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Ruby Core Dust
Color detail

Ruby Core Dust

Red · Hue 10
Metrics
S 26% · L 48%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white4.8:1AAon black4.4:1AA Large
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Ruby Core Dust (#9A655B) belongs to the red family — hue 10°, 26% saturation, 48% 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-ruby-core-dust: #9A655B;
  --colorarchive-ruby-core-dust-hsl: hsl(10, 26%, 48%);
  --colorarchive-ruby-core-dust-rgb: rgb(154, 101, 91);
}

AI Color Names

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

Design Context

PassionateEnergeticUrgent
Common in

Food & Beverage · Entertainment · Retail

Pairs well with

White for high contrast CTAs, dark navy for sophistication, or gold for luxury

Design tip

Best for call-to-action buttons and sale banners. Use sparingly — red as a primary color can feel aggressive; as an accent, it commands attention.

Cultural context ▶

Red is universally associated with energy and action. In China, it signifies luck and prosperity. In Western markets, it drives urgency in sales.

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 #9A655B.

  • Notionaccent
    Default Brown · #9F6B53
    →
  • Microsoftneutral
    Slate Gray · #737373
    →
  • Anthropicaccent
    claude.ai Accent (2024) · #C96442
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #9A655B.

  • Greece (Aegean)Terracotta Tile
    #B85B40 · Fired earthenware roof tiles
    →
  • BrazilSalvador Terracotta
    #B85B40 · Colonial Pelourinho district
    →
  • IcelandLopapeysa Sheep Brown
    #7C5A3A · Natural-dye Icelandic wool
    →

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 TheoryDark Color Palette Guide: Building Low-Luminance Palettes That Work

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
Ruby Radiant Dust
#A8756B · hsl(10, 26%, 54%)
Darker companion
Ruby Velvet Dust
#87594F · hsl(10, 26%, 42%)
Complementary counterpoint
Cerulean Core Dust
#5B909A · hsl(190, 26%, 48%)
Analogous lead
Coral Core Dust
#9A7A5B · hsl(30, 26%, 48%)
Analogous echo
Merlot Core Dust
#9A5B65 · hsl(350, 26%, 48%)
Triadic +120°
Mint Core Dust
#5B9A65 · hsl(130, 26%, 48%)
Triadic +240°
Violet Core Dust
#655B9A · hsl(250, 26%, 48%)
Split-comp +150°
Teal Core Dust
#5B9A85 · hsl(160, 26%, 48%)
Split-comp +210°
Cobalt Core Dust
#5B709A · hsl(220, 26%, 48%)
Export preview
Base: Ruby Core Dust #9A655B
Lighter companion: Ruby Radiant Dust #A8756B
Darker companion: Ruby Velvet Dust #87594F
Complementary counterpoint: Cerulean Core Dust #5B909A
Analogous lead: Coral Core Dust #9A7A5B
Analogous echo: Merlot Core Dust #9A5B65
Triadic +120°: Mint Core Dust #5B9A65
Triadic +240°: Violet Core Dust #655B9A
Split-comp +150°: Teal Core Dust #5B9A85
Split-comp +210°: Cobalt Core Dust #5B709A

Compare

See how Ruby Core Dust compares side by side with related colors.

vsRuby Radiant DustvsRuby Velvet DustvsCerulean Core DustvsCoral Core DustvsMerlot Core DustvsMint Core Dust

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Ruby Core Muted
#906C64 · hsl(10, 18%, 48%)
Nearby match
Ruby Core Soft
#A45F51 · hsl(10, 34%, 48%)
Nearby match
Ruby Velvet Dust
#87594F · hsl(10, 26%, 42%)
Nearby match
Ruby Radiant Dust
#A8756B · hsl(10, 26%, 54%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Core Dust
#9A605B · hsl(5, 26%, 48%)
Nearby match
Vermillion Core Dust
#9A6A5B · hsl(15, 26%, 48%)

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
AA4.6:1
Cerulean Veil Faint
#F9FAFA
AA4.6:1
Cerulean Veil Muted
#F9FBFB
AA4.6:1
Cerulean Veil Dust
#F9FBFB
AA4.6:1
Cerulean Veil Soft
#F8FBFC
AA4.6:1
Cerulean Veil Clear
#F7FCFD
AA4.6:1
Cerulean Veil Vivid
#F6FCFE

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#898D5E
Protanopia
#86865E
Tritanopia
#985F60
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Ruby Core Faint#87726E · hsl(10, 10%, 48%)Ruby Core Muted#906C64 · hsl(10, 18%, 48%)Ruby Core Dust#9A655B · hsl(10, 26%, 48%)Ruby Core Soft#A45F51 · hsl(10, 34%, 48%)Ruby Core Clear#BC4E38 · hsl(10, 54%, 48%)Ruby Core Vivid#D53E20 · hsl(10, 74%, 48%)Ruby Core Bright#E13614 · hsl(10, 84%, 48%)Ruby Core Pure#EB2F0A · hsl(10, 92%, 48%)
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