated photo is selected to highlight the richness and diversity of this color, offering inspiration for design, art, and creative projects.