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Ruby Tone Muted
Color detail

Ruby Tone Muted

Red · Hue 10
Metrics
S 18% · L 60%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white3:1AA Largeon black6.9:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Ruby Tone Muted (#AB8D87) belongs to the red family — hue 10°, 18% saturation, 60% 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-tone-muted: #AB8D87;
  --colorarchive-ruby-tone-muted-hsl: hsl(10, 18%, 60%);
  --colorarchive-ruby-tone-muted-rgb: rgb(171, 141, 135);
}

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 #AB8D87.

  • Anthropicneutral
    Mid Gray · #B0AEA5
    →
  • Notionaccent
    Default Brown · #9F6B53
    →
  • Microsoftneutral
    Slate Gray · #737373
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #AB8D87.

  • Greece (Aegean)Olive Silver
    #9CA38F · Olea europaea leaf undersides
    →
  • IcelandLichen Green
    #9CA577 · Cetraria islandica
    →
  • AustraliaBush Khaki
    #8E895C · Outback grassland in dry season
    →

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 NeutralsBrand & MarketingStartup Brand Color Palette: Building a Color System Before You Have a Full Design Team

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 Silk Muted
#BCA49F · hsl(10, 18%, 68%)
Darker companion
Ruby Radiant Muted
#9F7C75 · hsl(10, 18%, 54%)
Complementary counterpoint
Cerulean Tone Muted
#87A5AB · hsl(190, 18%, 60%)
Analogous lead
Coral Tone Muted
#AB9987 · hsl(30, 18%, 60%)
Analogous echo
Merlot Tone Muted
#AB878D · hsl(350, 18%, 60%)
Triadic +120°
Mint Tone Muted
#87AB8D · hsl(130, 18%, 60%)
Triadic +240°
Violet Tone Muted
#8D87AB · hsl(250, 18%, 60%)
Split-comp +150°
Teal Tone Muted
#87AB9F · hsl(160, 18%, 60%)
Split-comp +210°
Cobalt Tone Muted
#8793AB · hsl(220, 18%, 60%)
Export preview
Base: Ruby Tone Muted #AB8D87
Lighter companion: Ruby Silk Muted #BCA49F
Darker companion: Ruby Radiant Muted #9F7C75
Complementary counterpoint: Cerulean Tone Muted #87A5AB
Analogous lead: Coral Tone Muted #AB9987
Analogous echo: Merlot Tone Muted #AB878D
Triadic +120°: Mint Tone Muted #87AB8D
Triadic +240°: Violet Tone Muted #8D87AB
Split-comp +150°: Teal Tone Muted #87AB9F
Split-comp +210°: Cobalt Tone Muted #8793AB

Compare

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

vsRuby Silk MutedvsRuby Radiant MutedvsCerulean Tone MutedvsCoral Tone MutedvsMerlot Tone MutedvsMint Tone Muted

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Ruby Tone Faint
#A3928F · hsl(10, 10%, 60%)
Nearby match
Ruby Tone Dust
#B4877E · hsl(10, 26%, 60%)
Nearby match
Ruby Radiant Muted
#9F7C75 · hsl(10, 18%, 54%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Tone Muted
#AB8A87 · hsl(5, 18%, 60%)
Nearby match
Vermillion Tone Muted
#AB9087 · hsl(15, 18%, 60%)
Nearby match
Ruby Silk Muted
#BCA49F · hsl(10, 18%, 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
AA5:1
Cerulean Ink Faint
#202627
AA5:1
Cerulean Ink Muted
#1D282A
AA4.9:1
Cerulean Ink Dust
#1A2A2D
AA4.8:1
Cerulean Ink Soft
#182C30
AA4.5:1
Cerulean Ink Clear
#103137
AA5:1
Aqua Ink Faint
#202727

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#A1A389
Protanopia
#9F9F88
Tritanopia
#AA8A8A
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Ruby Tone Faint#A3928F · hsl(10, 10%, 60%)Ruby Tone Muted#AB8D87 · hsl(10, 18%, 60%)Ruby Tone Dust#B4877E · hsl(10, 26%, 60%)Ruby Tone Soft#BC8276 · hsl(10, 34%, 60%)Ruby Tone Clear#D07462 · hsl(10, 54%, 60%)Ruby Tone Vivid#E4674E · hsl(10, 74%, 60%)Ruby Tone Bright#EF6043 · hsl(10, 84%, 60%)Ruby Tone Pure#F75A3B · hsl(10, 92%, 60%)
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