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Ruby Ink Muted
Color detail

Ruby Ink Muted

Red · Hue 10
Metrics
S 18% · L 14%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white16:1AAon black1.3:1Fail
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Ruby Ink Muted (#2A1F1D) belongs to the red family — hue 10°, 18% saturation, 14% 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-ink-muted: #2A1F1D;
  --colorarchive-ruby-ink-muted-hsl: hsl(10, 18%, 14%);
  --colorarchive-ruby-ink-muted-rgb: rgb(42, 31, 29);
}

AI Color Names

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

Design Context

PowerfulSophisticatedDramatic
Common in

Wine & Spirits · Luxury Fashion · Fine Dining

Pairs well with

Gold accents, ivory backgrounds, or deep charcoal for editorial elegance

Design tip

Ideal for dark themes and premium product pages. Pair with generous whitespace to let the richness breathe.

Cultural context ▶

Deep reds like burgundy and maroon evoke maturity, wealth, and tradition. Common in academic institutions and heritage brands.

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 dim, atmospheric reading — closer to a colored shadow than a stated hue. Excellent as a near-black on dark UI or as a moody background.

Lightness band: At this depth the hue starts behaving like a neutral — it can substitute for black in many contexts while still carrying a faint chromatic temperature. It pairs especially well with off-whites and warm metallics.

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 #2A1F1D.

  • Netflixneutral
    Netflix Black · #221F1F
    →
  • Meituan 美团neutral
    Slate Black · #222222
    →
  • Supabaseneutral
    Background Black · #1F1F1F
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #2A1F1D.

  • Korea (Obangsaek)Obangsaek Black (흑 / heuk)
    #1F1F1F · North — water element, ink and lacquer
    →
  • MexicoVolcanic Black
    #1F1A17 · Obsidian + Popocatépetl basalt
    →
  • China (Traditional)Ink Wash Black (墨)
    #1C1C1C · Pine-soot ink stick (mò)
    →

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 NeutralsDesign SystemsDark Mode Color Systems: A Token Architecture Guide

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 Nocturne Muted
#3C2D2A · hsl(10, 18%, 20%)
Complementary counterpoint
Cerulean Ink Muted
#1D282A · hsl(190, 18%, 14%)
Analogous lead
Coral Ink Muted
#2A241D · hsl(30, 18%, 14%)
Analogous echo
Merlot Ink Muted
#2A1D1F · hsl(350, 18%, 14%)
Triadic +120°
Mint Ink Muted
#1D2A1F · hsl(130, 18%, 14%)
Triadic +240°
Violet Ink Muted
#1F1D2A · hsl(250, 18%, 14%)
Split-comp +150°
Teal Ink Muted
#1D2A26 · hsl(160, 18%, 14%)
Split-comp +210°
Cobalt Ink Muted
#1D222A · hsl(220, 18%, 14%)
Export preview
Base: Ruby Ink Muted #2A1F1D
Lighter companion: Ruby Nocturne Muted #3C2D2A
Complementary counterpoint: Cerulean Ink Muted #1D282A
Analogous lead: Coral Ink Muted #2A241D
Analogous echo: Merlot Ink Muted #2A1D1F
Triadic +120°: Mint Ink Muted #1D2A1F
Triadic +240°: Violet Ink Muted #1F1D2A
Split-comp +150°: Teal Ink Muted #1D2A26
Split-comp +210°: Cobalt Ink Muted #1D222A

Compare

See how Ruby Ink Muted compares side by side with related colors.

vsRuby Nocturne MutedvsCerulean Ink MutedvsCoral Ink MutedvsMerlot Ink MutedvsMint Ink MutedvsViolet Ink Muted

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Ruby Ink Faint
#272120 · hsl(10, 10%, 14%)
Nearby match
Ruby Ink Dust
#2D1E1A · hsl(10, 26%, 14%)
Nearby match
Ruby Nocturne Muted
#3C2D2A · hsl(10, 18%, 20%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Ink Muted
#2A1E1D · hsl(5, 18%, 14%)
Nearby match
Vermillion Ink Muted
#2A201D · hsl(15, 18%, 14%)
Nearby match
Ruby Ink Soft
#301C18 · hsl(10, 34%, 14%)

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
AAA15.3:1
Cerulean Veil Faint
#F9FAFA
AAA15.4:1
Cerulean Veil Muted
#F9FBFB
AAA15.4:1
Cerulean Veil Dust
#F9FBFB
AAA15.4:1
Cerulean Veil Soft
#F8FBFC
AAA15.5:1
Cerulean Veil Clear
#F7FCFD
AAA15.5:1
Cerulean Veil Vivid
#F6FCFE

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#26271E
Protanopia
#26261D
Tritanopia
#2A1E1E
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Ruby Ink Faint#272120 · hsl(10, 10%, 14%)Ruby Ink Muted#2A1F1D · hsl(10, 18%, 14%)Ruby Ink Dust#2D1E1A · hsl(10, 26%, 14%)Ruby Ink Soft#301C18 · hsl(10, 34%, 14%)Ruby Ink Clear#371710 · hsl(10, 54%, 14%)Ruby Ink Vivid#3E1209 · hsl(10, 74%, 14%)Ruby Ink Bright#421006 · hsl(10, 84%, 14%)Ruby Ink Pure#450E03 · hsl(10, 92%, 14%)
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