About Color Hex #400e02

The color Black Chocolate, with hexadecimal code #400e02, 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 Passion, Energy, Love, Excitement, Danger and Desire. 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 high saturation of 94%, this color is intensely vivid—demanding attention and ideal for focal elements like buttons, banners, and brand marks. At only 13% 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 Passion, Energy, Love, Excitement, Danger, or Desire. It can be effectively used in web design, branding, and marketing materials to attract attention and convey specific messages.

The RGB values for Black Chocolate are (64, 14, 2), providing a combination of red: 64, green: 14, and blue: 2. In HSL format, it has a hue of 12.00°, saturation of 94.00%, and lightness of 13.00%.

The HSV representation includes a hue of 12.00°, saturation of 97.00%, and value of 25.00%. Its CMYK composition is cyan: 0.00%, magenta: 78.00%, yellow: 97.00%, and black: 75.00%.

The calculated luminance of #400e02 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 #330000. Its contrast ratio is 1.28:1 against black and 16.38:1 against white. It works well on light backgrounds but may be challenging on darker ones.

In terms of color temperature, #400e02 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 #400e02 is white.

Considering its saturation and lightness, #400e02 appears more vivid and energetic, making it stand out in designs that aim to capture attention.

History, Usage, Psychology & Design Ideas for #400E02

Black Chocolate (#400E02) 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 94% saturation, this is a highly vivid color that demands attention. Use it where maximum visual impact is needed—feature banners, accent buttons, and data-visualization highlights.

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 13% 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.

#400E02 Color Conversions

Every way to write Black Chocolate — copy Black Chocolate 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
#400E02

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(64, 14, 2)

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, 94%, 13%)

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, 97%, 25%)

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 1% 75%)

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%, 78%, 97%, 75%)

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(25.05% 0.081 36.17)

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

OKLab Modern
oklab(25.05% 0.065 0.048)

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: 12.01, a: 23.50, b: 17.72

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

LCH Perceptual
L: 12.01, C: 29.44, H: 37.02

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

XYZ CIE Science
X: 2.28, Y: 1.41, Z: 0.21

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
4197890

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

RGB Color Percentages for #400e02

RGB Color Percentages for Black Chocolate (HEX Code: #400e02) 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 80% of the total composition. The complete breakdown of RGB contributions is:

Red:
80%
Green:
17.5%
Blue:
2.5%

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

CMYK Ink Levels & Print Guide for #400e02

CMYK Ink Levels for Black Chocolate (HEX Code: #400e02) provide a breakdown of the percentages of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks needed for accurate print reproduction. The composition of Black Chocolate prominently features Yellow, 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: 78.12%, Yellow: 96.88%, and Black: 74.9%.

Luminance & Contrast for #400E02

Relative luminance gauges how bright Black Chocolate 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 1.28:1
AA AAA Large
Aa
White text 16.38:1
AA AAA Large

Quick CSS Snippets for #400E02

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

Background background-color: #400E02;
Text color: #400E02;
Border border: 2px solid #400E02;
RGB background-color: rgb(64, 14, 2);
HSL background-color: hsl(12, 94%, 13%);
Variable --color: #400E02;

#400e02 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.

#ece7e6
#cfc3c0
#b39f9a
#967a74
#79564e
#5d3228
#400e02 Original
#360c02
#2d0a01
#230801
#1a0601
#100401
#060100

#400e02 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.

#400e02 Original
#023440

#400e02 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.

#400e02 Original
#402e02
#400215
#344002
#400234
#154002
#2e0240

#400e02 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.

#400e02 Original
#02400e
#0e0240

#400e02 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.

#400e02 Original
#154002
#023440
#2e0240

Color Blindness Simulation for #400e02

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 Black Chocolate (#400e02) 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 #400e02

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)

#400E02 Nearby Colors

A handful of colors just a step away from #400E02 — 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.

#552211 Chocolate Rush
#330000 3AM Breakup
#662222 Bloodlust
#440000 English Breakfast
#331111 3AM Breakup
#441100 Black Chocolate
#441111 English Breakfast
#331100 Shadow Play

Colors Similar to #400e02

These colors are close neighbours of #400E02 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.

#410e02 Black Chocolate
#400f02 Black Chocolate
#400e03 Black Chocolate
#3f0e02 Black Chocolate
#400d02 Black Chocolate
#400e01 Black Chocolate
#510e02 Burned
#401f02 Chocolate Castle
#400e13 English Breakfast
#2f0e02 Shadow Play
#400002 English Breakfast
#400e00 Black Chocolate

Looking for more Orange shades? Browse Orange colors →

Explore Vibrant Images Featuring Black Chocolate (#400e02)

Discover a vibrant gallery of images that not only showcase the captivating hue of Black Chocolate, 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.