Conversions, palettes, contrast & design ideas for this color.
Color profile
#C81D3C is a warm color from the Rose family, closest in name to “Cardinal”. In RGB it is rgb(200, 29, 60); in HSL, hsl(349, 75%, 45%).
The color Cardinal, with hexadecimal code #c81d3c, is part of the pink color family, a hue that spans from playful and youthful to elegant and gender-neutral. Pink evokes warmth, tenderness, and emotional connection across diverse cultural contexts. Additionally, it evokes emotions such as Passion, Energy, Love, Excitement, Danger and Desire. Pink is often connected to love, compassion, and femininity in Western cultures, while in Japan, it can symbolize spring and cherry blossoms. It can also represent universal harmony and emotional balance. At 75% saturation, this color is clearly chromatic yet balanced—colorful enough to be distinctive without overwhelming adjacent content. With a mid-range lightness of 45%, it offers excellent versatility—readable as text on light backgrounds and visible as an element on dark ones. 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.
Key facts
The story of this color
Cardinal (#C81D3C) belongs to the Rose color family.
This vivid mid-tone strikes the ideal balance between intensity and readability, making it a strong candidate for primary brand colors, interactive UI elements, and logo design where immediate recognition is essential.
Rose as a color name predates its association with the flower—the Old English word referenced a range of warm pinkish-red hues. During the Renaissance, rose madder pigment (from the madder plant root) was a staple of portrait painters, prized for realistic skin tones. In Victorian flower language, different rose colors carried coded messages: pink for admiration, red for love, white for purity.
Rose tones—ranging from dusty rose to vivid rose—bridge pink and red, offering warmth without pink's potential for seeming overly sweet or red's intensity. They are excellent for cosmetics, wine, and luxury lifestyle brands. Pair rose with gold for opulence, or with sage green for a natural, sophisticated palette.
Positioned on the warm side of the color wheel (hue 349°), it naturally draws the eye and creates a sense of closeness—making it effective for calls to action, food photography, and hospitality branding. With 75% saturation, it occupies a comfortable middle ground: colorful enough to be distinctive, yet restrained enough for extended reading or large surface areas.
Rose conveys romance, gratitude, and grace. It feels more mature and nuanced than bright pink, appealing to audiences seeking elegance and emotional depth. In interior design, rose tones create inviting, conversation-friendly spaces.
With a mid-range lightness of 45%, this tone is highly versatile: dark enough to serve as body text on white, yet light enough to stand out on charcoal or navy backgrounds.
Use a dusty-rose background with white serif typography for a luxury wedding brand. Combine vivid rose with deep teal for a contemporary editorial palette. In packaging, rose-gold metallic finishes paired with rose-colored paper create a tactile, premium unboxing experience.
Every format
Every way to write Cardinal — one-tap copy on every format; tap on any card to learn what it is and when to use it.
#C81D3C
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(200, 29, 60)
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(349, 75%, 45%)
HSL breaks a color into Hue, Saturation and Lightness — the most intuitive way to lighten, darken or mute a color in CSS.
hsv(349, 86%, 78%)
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(349 11% 22%)
HWB blends a pure hue with Whiteness and Blackness — a painter-friendly model added in CSS Color 4 for quick tints and shades.
cmyk(0%, 86%, 70%, 22%)
CMYK is the subtractive Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black ink model. Use these values when preparing artwork for a printer or commercial press.
oklch(53.80% 0.201 19.11)
OKLCH is a modern, perceptually-uniform space (Lightness, Chroma, Hue). It powers smooth gradients and accessible palettes in today’s CSS.
oklab(53.80% 0.190 0.066)
OKLab is the Cartesian form of OKLCH — ideal for blending and interpolating colors without the muddy midpoints older spaces produce.
L: 43.48, a: 64.28, b: 28.38
CIELAB is a device-independent, perceptually-uniform space. It is the standard for measuring color difference (ΔE) and matching across devices.
L: 43.48, C: 70.26, H: 23.82
LCH is CIELAB in cylindrical form — Lightness, Chroma and Hue — letting you adjust vividness and hue while staying perceptually even.
X: 25.07, Y: 13.48, Z: 5.56
CIE XYZ is the 1931 master space that underpins every other model here — the scientific bridge used to convert between color systems.
13114684
The 24-bit integer value of the color — handy for databases, APIs, game engines and low-level graphics code.
Channel breakdown
How much red, green and blue light mixes into Cardinal.
Percentages show each channel's share of the total light (R + G + B) in Cardinal.
Ink coverage
Ink needed to reproduce Cardinal in four-color print. Heaviest ink: Magenta.
Print tip: treat these values as a starting point — final output depends on printer profile, paper stock and calibration.
Accessibility · WCAG
How bright Cardinal is, and how far black and white text clear each WCAG bar.
Contrast ratio · 1:1 → 21:1 (log scale)
Developer shortcuts
Copy-and-paste CSS for Cardinal — per-line copy, or grab the whole block.
background-color: #C81D3C;
color: #C81D3C;
border: 2px solid #C81D3C;
background-color: rgb(200, 29, 60);
background-color: hsl(349, 75%, 45%);
--color: #C81D3C;
Shades · light to dark
Lighter and darker steps of Cardinal — the color's full brightness range in one strip.
The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.
Harmony · 180° apart
Two colors opposite on the wheel — maximum contrast for attention-grabbing accents.
The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.
Harmony · adjacent hues
Neighboring hues on the wheel — harmonious, calm combinations that feel unified.
The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.
Harmony · 120° apart
Three colors evenly spaced on the wheel — vibrant and energetic, yet balanced.
The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.
Harmony · 90° apart
Four colors evenly spaced on the wheel (tetradic) — rich schemes with multiple accents.
The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.
Accessibility
How Cardinal reads across five kinds of color vision — a ✓ Friendly verdict means the color difference stays distinguishable for that vision type.
The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex.
Harmony overview
The lead color from each harmony scheme, side by side — a shortcut to the full palettes above.
Perceptually nearby
A step away in brightness, richness or shade — each still feels like the same color.
From the color-name library
The closest named colors to #C81D3C — same mood, each with its own character.
Looking for more Pink shades? Browse Pink colors →
Inspiration
Curated Unsplash photos that carry the mood of Cardinal — hover any tile to download it or view the original.
Good to know
Harmony