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Crimson Silk Muted
Color detail

Crimson Silk Muted

Red · Hue 0
Metrics
S 18% · L 68%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white2.4:1Failon black8.6:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Crimson Silk Muted (#BC9F9F) belongs to the red family — hue 0°, 18% saturation, 68% lightness. Copy the hex, RGB, or HSL value above, or paste the CSS custom property below into your stylesheet to reference this color directly.

CSS
:root {
  --colorarchive-crimson-silk-muted: #BC9F9F;
  --colorarchive-crimson-silk-muted-hsl: hsl(0, 18%, 68%);
  --colorarchive-crimson-silk-muted-rgb: rgb(188, 159, 159);
}

AI Color Names

Let AI suggest alternative poetic names for this color in English and Chinese.

Design Context

TenderRomanticGentle
Common in

Beauty · Wedding · Healthcare

Pairs well with

Soft neutrals (warm gray, cream) or muted greens for balance

Design tip

Use as a background for emotional storytelling or as an accent in healthcare and wellness brands to convey warmth without intensity.

Cultural context ▶

In many cultures, light reds and pinks symbolize love, tenderness, and new beginnings. In Japan, sakura pink represents the ephemeral beauty of life.

Color Origins

Red family

Among the oldest pigments, and still the loudest signal.

Heritage

Red ochre is among the oldest pigments in the human visual record. Ochre reds lie beside burials at Qafzeh, Israel, about 100,000 years old; red ochre and costly cinnabar lit Pompeian walls; cinnabar was prized from Rome to China. Madder, kermes, and later New World cochineal built fortunes before synthetic alizarin arrived in 1869 and collapsed the madder market almost overnight.

Across cultures

In China red signals fortune and weddings, painted on doors and lanterns and given in money envelopes. In much of South Asia red is the bridal color (saris, sindoor) for the same reason. Western traditions split red between love (Valentine's) and danger (stoplights, balance sheets). Across the Christian liturgy red marks martyrdom and Pentecost; across cinema it has long marked the femme fatale.

In the wild

Coca-Cola has used red since its earliest signage. Netflix and YouTube both build their identities around a single saturated red. Christian Louboutin trademarked a single red — Pantone 18-1663 — on the soles of his shoes. Ferrari's racing red began as the Italian national racing color (Rosso Corsa). Emergency stop buttons are red on a yellow background under international machinery-safety standards, a convention so widespread it functions as international iconography.

How it reads

Red advances. On a page it draws the eye first; in a UI it implies destructive action or urgent state. Increasing saturation pushes it toward warning; reducing saturation moves it toward earthen, terra-cotta, comfort. Pairing red with white reads as energetic and consumer-facing; pairing it with black reads cinematic and luxurious; pairing it with cream reads as heritage or hospitality.

This particular tone

A grounded mid-tone — sober, considered, well-suited to body text accents, editorial layouts, or any context where restraint reads as quality.

Lightness band: At mid-lightness the hue carries its full character. This is the band where many identity colors live: bright enough to be distinctive at small sizes, deep enough to sit cleanly on a white canvas.

Saturation band: The low saturation pulls this color toward earthen, vintage, or editorial palettes. It reads as confident and grown-up rather than playful, and it tolerates being used in large blocks without becoming visually noisy.

Brands using a similar color

Within the public brand-guidelines reference catalog, these are the closest matches to #BC9F9F.

  • Anthropicneutral
    Mid Gray · #B0AEA5
    →
  • Slackaccent
    Slack Yellow · #ECB22E
    →
  • Bilibili 哔哩哔哩primary
    Bilibili Pink · #FB7299
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #BC9F9F.

  • ScandinaviaFaded Rose
    #D3A6A0 · Vintage Swedish wallpaper
    →
  • EgyptPapyrus Tan
    #C1A36F · Cyperus papyrus reed paper
    →
  • Greece (Aegean)Olive Silver
    #9CA38F · Olea europaea leaf undersides
    →

Color guides

Go deeper on using red and color in design.

