Color Details and Palettes for #EF4445

Details about the color X Marks the Spot

Closest web-safe match: #FF3333

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 #EF4445
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About Color Hex #ef4445

The color X Marks the Spot, with hexadecimal code #ef4445, 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. With a high saturation of 84%, this color is intensely vivid—demanding attention and ideal for focal elements like buttons, banners, and brand marks. At 60% lightness, it strikes an approachable, open balance—bright enough to feel welcoming yet substantial enough to carry visual weight. 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 X Marks the Spot are (239, 68, 69), providing a combination of red: 239, green: 68, and blue: 69. In HSL format, it has a hue of 360.00°, saturation of 84.00%, and lightness of 60.00%.

The HSV representation includes a hue of 360.00°, saturation of 72.00%, and value of 94.00%. Its CMYK composition is cyan: 0.00%, magenta: 72.00%, yellow: 71.00%, and black: 6.00%.

The calculated luminance of #ef4445 is 0.229, 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 #FF3333. Its contrast ratio is 5.58:1 against black and 3.76:1 against white. It works well on dark backgrounds but may be less readable on lighter ones.

In terms of color temperature, #ef4445 reads as warm. When it comes to accessibility, testing against standard guidelines suggests that using black text meets typical WCAG contrast standards. Additionally, the ideal foreground color for improved legibility on #ef4445 is black.

Considering its saturation and lightness, #ef4445 appears more vivid and energetic, making it stand out in designs that aim to capture attention.

History, Usage, Psychology & Design Ideas for #EF4445

X Marks the Spot (#EF4445) 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 360°), it naturally draws the eye and creates a sense of closeness—making it effective for calls to action, food photography, and hospitality branding. At 84% 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

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).

At 60% lightness, it reads clearly on dark backgrounds and provides a welcoming, open feel in light-themed designs—versatile across both contexts.

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.

#EF4445 Color Conversions

Every way to write X Marks the Spot — copy X Marks the Spot 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
#EF4445

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(239, 68, 69)

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(360, 84%, 60%)

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(360, 72%, 94%)

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(360 27% 6%)

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%, 72%, 71%, 6%)

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(63.70% 0.208 25.04)

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

OKLab Modern
oklab(63.70% 0.188 0.088)

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: 54.98, a: 64.74, b: 38.58

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

LCH Perceptual
L: 54.98, C: 75.37, H: 30.79

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

XYZ CIE Science
X: 38.74, Y: 22.91, Z: 8.01

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
15680581

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

RGB Color Percentages for #ef4445

RGB Color Percentages for X Marks the Spot (HEX Code: #ef4445) 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 63.56% of the total composition. The complete breakdown of RGB contributions is:

Red:
63.56%
Green:
18.09%
Blue:
18.35%

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

CMYK Ink Levels & Print Guide for #ef4445

CMYK Ink Levels for X Marks the Spot (HEX Code: #ef4445) provide a breakdown of the percentages of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks needed for accurate print reproduction. The composition of X Marks the Spot 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: 71.55%, Yellow: 71.13%, and Black: 6.27%.

Luminance & Contrast for #EF4445

Relative luminance gauges how bright X Marks the Spot 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 0.229
0 · dark1 · light
Aa
Black text 5.58:1
AA AAA Large
Aa
White text 3.76:1
AA AAA Large

Quick CSS Snippets for #EF4445

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

Background background-color: #EF4445;
Text color: #EF4445;
Border border: 2px solid #EF4445;
RGB background-color: rgb(239, 68, 69);
HSL background-color: hsl(360, 84%, 60%);
Variable --color: #EF4445;

#ef4445 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.

#fdecec
#fbd0d1
#f9b4b5
#f69899
#f47c7d
#f16061
#ef4445 Original
#cb3a3b
#a73030
#832526
#601b1c
#3c1111
#180707

#ef4445 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.

#ef4445 Original
#43efef

#ef4445 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.

#ef4445 Original
#ef9943
#ef4399
#efef43
#ef43ef
#99ef43
#9943ef

#ef4445 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.

#ef4445 Original
#43ef43
#4343ef

#ef4445 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.

#ef4445 Original
#99ef43
#43efef
#9943ef

Color Blindness Simulation for #ef4445

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 X Marks the Spot (#ef4445) 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 #ef4445

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)

#EF4445 Nearby Colors

A handful of colors just a step away from #EF4445 — 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.

#ff5555 Grapefruit
#dd3333 Blood of My Enemies
#ff6666 Pompelmo
#cc1122 Dangerous Affair
#ff3344 Devil’s Advocate
#ee5544 Strawberry Avalanche
#ee5533 Fuego
#ee3355 Desire

Colors Similar to #ef4445

These colors are close neighbours of #EF4445 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.

#f04445 Angry Flamingo
#ef4545 Angry Flamingo
#ef4446 X Marks the Spot
#ee4445 X Marks the Spot
#ef4345 X Marks the Spot
#ef4444 Angry Flamingo
#ff4445 Red Coral
#ef5545 Strawberry Avalanche
#ef4456 Watermelonade
#de4445 Cute Crab
#ef3345 Red Radish
#ef4434 Cascara

Looking for more Red shades? Browse Red colors →

Explore Vibrant Images Featuring X Marks the Spot (#ef4445)

Discover a vibrant gallery of images that not only showcase the captivating hue of X Marks the Spot, 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.