Color Details and Palettes for #D91C3A

Details about the color Crimson

Closest web-safe match: #CC3333

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 #D91C3A
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About Color Hex #d91c3a

The color Crimson, with hexadecimal code #d91c3a, falls within the red color family, a hue strongly linked to passion, urgency, and primal energy. Across cultures, red ranges from the luck of Chinese New Year to the romance of Western Valentine's Day. Additionally, it evokes emotions such as Passion, Energy, Love, Excitement, Danger and Desire. In many Eastern cultures, red symbolizes luck, prosperity, and happiness, often used in festivals and weddings. In Western cultures, red can symbolize passion, love, and sometimes danger. At 77% saturation, this color is clearly chromatic yet balanced—colorful enough to be distinctive without overwhelming adjacent content. With a mid-range lightness of 48%, 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.

The RGB values for Crimson are (217, 28, 58), providing a combination of red: 217, green: 28, and blue: 58. In HSL format, it has a hue of 350.00°, saturation of 77.00%, and lightness of 48.00%.

The HSV representation includes a hue of 350.00°, saturation of 87.00%, and value of 85.00%. Its CMYK composition is cyan: 0.00%, magenta: 87.00%, yellow: 73.00%, and black: 15.00%.

The calculated luminance of #d91c3a is 0.159, 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 #CC3333. Its contrast ratio is 4.18:1 against black and 5.03:1 against white. It works well on light backgrounds but may be challenging on darker ones.

In terms of color temperature, #d91c3a 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 #d91c3a is white.

Considering its saturation and lightness, #d91c3a appears more vivid and energetic, making it stand out in designs that aim to capture attention.

History, Usage, Psychology & Design Ideas for #D91C3A

Crimson (#D91C3A) belongs to the Red 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.

Historical Background

Red ochre is among the earliest pigments used by humans, found in cave paintings over 40,000 years old. The precious cochineal dye—extracted from scale insects—was so valuable in colonial-era trade that it rivaled gold. In imperial China, vermilion lacquer adorned thrones and temples, while Roman generals painted their faces red for triumphal processions through the streets of Rome.

Design & Usage Tips

Red commands instant attention, making it the top choice for call-to-action buttons, sale banners, and emergency signage. Use it selectively to avoid overwhelming users—pair red accents with neutral backgrounds (white, light gray, or cream) to create high-impact focal points that guide the eye without fatigue.

Positioned on the warm side of the color wheel (hue 350°), it naturally draws the eye and creates a sense of closeness—making it effective for calls to action, food photography, and hospitality branding. With 77% saturation, it occupies a comfortable middle ground: colorful enough to be distinctive, yet restrained enough for extended reading or large surface areas.

Psychological Impact

Red accelerates heart rate and triggers primal alertness, linking it to passion, urgency, and excitement. In marketing, red increases impulse buying; in UX, red signals errors or critical states. Culturally, red spans love (Western Valentine's Day) and luck (Chinese New Year).

With a mid-range lightness of 48%, 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.

Creative Design Ideas

Combine a rich crimson with gold foil for luxury packaging. In web design, use a single red accent button on a monochrome page for maximum conversion impact. For sports branding, pair red with black and white for aggressive, high-energy team identities.

#D91C3A Color Conversions

Every way to write Crimson — copy Crimson 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
#D91C3A

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(217, 28, 58)

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(350, 77%, 48%)

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(350, 87%, 85%)

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(350 11% 15%)

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%, 87%, 73%, 15%)

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(56.86% 0.216 21.08)

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

OKLab Modern
oklab(56.86% 0.202 0.078)

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: 46.83, a: 68.85, b: 34.39

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

LCH Perceptual
L: 46.83, C: 76.96, H: 26.55

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

XYZ CIE Science
X: 29.79, Y: 15.89, Z: 5.50

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
14228538

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

RGB Color Percentages for #d91c3a

RGB Color Percentages for Crimson (HEX Code: #d91c3a) 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 71.62% of the total composition. The complete breakdown of RGB contributions is:

Red:
71.62%
Green:
9.24%
Blue:
19.14%

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

CMYK Ink Levels & Print Guide for #d91c3a

CMYK Ink Levels for Crimson (HEX Code: #d91c3a) provide a breakdown of the percentages of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks needed for accurate print reproduction. The composition of Crimson prominently features Magenta, 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: 87.1%, Yellow: 73.27%, and Black: 14.9%.

Luminance & Contrast for #D91C3A

Relative luminance gauges how bright Crimson 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 0.159
0 · dark1 · light
Aa
Black text 4.18:1
AA AAA Large
Aa
White text 5.03:1
AA AAA Large

Quick CSS Snippets for #D91C3A

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

Background background-color: #D91C3A;
Text color: #D91C3A;
Border border: 2px solid #D91C3A;
RGB background-color: rgb(217, 28, 58);
HSL background-color: hsl(350, 77%, 48%);
Variable --color: #D91C3A;

#d91c3a 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.

#fbe8eb
#f6c6ce
#f0a4b0
#ea8293
#e46075
#df3e58
#d91c3a Original
#b81831
#981429
#770f20
#570b17
#36070f
#160306

#d91c3a 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.

#d91c3a Original
#1cd9b9

#d91c3a 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.

#d91c3a Original
#d95b1c
#d91c9a
#d9b91c
#b91cd9
#9ad91c
#5b1cd9

#d91c3a 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.

#d91c3a Original
#3cd91c
#1c3cd9

#d91c3a 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.

#d91c3a Original
#9ad91c
#1cd9b9
#5b1cd9

Color Blindness Simulation for #d91c3a

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 Crimson (#d91c3a) 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)

Not Friendly

Protanopia (Red Weakness)

Not Friendly

Tritanopia (Blue-Yellow Weakness)

Friendly

Achromatopsia (Total Color Blindness)

Not Friendly

Color Harmonies for #d91c3a

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)

#D91C3A Nearby Colors

A handful of colors just a step away from #D91C3A — 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.

#ee3344 Red Radish
#cc0033 Cherry
#ff4455 Hotter Than Hell
#bb0022 Pixel Bleeding
#dd0033 Crimson
#cc3344 Sovereign Red
#cc3322 Lucky Lobster
#dd0055 Anger

Colors Similar to #d91c3a

These colors are close neighbours of #D91C3A in the RGB color space. Each subtle variation can produce a noticeably different mood in your design while remaining harmonious with the original Red tone.

#da1c3a Crimson
#d91d3a Crimson
#d91c3b Crimson
#d81c3a Crimson
#d91b3a Crimson
#d91c39 Crimson
#ea1c3a Transfusion
#d92d3a Red-Handed
#d91c4b Cosmic Red
#c81c3a Cardinal
#d90b3a Crimson
#d91c29 Angry Tomato

Looking for more Red shades? Browse Red colors →

Explore Vibrant Images Featuring Crimson (#d91c3a)

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