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Merlot Bloom Clear
Color detail

Merlot Bloom Clear

Red · Hue 350
Metrics
S 54% · L 76%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white2.1:1Failon black10:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Merlot Bloom Clear (#E3A1AC) belongs to the red family — hue 350°, 54% saturation, 76% 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-merlot-bloom-clear: #E3A1AC;
  --colorarchive-merlot-bloom-clear-hsl: hsl(350, 54%, 76%);
  --colorarchive-merlot-bloom-clear-rgb: rgb(227, 161, 172);
}

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 bright, airy reading of the hue — clean and approachable, the kind of color that holds up well in product photography and on light backgrounds.

Lightness band: At this lightness the hue almost recedes into the surface around it — useful for backgrounds, hover states, and any surface where the color should suggest a mood without competing with content.

Saturation band: The clear, mid-saturation register is a common identity sweet spot — saturated enough to register as a 'real' color, restrained enough not to fight typography or photography placed over it.

Brands using a similar color

Within the public brand-guidelines reference catalog, these are the closest matches to #E3A1AC.

  • Anthropicneutral
    Mid Gray · #B0AEA5
    →
  • Bilibili 哔哩哔哩primary
    Bilibili Pink · #FB7299
    →
  • Glossierprimary
    Glossier Pink · #F8D6CD
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #E3A1AC.

  • ScandinaviaFaded Rose
    #D3A6A0 · Vintage Swedish wallpaper
    →
  • IcelandMidnight Sun Pink
    #F2AEB5 · Horizon light, June
    →
  • EgyptPapyrus Tan
    #C1A36F · Cyperus papyrus reed paper
    →

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 NeutralsColor PsychologyColor Psychology in Product Design: Evidence-Based Principles for UI and Brand

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
Merlot Pearl Clear
#ECC0C8 · hsl(350, 54%, 84%)
Darker companion
Merlot Silk Clear
#D98190 · hsl(350, 54%, 68%)
Complementary counterpoint
Lagoon Bloom Clear
#A1E3D8 · hsl(170, 54%, 76%)
Analogous lead
Vermillion Bloom Clear
#E3B1A1 · hsl(15, 54%, 76%)
Analogous echo
Blush Bloom Clear
#E3A1C2 · hsl(330, 54%, 76%)
Triadic +120°
Leaf Bloom Clear
#ACE3A1 · hsl(110, 54%, 76%)
Triadic +240°
Indigo Bloom Clear
#A1ACE3 · hsl(230, 54%, 76%)
Split-comp +150°
Seafoam Bloom Clear
#A1E3B7 · hsl(140, 54%, 76%)
Split-comp +210°
Azure Bloom Clear
#A1CDE3 · hsl(200, 54%, 76%)
Export preview
Base: Merlot Bloom Clear #E3A1AC
Lighter companion: Merlot Pearl Clear #ECC0C8
Darker companion: Merlot Silk Clear #D98190
Complementary counterpoint: Lagoon Bloom Clear #A1E3D8
Analogous lead: Vermillion Bloom Clear #E3B1A1
Analogous echo: Blush Bloom Clear #E3A1C2
Triadic +120°: Leaf Bloom Clear #ACE3A1
Triadic +240°: Indigo Bloom Clear #A1ACE3
Split-comp +150°: Seafoam Bloom Clear #A1E3B7
Split-comp +210°: Azure Bloom Clear #A1CDE3

Compare

See how Merlot Bloom Clear compares side by side with related colors.

vsMerlot Pearl ClearvsMerlot Silk ClearvsLagoon Bloom ClearvsVermillion Bloom ClearvsBlush Bloom ClearvsLeaf Bloom Clear

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Merlot Silk Clear
#D98190 · hsl(350, 54%, 68%)
Nearby match
Merlot Pearl Clear
#ECC0C8 · hsl(350, 54%, 84%)
Nearby match
Merlot Bloom Soft
#D7ADB4 · hsl(350, 34%, 76%)
Nearby match
Merlot Bloom Vivid
#EF95A4 · hsl(350, 74%, 76%)
Nearby match
Merlot Mist Clear
#F3D8DC · hsl(350, 54%, 90%)
Nearby match
Crimson Bloom Clear
#E3A1A1 · hsl(0, 54%, 76%)

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
AAA7.2:1
Lagoon Ink Faint
#202726
AAA7:1
Lagoon Ink Muted
#1D2A28
AAA7.2:1
Cyan Ink Faint
#202727
AAA7:1
Cyan Ink Muted
#1D2A29
AAA7.2:1
Teal Ink Faint
#202725
AAA7.1:1
Teal Ink Muted
#1D2A26

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#CDD2A9
Protanopia
#CAC9A9
Tritanopia
#E0A7A7
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Merlot Bloom Faint#C8BCBE · hsl(350, 10%, 76%)Merlot Bloom Muted#CDB7BA · hsl(350, 18%, 76%)Merlot Bloom Dust#D2B2B7 · hsl(350, 26%, 76%)Merlot Bloom Soft#D7ADB4 · hsl(350, 34%, 76%)Merlot Bloom Clear#E3A1AC · hsl(350, 54%, 76%)Merlot Bloom Vivid#EF95A4 · hsl(350, 74%, 76%)Merlot Bloom Bright#F58EA0 · hsl(350, 84%, 76%)Merlot Bloom Pure#FA899C · hsl(350, 92%, 76%)
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