We're live on Product Hunt!Support us
ColorArchive

A curated color library with 5,446 algorithmically generated colors. Browse, search, save favorites, and export palette tokens — no account required.

CollectionsFamiliesBrandsRegionsJournalNotesGuidesFree ResourcesEmbed widgetConvertColorblindAboutSupportUpdatesiOS app
Ready for static export
Privacy·Terms·Refunds·Cookies·Commerce Disclosure
colorarchive.org · © 2026 ColorArchive
Skip to content
ColorArchive
ProLog in
ArchiveAll ColorsCollections
Ruby Nocturne Dust
Color detail

Ruby Nocturne Dust

Red · Hue 10
Metrics
S 26% · L 20%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white13.3:1AAon black1.6:1Fail
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Ruby Nocturne Dust (#402A26) belongs to the red family — hue 10°, 26% saturation, 20% 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-nocturne-dust: #402A26;
  --colorarchive-ruby-nocturne-dust-hsl: hsl(10, 26%, 20%);
  --colorarchive-ruby-nocturne-dust-rgb: rgb(64, 42, 38);
}

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 #402A26.

  • Xiaohongshu 小红书neutral
    Slate Text · #333333
    →
  • JD.com 京东neutral
    Slate · #333333
    →
  • Taobao 淘宝neutral
    Slate · #333333
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #402A26.

  • France (Paris)Bordeaux Wine
    #5C2E2A · Bordeaux region red wine
    →
  • BrazilAçaí Purple
    #3D1F4D · Euterpe oleracea berry
    →
  • VietnamPho Broth Brown
    #5C3A21 · Anise-and-cinnamon star, slow simmer
    →

Color guides

Go deeper on using red and color in design.

Color TheoryWarm Color Palette Guide: Reds, Oranges, Yellows, and Their NeutralsUI DesignColor in Financial UI: Trust, Data Visualization, and the Red/Green ConventionColor TheoryMonochromatic Color Palettes: How to Build Depth from a Single Hue

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 Shadow Dust
#5A3B35 · hsl(10, 26%, 28%)
Darker companion
Ruby Ink Dust
#2D1E1A · hsl(10, 26%, 14%)
Complementary counterpoint
Cerulean Nocturne Dust
#263C40 · hsl(190, 26%, 20%)
Analogous lead
Coral Nocturne Dust
#403326 · hsl(30, 26%, 20%)
Analogous echo
Merlot Nocturne Dust
#40262A · hsl(350, 26%, 20%)
Triadic +120°
Mint Nocturne Dust
#26402A · hsl(130, 26%, 20%)
Triadic +240°
Violet Nocturne Dust
#2A2640 · hsl(250, 26%, 20%)
Split-comp +150°
Teal Nocturne Dust
#264037 · hsl(160, 26%, 20%)
Split-comp +210°
Cobalt Nocturne Dust
#262F40 · hsl(220, 26%, 20%)
Export preview
Base: Ruby Nocturne Dust #402A26
Lighter companion: Ruby Shadow Dust #5A3B35
Darker companion: Ruby Ink Dust #2D1E1A
Complementary counterpoint: Cerulean Nocturne Dust #263C40
Analogous lead: Coral Nocturne Dust #403326
Analogous echo: Merlot Nocturne Dust #40262A
Triadic +120°: Mint Nocturne Dust #26402A
Triadic +240°: Violet Nocturne Dust #2A2640
Split-comp +150°: Teal Nocturne Dust #264037
Split-comp +210°: Cobalt Nocturne Dust #262F40

Compare

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

vsRuby Shadow DustvsRuby Ink DustvsCerulean Nocturne DustvsCoral Nocturne DustvsMerlot Nocturne DustvsMint Nocturne Dust

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Ruby Nocturne Muted
#3C2D2A · hsl(10, 18%, 20%)
Nearby match
Ruby Nocturne Soft
#442722 · hsl(10, 34%, 20%)
Nearby match
Ruby Ink Dust
#2D1E1A · hsl(10, 26%, 14%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Nocturne Dust
#402826 · hsl(5, 26%, 20%)
Nearby match
Vermillion Nocturne Dust
#402C26 · hsl(15, 26%, 20%)
Nearby match
Ruby Shadow Dust
#5A3B35 · hsl(10, 26%, 28%)

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
AAA12.7:1
Cerulean Veil Faint
#F9FAFA
AAA12.8:1
Cerulean Veil Muted
#F9FBFB
AAA12.8:1
Cerulean Veil Dust
#F9FBFB
AAA12.8:1
Cerulean Veil Soft
#F8FBFC
AAA12.9:1
Cerulean Veil Clear
#F7FCFD
AAA12.9:1
Cerulean Veil Vivid
#F6FCFE

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#393A27
Protanopia
#383727
Tritanopia
#3F2828
Color of the Day

Like Ruby Nocturne Dust? Get one like it every morning.

One hand-picked color a day — with its hex, family, and the story behind it.

Get a color every morning

One email per day. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ready to build

Turn these colors into design tokens

Copy the CSS variables and the Tailwind class free, right here. ColorArchive Pro lifts the daily export limit — 10 a day signed in, 3 without an account.

Upgrade to ProFree downloadView collections

Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Ruby Nocturne Faint#38302E · hsl(10, 10%, 20%)Ruby Nocturne Muted#3C2D2A · hsl(10, 18%, 20%)Ruby Nocturne Dust#402A26 · hsl(10, 26%, 20%)Ruby Nocturne Soft#442722 · hsl(10, 34%, 20%)Ruby Nocturne Clear#4F2117 · hsl(10, 54%, 20%)Ruby Nocturne Vivid#591A0D · hsl(10, 74%, 20%)Ruby Nocturne Bright#5E1608 · hsl(10, 84%, 20%)Ruby Nocturne Pure#621404 · hsl(10, 92%, 20%)
More from Red →