UI DesignColor in Financial UI: Trust, Data Visualization, and the Red/Green ConventionColor TheoryWarm Color Palette Guide: Reds, Oranges, Yellows, and Their NeutralsAccessibilityColor Accessibility Beyond WCAG Contrast Ratios

Tonal strip

All lightness levels at this hue and saturation. Click any to navigate.

Palette moves

Instead of stopping at one swatch, use nearby, opposite, and tonal neighbors to branch into a broader palette.

Lighter companion
Crimson Bloom Muted
#CDB7B7 · hsl(0, 18%, 76%)
Darker companion
Crimson Tone Muted
#AB8787 · hsl(0, 18%, 60%)
Complementary counterpoint
Aqua Silk Muted
#9FBCBC · hsl(180, 18%, 68%)
Analogous lead
Tangerine Silk Muted
#BCAB9F · hsl(25, 18%, 68%)
Analogous echo
Garnet Silk Muted
#BC9FA9 · hsl(340, 18%, 68%)
Triadic +120°
Emerald Silk Muted
#9FBC9F · hsl(120, 18%, 68%)
Triadic +240°
Iris Silk Muted
#9F9FBC · hsl(240, 18%, 68%)
Split-comp +150°
Jade Silk Muted
#9FBCAD · hsl(150, 18%, 68%)
Split-comp +210°
Sapphire Silk Muted
#9FADBC · hsl(210, 18%, 68%)
Export preview
Base: Crimson Silk Muted #BC9F9F
Lighter companion: Crimson Bloom Muted #CDB7B7
Darker companion: Crimson Tone Muted #AB8787
Complementary counterpoint: Aqua Silk Muted #9FBCBC
Analogous lead: Tangerine Silk Muted #BCAB9F
Analogous echo: Garnet Silk Muted #BC9FA9
Triadic +120°: Emerald Silk Muted #9FBC9F
Triadic +240°: Iris Silk Muted #9F9FBC
Split-comp +150°: Jade Silk Muted #9FBCAD
Split-comp +210°: Sapphire Silk Muted #9FADBC

Compare

See how Crimson Silk Muted compares side by side with related colors.

vsCrimson Bloom MutedvsCrimson Tone MutedvsAqua Silk MutedvsTangerine Silk MutedvsGarnet Silk MutedvsEmerald Silk Muted

Nearest neighbors

The closest archive matches by hue, saturation, and lightness.

Search by hex
Nearby match
Crimson Silk Faint
#B6A5A5 · hsl(0, 10%, 68%)
Nearby match
Crimson Silk Dust
#C39898 · hsl(0, 26%, 68%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Silk Muted
#BCA19F · hsl(5, 18%, 68%)
Nearby match
Crimson Tone Muted
#AB8787 · hsl(0, 18%, 60%)
Nearby match
Crimson Bloom Muted
#CDB7B7 · hsl(0, 18%, 76%)
Nearby match
Crimson Silk Soft
#C99292 · hsl(0, 34%, 68%)

Accessible pairings

Archive colors that meet WCAG contrast standards when paired with this color. Use as text-on-background or background-on-text.

Contrast checker
AAA7:1
Cobalt Ink Bright
#061A42
AAA7:1
Cobalt Ink Pure
#031945
AAA7.2:1
Indigo Ink Clear
#101737
AAA7.4:1
Indigo Ink Vivid
#09123E
AAA7.4:1
Indigo Ink Bright
#061042
AAA7.5:1
Indigo Ink Pure
#030E45

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#B2B49F
Protanopia
#B0B09F
Tritanopia
#BB9F9F
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
True Gray Silk#ADADAD · hsl(0, 0%, 68%)Crimson Silk Faint#B6A5A5 · hsl(0, 10%, 68%)Crimson Silk Muted#BC9F9F · hsl(0, 18%, 68%)Crimson Silk Dust#C39898 · hsl(0, 26%, 68%)Crimson Silk Soft#C99292 · hsl(0, 34%, 68%)Crimson Silk Clear#D98181 · hsl(0, 54%, 68%)Crimson Silk Vivid#EA7171 · hsl(0, 74%, 68%)Crimson Silk Bright#F26969 · hsl(0, 84%, 68%)Crimson Silk Pure#F86262 · hsl(0, 92%, 68%)
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